Wicked: For Good Movie Review: Returns Darker and More Serious, But Loses Some of the Enchantment?
With Wicked: For Good, we return to the Kingdom of Oz, even if the situation is very different from that of the first act. We find ourselves alongside Elphaba and her rebellion, the response to the very powerful final turning point that the first act of this work had concluded. Everything looks to the “future” now, to the next steps of a world in progress, finding, in the gradual process of formation of a silent but clear propaganda dictatorship, the iconic faces of a story that made infinite generations fall in love before this. The magic is all here, in reality: in the characters at the center of the story and in the details, storytelling and baroque, dressing a world that knows how to envelop, once again appearing current and impactful beyond the screen. Wicked: For Good finds all the power – singing, aesthetics, and narrative – that had characterized the first part. Such coherence, of course, is not surprising, given the very nature of the project at the cinema and the fact, as we anticipated in our wicked review, that the two acts had been filmed consecutively, back-to-back. And yet there is a substantial change in tone and manner in this concluding tranche, which leads towards the end between hope and a certain bitterness typical of adulthood.
Bringing a musical to the cinema is always a complex challenge: what lives on stage thanks to the energy of the actors and the imagination of the audience must be recreated through the camera, balancing visual choices, digital effects, and the delicate translation of emotions designed to be perceived live. With Wicked: For Good, the director Jon M. Chu completes his ambitious project to adapt the highly celebrated musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, bringing to the screen the second half of the story that reinterprets the myth of Oz through a lens that is this time more intimate and political. If the first part of Wicked he had the predictable task –at least in the eyes of a good part of the local public who had never heard of the original musical (never arrived in Italy!) – of preparing the chessboard and all its pieces, this conclusion gathers all the emotional and dramaturgical weight of the work, offering a narratively accomplished and visually bolder show, characterized however by some choices that end up limiting its overall impact. The result is an imperfect film, but ambitious –as we were saying – and often surprising, capable of honoring the original work while introducing new ideas and some inevitable risk.
Wicked: For Good Movie Review: The Story Plot
After the Elphaba Rebellion against the Wizard, Oz falls into panic: Emerald City is in a state of alert, and everyone believes they are under threat. Glinda, now a Good Witch in the eyes of the people, tries to reassure the inhabitants; Fiyero, however, is appointed head of the guards with the task of finding and capturing the supposed Witch of the West. Elphaba, however, searches in all ways to expose the deception of the Wizard and the unfounded fear that he feeds, while Madame Morrible does the opposite: she manipulates the city of Oz, inciting people to hate it. Meanwhile, both Glinda and Fiyero, while feigning loyalty to the regime, secretly try to protect her. A glimmer of hope seems to open when Elphaba shows herself to the Wizard, who promises her that renounce her deceptions and free the winged monkeys if she joins him. But the truce breaks down now: Elphaba discovers that other Animals are imprisoned, and he understands that the promise was nothing more than a lie. Determined to oppose, she finds herself in front of an even crueler plan: Madame Morrible – to capture her – it unleashes a hurricane that drags a house from Kansas, making it fall on his sister Nessarose and killing her. When Elphaba arrives, the guards are about to take her, but Fiyero manages to help her escape. From that moment on, she accepts the title that everyone has sewn on her: Wicked Witch of the West. And while she takes refuge in Kiamo Ko Castle, the people of Oz prepare to besiege him.
Wicked: For Good Review and Analysis
As anticipated, Wicked: For Good takes on darker shades precisely because it gets to the root of the film’s themes previously. It’s been a while since Elphaba decided to defy gravity by rebelling against the Wizard, and now his mission is to unmask him. Cynthia Erivo – perfect in the role both vocally and interpretatively – makes a clear leap in making his witch more adult and aware. The transition from the “naive” hope of the first film, when he dreamed of meeting the Wizard, gives way to a firm, almost political, desire to oppose its oppressive laws. Throwing a clear message: raise the truth against propaganda, manipulative, and a system based on lies and terror. In Elphaba, there is a lucid maturity which evolves the character and makes him even more tormented: from one part is in fact driven by the desire to free the inhabitants of Oz from their subjugation, from the other, it lives with the pain of seeing those who love forced to flee, to leave Oz, like the Animals, or remain trapped under the command of the Wizard, as happens to Glinda and Fiyero.
