Ariana Grande Receives Dismal Review for ‘Wicked’ Sequel: Not ‘Dramatically Interesting’

According to one critic, the much-anticipated Wicked sequel falls flat, partially due to Ariana Grande not bringing the drama.

“Grande, in particular, often seems to be trying to walk through her scenes as slowly as possible,” Robbie Collin, Chief Film Critic for The Telegraph, wrote in his scathing review. “As a performer she has a range of four octaves and around 1.6 emotions, and as such Glinda’s smaller moments simply aren’t dramatically interesting enough to merit this moonily protracted approach.”

According to Collin, Grande and costar Cynthia Erivo each have a new song in the sequel, Wicked: For Good. However, he was less than impressed by the Stephen Schwartz-composed musical numbers.

“Inexplicably, though, both are wailing laments, and you find yourself gasping for a new comic number like ‘Popular,’ or another barnstormer like ‘Defying Gravity,’ or anything else that might have lent proceedings structure and purpose,” he wrote.

It should be noted, however, that Collin was also disappointed by the original film — which hit theaters last November and broke records at the box office.

In its first week, Wicked earned the title of Highest Grossing Movie Ever Based on a Broadway Musical at the Domestic Box Office, according to Deadline, despite Collin calling the film “miscast”.

The Associated Press’ Jake Coyle seemed to agree with Collin’s hot take, writing, “For those of us who felt — what’s a non-wicked way to say this? — mildly waterboarded, in pink and green, by Wicked, For Good doesn’t offer much relief. There is, to be sure, great talent on display in these films, particularly in the case of Erivo. But For Good, like its predecessor, often feels more like a Production than a movie, with characters shuffled on and offstage with Oz-like orchestration.”