Wicked: For Good
Rating: 3.5/5
By: Nathaniel Simpson
The Wicked phenomenon has swept the world since last year, making the hit Broadway musical more famous than it ever has been. The story of the two witches from The Wizard of Oz hit a home run with the release of the film that focused on the first half of the play, documenting Elphaba's (Cynthia Erivo) friendship with Glinda (Ariana Grande), and how it cast them apart when they make the trip to the Emerald City. I have been a fan of the play for years now, and have said since the release of the first film that I simply don't think the story would work being broken up into two parts. Unfortunately, Wicked: For Good proves my point that there shouldn't have been two films, as it feels like they simply tried too hard to make an hour-long story conclusion into a two and a half hour cinematic spectacle. While it is certainly a beautifully-designed and crafted spectacle by some of the best in the business today, the story simply falls flat at time, not really picking up steam until the second half of the picture.
I have gone to see this hit Broadway musical multiple times in Los Angeles when it makes its way to the Pantages Theatre, and I always enjoy it every time I see it. In fact, I would even see I may prefer the second half of the story over the first, enjoying the songs and how they approach The Wizard of Oz and various elements involving the characters. But, it's only 40-minutes, and it made me wonder how they're going to flesh that out on the big screen to fill an over 2-hour runtime. As I predicted, the first half of this movie simply doesn't work for me. The second half is split into two parts, with them reintroducing the world and the characters in the first half and then transitioning into the second act with the house coming from Kansas. For the first half of this movie, which is about an hour or so, the film meanders and tries to fill the runtime with fluff that I found boring and dull.
They try adding in elements centered around the characters of Glinda and Elphaba, but I had a hard time buying what they were trying to put on the screen. I think the second half of the play is quite good as it is concluding the story of these two witches that they set up in the first part, but they do it quite quickly. Like I said, they only really had 40-minutes, so everything was done in a rush of sorts. This is how I wanted the film to be as well, and it seems like director Jon M. Chu and writers Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox simply has a rough time trying to make the first half very interesting or fun. Sure, the songs are great and the performances here are executed quite well (which we'll get into in a bit), but I simply couldn't get on board with all of the new elements and subplots the film introduced in this first half.
However, when we get into the story that coincides with the 1939 picture, I think the film works incredibly well. It follows the latter part of the second half a little better, and is much more tightly constructed compared to the first hour or so. I think the second half is a lot of fun, and they add in fantastic filmmaking elements, including the beautifully haunting cinematography and awe-inspiring set and costume design/makeup. The songs are executed beautifully and the movie just matches the energy of the play. When the movie shifts to the second and third acts, it made me sit up in my seat a little in excitement, realizing this is the Wicked I was coming to see.
At the same time though, in my opinion, this movie, as a whole, just lacks the spark and the magic of the first film. I compared the 2024 picture to movies like Harry Potter in the sense of the childlike wonder and magic that truly feels real. This film, however, while darker in tone, simply didn't capture the same magic. I understand there is a different tone they are going for, and the dark tone works really well, but I still wanted to see this world that they spent so much time setting up in the first film. Like I said, I'm torn on how I feel about this because it is such a different tone than the first movie, but even the Harry Potter films were able to still capture the magical aspect in the latter films when they are arguably much more darker than Wicked.
In terms of the performances here, there is no doubt that Erivo and Grande give it their all here. For both of them, it is no secret that these roles mean a lot to them, and they take a lot of care and consideration when bringing these versions of the characters alive on the screen. They match their fantastic performances from the first one, and they are a lot of fun to watch here. At the same time, the performances from supporting actors Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, and Marissa Bode are all wonderful and show their character's progression from the first to second picture so well. The only major complaint I had with the performances here is Michelle Yeoh, who I think is just unfortunately miscast here. I wasn't too big of a fan of her performance in the first one, and I think they unfortunately do a little worse here.
There also needs to be a lot of praise for the numerous artistic elements, including the cinematography, makeup/costume design, and set design. This movie transports you into the world of Oz, and they craft everything perfectly, in my opinion. From the way they are able to design these characters and the world to the way they capture them on film, it works incredibly well to sell this version of Oz and what is going on during this time. In terms of awards season, if anything, this movie deserves the accolades for these various filmmaking elements.
While I am disappointed about how this film turned out, I'm truly not that surprised. I knew from the announcement that this movie was going to be two parts that it simply wasn't going to work too well. It's incredibly unfortunate that this is what we follow-up to arguably one of the best films of last year, but they simply didn't have enough fuel in the tank to make another two-and-a-half hour picture based off 40-minutes of material. While there is a lot to love and appreciate in this epic finale, it simply doesn't live up to the first picture.
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