Elphaba and Glinda’s paths begin to diverge, as they both seek to bring balance back to an increasingly devolving land of Oz, for good.
Directed once again by the technically gifted Jon M. Chu who filmed both Wicked and Wicked: For Good simultaneously during an unforeseen and fragmented writer’s strike. And again written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, we conclude the wildly wonderful two film masterpiece; with another beautifully kaleidoscopic visual feast for the eyes and indeed the soul. Starring of course the acting and vocal powerhouses of Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande Butera, as Galinda of the Upper Uplands, we conclude our epic story which has been rightfully divided into two films with a run time of exactly five hours so as not to crush or impede our narrative. Check out my review for the first film here.
Wicked: For Good picks up around a year after the first dramatic finalé with Elphaba taking to the darkening orange sky escaping the clutches of Madame Morrible and the Wizard as she finally unleashes her innermost powers whilst belting out the powerful, curtain dropping ‘Defying Gravity’. With part one, we of course introduce and set up our main characters who are either shunned or adored by the public in the land of Oz. Galinda, whose powers are of being adored by everyone she meets eventually finds her elevated place in the palace under the watchful eye of Madame Morrible, although it is Elphaba whose real powers are what the sorceress truly desires.
Dividing the film into two parts we have a distinctive visual separation with the majority of the first film shot mainly in bright, open skies bringing in levity and light until we find ourselves witnessing the sunset as Elphaba takes her final form. Include four of the biggest tracks of the whole soundtrack; we have an almighty cinematic smash taking in just shy of $800million worldwide. Fast forward 12 months and we now can finally witness the whole cinematic spectacle as it was intended to be seen. Where ‘Wicked’ was bright and airy, Wicked: For Good takes a dramatic dive into the darker more fragile parts of our now fragmenting female relationship.
Glinda has now become the beacon of light and of hope in Oz and is again flawlessly played by Ariana. Her vocal range is tested once more with her highlight of ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ as she begins to lose herself amongst her pink bubble of public lies, and wonders who she has now truly become. The use of the staging and mirrors is quite mesmerising as she releases her innermost turmoil that her whole life has quite simply become a beautiful lie. Incidentally, this scene was shot quite early on illustrating how Ariana can capture this heart breaking moment even out of sequence. Cynthia has the only real whirlwind, high flying track in the whole film and plays it once again to perfection. And this is where the two cinematic offerings begin to only slightly part. I must mention here Scarlett Spears who appears as a young Galinda, takes a comparatively short scene and makes it very much her own. A future star who has already been acting for three years and is now sure to appear in further WCU offerings.
As with the first film – which on stage is in fact the first act – we have the lighter and arguably stronger of the two stories including the massively catchy songs of ‘Popular’ and ‘Defying Gravity’. The first film felt organic and flowing, growing our characters in a natural way making multiple viewings an absolute must to get the most from the film which simply whizzes by. Continuing on to the second of our brilliant offerings the conclusion here felt forced and fragmented whilst still remaining loyal to the emotional growing depths of our two female leads. At 2 hours 20 minutes, part two in itself felt required to include our other characters of the Tin Man and the Scarecrow, though the speed and timing of execution left emotional holes that if anything required a longer run time so as not to feel shoehorned in. Fiyero as a well formed and loved character in part one, played by the triple threat Jonathan Bailey, was criminally underused here.
Is Wicked: For Good as strong as Wicked? Most certainly not. Are the tracks on par with the first? No. What I would say though is that the conclusion to the already fantastic initial film is an absolute must for all true Ozians. At the time of writing, both will have been shown back to back as intended on the biggest screens with Dolby Atmos sound to match as Elphaba and indeed the 80 piece orchestra whizzes around our heads as we leap into the wonderful world of Oz.
Because of the want of both amazing films and our withdrawal post viewings, there are quite naturally talks of now expanding the ‘WCU’ or Wicked Cinematic Universe. With a new novel set for release later in 2026 titled ‘Galinda: A Charmed Childhood’, written again by Gregory Maguire, this will be set as a prequel expanding on Galinda’s charmed yet troubled young pre-Shiz life which will most certainly be turned into a high gloss feature film.
Whilst Wicked: For Good partially pales by comparison against Wicked, with comparison being the thief of all joy, enjoy the emotional depth part two offer and delight in the rollercoaster Ariana and Cynthia take us on as their tears and feelings are beautifully and tragically real in this cinematic, joyfully kaleidoscopic world as we see the rise of one character and the fall of the other.
And if there are no further questions, I’m gonna go…
Author: Piers, Maidstone Store
