Several years have passed since the events of the first WICKED film. Elphaba, in her efforts to help the animals of Oz, has been branded the Wicked Witch of the West. Remaining in the Emerald City, her former Shiz University roommate Glinda, despite a lack of real magical power, has been shown to the public as a Good Witch, hoping to restore the public’s faith. Elphaba is determined to confront the Wizard of Oz by any means necessary, leading Oz and Emerald City into chaotic times, as a new traveler arrives in the magical land by way of a tornado and a falling house.
I was pleasantly surprised with the first WICKED film despite not being someone who normally goes out of my way to watch musicals. The musical numbers, world building, casting, and look of the film were all top notch. Audiences had to wait a whole year to get the cinematic adaptation of the second half of the musical, which has now arrived. WICKED: FOR GOOD continues this story with the same great cast, music, and set design, but the sequel struggles to juggle its numerous storylines and characters. The end results are good, but it does make one question if this story truly needed to be split across two films.
Where I can praise FOR GOOD most is its casting. The two leads, Ariana Grande as Glinda, and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, both absolutely shine. The sequences where they two share screen time are the best the movie has to offer, and seeing how they’ve grown since the events of the first movie, bringing things full circle, speaks for itself. The supporting cast is nearly as good, including Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz who isn’t all that he seems, as well as Michelle Yeoh as a Shiz University professor who’s become the Wizard’s right-hand woman.
FOR GOOD looks and sounds equally good. The musical numbers are, again, fantastic, and the cast is more than up to the task of bringing them to life with great singing and incredible choreography. The set design, which thankfully, isn’t a CGI nightmare, brings Oz to life as no other film in the past has. If you’re going to be watching a movie for over two hours, it definitely needs to look and sound the part to keep your attention. WICKED: FOR GOOD does just that.
Unfortunately, FOR GOOD does stumble in a number of areas its predecessor did not. Probably the biggest issue here is that the story shoehorns in and incorporates elements from the 1939 THE WIZARD OF OZ film, and these feel more like distractions and fan service than they do part of a genuine story. The movie is strongest when it does its own thing, and weakest when it tries to recapture the lightning (or should I say tornado?) in a bottle of the classic Victor Fleming film.
WICKED: FOR GOOD has a tremendous juggling act given how many characters and plot points were introduced in the first movie. Some are cast off without so much as a second thought. Too many are thrown aside and forgotten, or abruptly ended. The plot twists at the end of the movie feel a bit heavy handed, perhaps more so than anything else that has come earlier in the movie (though for obvious reasons I won’t go into spoiler territory here). One also can’t help but feel like there was a good deal of story that needed to be told between the two films; the beginning of the movie feels quite rushed as a result.
FOR GOOD is good, but not quite the cinematic musical masterpiece its predecessor was. It gives this story a satisfactory conclusion, even if the journey there is a bit rocky. Moderately recommended to fans of the first movie/the musical.