Significant growth also comes in Glinda, masterfully interpreted by Ariana Grande, who, as a theatrical girl, sometimes a little frivolous, and who lived with a sort of muffled innocence, finally begins to face reality. He abandons the boyish gaze and it lands on a more adult side – and disenchanted – understanding that to truly live, you have to have the audacity to change the cards on the table, even at the cost of destroying that perfect everyday life which, at the first breath of wind, shatters like glass because it is not authentic. So by doing so, Glinda finally shows her true value and makes herself hear his voice. If on an evolutionary level the characters shine, the narrative is not always effective. The first part of Wicked: For Good it’s slow, dedicating too much space to situations, such as the new everyday life by Glinda among the idlers, who deserved more editing. And they don’t help the songs, which, although beautiful in the lyrics, don’t have the musical power of the first film, except for a couple. The result is a heavy start, almost repetitive in concepts, which ends up hindering the introduction of the new characters: Dorothy (who is unknown to the Interpreter), the Lion, and the Tin Man (Boq, transformed by Elphaba to save him from Nessarose).
The choice to never show Dorothy’s face is understandable – one can deliberately be glimpsed suggestion linked to the film of ’39, so much so that in some moments it seems to perceive Judy Garland – but this does not justify one presence so sacrificed. The Kansas girl has no real interactions with either Glinda or Elphaba, nor with the Wizard, and his scenes become empty, lacking true emotional weight, almost like accessories. So when Nessarose dies because of his house that crashes right on her, or when she “kills” the Witch of the West, moments come off as visually awkward, especially in the second scene, the narrative sense is missing, the pathos. It’s almost like watching a television gag rather than a dramatic climax. The ending raises the film. The off-screen friendship that binds Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande explodes in the song For Good: two o’clock actresses, with an enveloping, almost cathartic vocality, manage to release all the affection and suffering of the separation between Elphaba and Glinda. Two friends, two sisters who got lost, yes, they were injured, but they knew how to find each other again. And it is precisely being you’re one in each other’s lives making them better people – as the song itself says – illuminated by a pure light, the same that only a sincere and malice-free relationship can generate. This is the most engaging moment, the most touching: the true heart of the film. And together with the majestic costumes of Paul Tazewell and the enchanted sets of Nathan Crowley – capable of restoring architecture fairy tales, from Emerald City to Kiamo Ko to Glinda’s rooms – Wicked – For Good manages to save itself, luckily.
The relationship between Elphaba and Glinda – as well as the synergy between Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – is still one of the biggest strengths. The first dominates every scene: Elphaba, more and more wounded and less and less willing to mediate, is returned with a rare intensity, made up of minimal hesitations and glances that suggest an inner world always on the verge of falling apart. The second surprises with control and interpretative intelligence: Glinda – frivolous but not empty, luminous but not naive – is enriched with complex nuances in this second part, where the character also understands the political weight of her choices. The two protagonists share a rare chemistry, which makes every conflict and every reconciliation credible. The film features two new original songs: a curious addition, albeit with different outcomes. The number entrusted to Ariana Grande – “The Girl in the Bubble” – does not particularly stick, despite being performed with great sweetness; instead, that of Cynthia Erivo – “No Place Like Home” – hits straight to the heart and is seamlessly integrated into the narrative. Naturally, the final duet to the tune of “For Good” is one of the most intense moments and seals an emotional journey built with extreme care. It is really difficult not to be moved by the strength – and fragility – of this friendship.
More generally, it is undeniable that this second part contains the most emotionally dense pieces of the entire musical: it is worth mentioning “No Good Deed”, where Chu’s direction indulges the crescendo without distracting it with visual trappings, letting Erivo’s performance and progressively tighter editing lead the viewer towards the point of no return of Elphaba’s character. Not all musical moments, however, achieve this incisiveness: some songs, although functional, are not very memorable on a cinematographic level; therefore, the theatrical dimension does not always translate into a fully autonomous and satisfying film idiom. However, if there is a real weakness in Wicked: For Good, it is probably the same that also afflicts the theatrical show: the moment “Defying Gravity,” it is such a high peak that everything that follows inevitably struggles to reach it. The first film ended precisely to the tune of that very powerful emotional climax; here, after a year of waiting (and not after a few minutes of intermission), the impact is inevitably dampened. The choice to divide the adaptation into two parts – understandable though it was (especially in terms of profits) – may not have proved so successful: through a unique transposition, rhythm and emotion would probably have gained.
