TL;DR – While Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande still shine, the choice to split the film into two parts has had a detrimental effect on the pacing, narrative, and structure of the film.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Wicked: For Good Review Introduction –

If I look back on the last twelve months, there may have been one film, outside of Chicken Jocky, that captured the imagination of people in the cinemas. It felt like everyone was holding space for Wicked, as it dominated the box office and broader pop culture. Thanks mainly to it being anchored by two of the best lead actors in the business for a musical film like this: Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande. But here’s the thing, and it’s a big one. The choice to end the first film at the traditional intermission moment meant that everything that the general public understood of Wicked was all in that first film, and thus, I was worried about how Part Two would go. I think I was right to be concerned.  

So, to set the scene, at the end of Wicked, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) discovered that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) is nothing but a fraud. Oz and his accomplice Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) needed Elphaba’s natural magical abilities, but not if she was a threat. So Elphaba escaped their clutches, but has now been branded the “Wicked Witch of the East” in a propaganda campaign that stretches across the lands. Everyone now has to live with the consequences of their actions. Glinda (Ariana Grande) always wanted to be in the spotlight, but is she willing to do what it takes to stay there when it means betraying her friends? And will Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) discover his strength before it is too late?   

The Good

The more this film has sat with me, the more the frustrating elements have grown. However, I did want to take some time, right from the start, to champion those elements that do shine. I want to start by championing all the artists who came together to make this film. Wicked is a film that is bombastic down to its DNA, and it only works because everything on set is a colourful explosion. These grand sets give you texture to this universe and allow you to capture the world in frame. The costumes strike a balance, being both fantastical yet grounded in the world. There are a lot of these tonal juxtapositions that have gone into the construction of the film, and it just works.  

Then, we can’t talk about a Wicked film without exploring the strength of the cast, and much like Part One, it is divine to watch. While Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande share less screen time this round, every moment they do is electric. Their charisma is almost the energy that is powering the rest of the film, and it works. The fact that they are almost able to recapture the power of Defying Gravity is because you believe in their friendship. The musical pieces are still fun to watch. The cast is still a delight. You honestly want to see how it will all play out because it is clear that everyone cares about their roles.    

The Structure

Coming into this film, I had a lot of concern, but also some interest. Because the second act of the musical is where the narrative collides with the traditional Wizard of Oz story in compelling ways. Much like a House into a Munchkin Village. For me, it was the weaker of the two acts in the original musical. However, that second act was also more flexible with its narrative presentation, which could have given the film a lot more room to play with now that it was its own work. However, those opportunities were not taken, which was the first of several mistakes.  

The main issue we have here is that when stretching out one narrative into two separate films, it only works if the main crowning moment is in the second part. Dune got away with a Part Two because its crescendo is in the trap they set on Arrakis. For Wicked, unfortunately, its defining moment is Defying Gravity, which is firmly in Part One. You could pad out the first part to make it its own film, because the audience knows, no matter what they will sit through, they will be rewarded with what they are here for in the end. Act Two does not have that light on the hill to help pull you along to the end. It is a significant issue I had with the original musical, and it is cast into stark relief with this new adaptation.

Thus, you start to see all of the scaffolding that is being used to put things together. Because there is only a slight intermission for the musical, they don’t need to remind people of the plot points in Act One with multiple flashbacks. Their attempts to find something to recapture the heights of Defying Gravity with a new song keep getting undermined by the need to stick the musical motif from Defying Gravity throughout the film, which undermines more than it uplifts. The pacing becomes an absolute mess with some sections dragging on as if we are trying to dance in molasses, and other parts of the film racing by as if the narrative is on a timed scavenger hunt trying to collect everything before rushing across the finish line.

Odd Effects

The decision to split this into two films may have also come at a cost of some of the digital effects in the movie. Two very noticeable blunders jolt you out of the film like a slap across the face. The first was a de-aged character that looks so profoundly uncanny valley, that it was quite unsettling, and not in the way the narrative wanted it to be. Thankfully, it is just a brief moment in the film, but when your de-aging is worse than Tron: Legacy, which came out over a decade ago, that is a problem. Also, and I am trying to avoid spoilers here, but there is a character creation that felt like they took a 2D texture and slapped it on a character’s face. If you have seen the musical, you know who I am talking about. It was so bad that at my screening, the audience burst out in laughter, which was not the emotion the scene was trying to elicit. In a film where the rest of the production was so well put together, it feels like the rush to get this second part ready in just a year had some timing issues.       

The Muddled Themes

One area where the film has updated its adaptation is in how it explores the tension in the world we see today, as we see Fascism on the rise, everywhere. This exploration is there in the original musical but expanded upon in the now two-feature-length runtime. Much like Barbie’s very surface-level exploration of Feminism, the shallow depth of its analysis of Fascism is not a problem because it is meant just to be an introduction. However, the way the filmmakers have tried to incorporate these new themes into the original story leaves some awkward juxtapositions. For example, while the animals being a stand-in for minorities was not great in Part One, in this film, the metaphor gets stretched beyond breaking point, with some profoundly odd messaging in one scene, particularly. Then we get story elements like Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and Boq’s (Ethan Slater) forced relationship. Where we get Nessarose doing an accidental Fascism. Which could have been a fascinating exploration if the narrative had space to explore it; instead, it only moves her out of the way so it can keep barrelling forward.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Wicked: For Good? Now, I feel like I have been quite negative in this review, which is a shame because the cast and production are giving their all. However, I think those who profoundly love the original musical will still have a good time here. I am not sure this Part Two will have the same reach into the broader film-going public as its predecessor. Indeed, I can’t help but wonder if one fantastic film is buried within the edit of these two. Have you watched Wicked: For Good? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Wicked: For Good, we would recommend In the Heights to you because it is another musical adaptation for the big screen that hits the right note.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Wicked: For Good
Directed by – Jon M. Chu
Screenplay by – Winnie Holzman & Dana Fox
Based on – Wicked by Stephen Schwartz & Winnie Holzman, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire & The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Music by – John Powell & Stephen Schwartz
Cinematography by – Alice Brooks
Edited by – Myron Kerstein
Production/Distribution Companies – Marc Platt Productions & Universal Pictures
Starring – Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Sharon D. Clarke, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Colman Domingo, Peter Dinklage, Scarlett Spears, Keala Settle, Adam James, Alice Fearn & Bethany Weaver
Rating – Australia: PG; Canada: PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: PG; United Kingdom: PG; United States: PG-13