Wicked For Good
review by Bobby Blakey
In 1939 the world was introduced to the magical musical The Wizard of Oz. The timeless classic has enchanted audiences since its debut and spawned all sorts of stories in comics, novels, prequel films and reimagining’s. In 1995 author Gregory Maguire and illustrator Douglas Smith brought their revisionist series Wicked that consisted of four books and inspired the popular musical of the same name. In 2024 Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu brought the first chapter of Wicked to the big screen starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. Now it’s time for the epic conclusion with Wicked for Good, but is there any magic to make the return to Oz worth the time or will it be just too wicked?
Wicked For Good follows Elphaba, now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, who lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard. Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible, Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard. As Glinda’s stardom expands and she prepares to marry Prince Fiyero in a spectacular Ozian wedding, she is haunted by her separation from Elphaba. She attempts to broker a conciliation between Elphaba and The Wizard, but those efforts will fail, driving Elphaba and Glinda only further apart.
I have never been a big fan of the original Wizard of Oz but respect the films’ legacy. When I stepped into the original film with little knowledge of the musical, I was initially intrigued with the opening connection to the Wizard of Oz story, but it was short lived, and I found myself bored to tears and annoyed by the entire film from beginning to end. Obviously, that gave me no interest in seeing this second entry and in fact told my wife that I will not be watching the
second film, but here we are. I decided to let it go and just see how it all came to an end to give it a fair shake and while my opinions of the original film stand this one of a bit more mixed.
Going into this film I knew what I was in for so I think it softened my mentality a bit to just let it be what it was going to be. With that I let it play out and tried to keep focus on it unlike the first film that literally put me to sleep. I stuck it out and have to say while I still am not a fan the connections to the original film ideas and how they intertwine into this second act are clever and fun. I think the fact that there is actually something happening this time around as opposed to just watching the fantasy mean girls meets harry potter story in the first film helps. Having the two of them separate also gives us a breather to their often-mundane banter and lets them do something new. I did find it a bit redundant of the constant back and forth of love and hate at every turn that waters down the final act in Elphaba embracing her wickedness only to ditch it easily.
The cast is fine I guess, and I try not to bash actor performances in my reviews, but I do not like anything about Ariana Grande’s performance. Her singing is fine I guess, but the over-the-top body language and cartoon like behavior just didn’t work. It’s ironic because although I am not a fan, I thought it was kind of amusing in the first film but felt too forced this time and out of place for me. On the other side, I am a fan of Erivo as an actor but felt she never got to spend any time really cutting loose in the wicked persona and was a missed opportunity. When she does for a moment, it is great, but then its just gone as quickly as it began. The film also features the worst fight sequence I have ever seen that I think was supposed to be kind of funny, but was cringe worthy instead.
The music is fine, but I didn’t feel any of it stood out or mattered all that much outside of a song or too. I know hardcore fans were likely all in, but as someone coming in from the outside it just fell flat and just there to annoy me. The same goes for the animal effects this time around. The world of Oz is no doubt beautiful, bright and vibrant in it’s attentional to detail and magical world. With the number of CGI animals and the scope of this film I would have thought they wouldn’t have looked so fake. Maybe it was by design for a more whimsical approach, but everything else looks so great it takes you out of the visual aspect when any of those animals are on screen.
In the end the film didn’t make me a fan or change my opinions of the first film, but I admit I was less bothered by this final chapter. It’s not something I will ever visit again much like the first film but applaud the scope of what director John Chu and cast accomplished for the fans that are so invested in this property.
Decide for yourself and return to Oz to check out Wicked For Good in theaters now from Universal.