Visually, Wicked: For Good offers a clear evolution compared to its predecessor: the colors are even more vivid and saturated, the sets even richer and more complex, with particular attention paid to some iconic places (the images of the Yellow Brick Road and Kiamo Ko Castle add shades that were previously missing). Chu abandons a certain digital veneer – widely criticized – to embrace a more “physical” approach to scenography and effects, even if CGI remains abundant (with some decidedly unconvincing choices). As mentioned above, the best sequences are those in which the film builds a darker atmosphere: Oz as a regime in progressive self-consumption, with plays of light and chromatic fades that evoke a moral rather than aesthetic distortion. What makes Wicked: For Good particularly relevant in an often-flattened mainstream panorama is the desire to deal with complex themes without wanting to hide them behind spectacularity. This second part rightly insists on the political dimension of the tale: propaganda as a narrative engine, the construction of the hero and the enemy as instruments of control, the power of narration – and rewriting – as a form of domination.
Elphaba and Glinda thus become two poles of a metatextual (and metacinematic) discourse on collective memory: the choice to conclude the film by supporting the “canonical” myth of the Wizard of Oz, while revealing the truth to the public, is a solution as coherent as it is bitterly effective: even if power is capable of creating great (often distorted) narratives, the truth will always find a way to resist in the cracks, in the details, in the margins. Ultimately, Wicked: For Good remains a sumptuous film, at times very powerful, which, however, fails to make a qualitative leap compared to the first part, remaining anchored to a language too dependent on the theatrical matrix. Jon M. Chu concludes his diptych with discontinuous results (especially when he tries to mediate between classic musical and contemporary epic cinema), but always with respect and feeling towards tradition, trying once again to go beyond mere glossy entertainment in an attempt to make shine the imperishable aspect of a very powerful story about responsibility and collective memory, but above all about the strength of friendship.
Different from the first, Wicked: For Good immediately makes the passage of time felt, totally changing the overall tone in both the writing of the characters, which return to being one of his beating hearts, and in the general musical characterization. There is no longer room for childhood and adolescence: here we enter adulthood with a straight leg, and this is reflected in every aspect of the feature film. The general change becomes central in the new motifs of the story, staging the developments of a world that no longer hides behind a sort of golden patina, clearly playing with the underlying dualism and the dance of masks that is created between the actual reality of things and made-up lies, but also between a certain manipulative regime policy and the cruelty that lurks in the shadows. The impact on the public is therefore inevitable, transporting us into a context that re-embraces and at the same time forgets the storytelling past, in favor of a more mature job in general, and with a disillusioned attitude. Wicked: For Good is still a joy for the eyes: from staging to construction of sets, from musical choreography to costumes. The distance from the more deluded previous climate underlines the intentions of a musical that wants to evolve, proposing a dynamic that does not reiterate but rather continues and transforms, in some moments even too hastily.
Wicked: For Good reconfirms everything that made the first chapter a success, and does so with a new awareness, more adult, incisive, and disillusioned. Jon M. Chu directs a story that frees itself from the naivest wonder to embrace the maturity of its protagonists, transforming the fairy tale into a reflection on power, memory, and loyalty to oneself. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande become complementary symbols of resistance and renunciation, opposites destined to define each other. The Oz universe is still sumptuous and vibrant, as mentioned, but what is striking is not the spectacularity, but rather the way in which space is necessarily left for emotion, fragility, the truth of two now inseparable destinies. Of course, Wicked: For Good runs fast at times, even too fast, as if it wanted to grab every moment before it vanishes. But this urgency does not affect its strength and impact too much. Every sequence, every look, every note seems to arise from the desire to close an emotional circle without betraying its delicacy. And the ending, instead of dissolving into the usual musical epilogue, remains engraved in the memory as a necessary and poignant farewell.
Cynthia Erivo offers a great performance. Her Elphaba is a woman consumed by a passion for justice, but also deeply hurt by betrayal and isolation. Erivo brings to the screen a vulnerability that powerfully contrasts with the character’s outward strength, making Elphaba a tragic and deep human figure. His voice, powerful and nuanced, transforms every musical number into an emotional manifesto: from the desperate notes of those who fight against injustice to the melancholic melodies of those who have lost everything they loved. Ariana Grande, unfortunately, turns out to be a little fake, robotic, and not very expressive. Away from the pop star image, Big builds a layered character who goes from apparent frivolity to emotional depth, not always with credibility. Despite this, her Glinda is not simply “the good one”: she is an intelligent and ambiguous woman, capable of manipulation but also of genuine affection, trapped in a role she chose out of weakness rather than conviction. The chemistry between Erivo and Big is strong: their scenes together are full of emotional tension.
