Film review: As good as it is long, Wicked (part one) has a way of defying gravitas

The movie only takes us to the end of the play’s first act, with part two still a year away. Still it's bound to be pop-u-lar

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Wicked — spoiler alert; its full title is Wicked: Part One – is better, brighter and, at two hours and 40 minutes, longer than it has any right to be. Recall that the full Broadway musical on which it’s based is almost the exact same length, and includes a 15-minute intermission.

And yet the movie takes us only to the end of the play’s first act, with a rendition of the showstopper Defying Gravity. I use that adjective literally — it stops the show. Part two opens in another 364 days. With that length of break, this one had better be pop-u-lar.