Jeff Goldblum tries giving away a charming and disturbing Wizard of Oz, a charismatic charlatan who has built his power on a mountain of lies. Unfortunately, he too is not very credible, and, above all, he is too over the top. The Wizard is a human villain: not a monster, but an ordinary man who has discovered how easy it is to deceive those who need to believe. Michelle Yeoh is a credible and expressive Madame Morrible, a manipulative and selfish woman. Good Marissa Bode, as Nessarose; Ethan Slater (Boq), and Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero) complete the mosaic with good performance. The entrance of the girl from Kansas –a direct reference to Dorothy – represents the final catalyst that precipitates events to their inevitable conclusion. His seemingly innocent presence endangers Nessarose and creates a series of ripple consequences involving Boq and Fiyero in tragic and unexpected ways.
The film plays with the audience’s prior knowledge of the story of the Wizard of Oz, turning familiar events into moments of emotional tension. What we knew as a fairy tale becomes a tragedy; what seemed simple turns out to be complex and morally ambiguous. The narrative climax of the film is the final confrontation between Elphaba and Glinda, a beautiful cinematic moment. The two women, separated by irreconcilable choices but united by’ affection. It is an intimate and epic scene, personal and political. Their dialogue – supported by a direction that favors close-ups – explores the possibility and impossibility of reconciliation, the strength to forgive, and the courage to choose one’s own path even when it means losing what one loves most. The fate of Oz, and with it the very meaning of “good” and “evil”, is called into question by this comparison. The film suggests that true heroicness is not in winning, but in maintaining one’s moral integrity even in the face of defeat; that true friendship can survive distance and disagreement; that the greatest courage is to remain true to yourself when the whole world asks you to change.
Technically, “Wicked: For Good” is a sumptuous show. Costumes are moving works of art: each dress tells a story; each detail communicates an evolution of the character. Glinda’s wardrobe becomes progressively more opulent and imprisoning, reflecting her transformation into an icon of the regime; that of Elphaba, on the contrary, becomes more essential and practical, a symbol of her choice to give up everything to remain free. The photography creates a powerful visual contrast between the glittering and artificial world of the Emerald City and the wild landscapes where Elphaba finds refuge. The sets are majestic without being suffocating, creating a fantasy world that maintains emotional credibility. And then there is the music: the scores of Stephen Schwartz– already beautiful on the stage, they gain new life in the film adaptation. The voices of Erivo and Big are simply sublime, capable of transmitting emotions. Musical numbers are organically integrated into the narrative, but not always at the service of the emotional development of the characters.
However, as good as it is in many ways, “Wicked: For Good” suffers from a significant problem: excessive length. At 2 hours and 17 minutes, the film struggles to keep the narrative pace steady. There are sequences that, however beautiful visually and well-acted, are redundant and slow down the action without adding substantial elements to the story or character development. Jon M. Chu wanted to give space to every emotional nuance, to every musical number, to every secondary subplot. But this narrative generosity translates, in some sections, into a feeling of stasis. Scenes that could have been condensed are instead dilated, and moments of transition drag on more than necessary. The same story, with a drier script, could have been told effectively in about 90 minutes, keeping the emotional depth intact but gaining in dramatic tension and rhythm. This editing problem is particularly evident in the second act, where the film seems to temporarily lose its direction, multiplying the subplots and supporting characters in such a way as to dilute the urgency of the central conflict.
Despite pace issues, “Wicked: For Good,” he manages to build a strong ending. The film does not offer easy answers or comfortable reconciliations: it maintains its moral complexity until the end, refusing to reduce the characters to one-dimensional symbols of good and evil. Elphaba and Glinda remain human, contradictory figures, capable of greatness and weakness, of heroism and compromise. “Wicked: For Good” is an ambitious and in many ways successful film, which completes a complex and layered story with dignity and passion. The performances of the cast are good, the direction is curated, the production is lavish, and the emotional heart of the story –the impossible friendship between Elphaba and Glinda – beats fast. The flaws are there: the excessive length weighs down the narrative, and some editing choices could have been braver.
Wicked: For Good Review: The Last Words
Wicked: For Good takes the world of Oz into a more adult and disillusioned dimension, abandoning the general and adolescent lightness of the first act to tell the story of a world further marked by propaganda, power, and difficult choices. The film follows the maturation of Elphaba and Glinda, now opposite but complementary symbols, immersed in a context that no longer hides behind wonder: sumptuous sets, incisive music, and conscious direction accompany a more mature story, where emotion, fragility, and truth emerge forcefully. Even though it sometimes runs too fast, the film keeps its power intact, providing a poignant epilogue that closes an emotional circle without betraying its underlying delicacy.
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater
Directed: Jon M. Chu
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars)
