‘Wicked: For Good’ Never Quite Flies

Fans of the original Wicked are, undoubtedly, going to fall for Wicked: For Good. The second half of the story picks up many years later and brings the tale of Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), to a big, rousing conclusion with all the stunning visuals, costumes, and effects you fell in love with in the first film. The problem, however, is that For Good doesn’t do much beyond that. It’s driven by a stretched-out, repetitive narrative that lacks the innocence and discovery of the first film while also being darker and less fun. That’s certainly the point, but it makes this sequel pale in comparison to the original.

When last we left the wonderful world of Oz, Elphaba had fully embraced her powers as a witch and left Glinda unsure of her future, while the whole of Oz remained clueless about the powerless evil of its Wizard, played by Jeff Goldblum. Wicked: For Good picks up some vague amount of time after that, which is a little confusing because not much has changed at the start. (There’s a fleeting mention of “12 tide turns,” which seems to suggest 12 years, but it’s not something that’s given enough weight or clarity to land in an impactful way). Elphaba is still trying to prove that the Wizard is bad and save Oz, while Glinda is still caught between her dreams and her friend. They’re both almost exactly the same, except now each is much more famous.

Basically, the world around these two characters has changed a bit, but neither of them has, which instantly puts For Good at a disadvantage. The first film left things with such high stakes about where these characters could go. So, when you realize neither has accomplished anything of note in such a long time, it’s a clue that there aren’t a ton of places for this story to go. Each merely has to do one or two things to achieve their goals, and yet, they haven’t. How does that get stretched into a full movie? How much longer can they delay the inevitable?

Jonathan Bailey and Ariana Grande in Wicked: For Good – Universal

Presumably, writers Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, along with director Jon M. Chu, are merely following the broader narrative created by the original stage production. The issue is, when you see Wicked on stage, you don’t leave for a year during intermission. Everything works better when it’s fresher in your mind and less cinematic. This adaptation really suffers from not spending a little more time covering what has happened since the last film. Instead, it dives back in as if nothing has happened, which makes things both confusing and instantly repetitive.

You’re left scratching your head about how characters like Elphaba’s sister Nessa (Marissa Bode), their school friend Boq (Ethan Slater), and shared love interest Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) got to their new roles. What happened that made Glinda go from schoolgirl to this new megastar? Has Elphaba really made no headway in a decade?

With so little context, those stories and questions just circle round and round, putting Wicked: For Good into a pattern. A big event happens. Elphaba shows up. Glinda steps in. There’s an action scene, a reconciliation, and then that repeats. Each time, the story inches forward at a comically slow pace. Some of those action scenes provide a boost, giving the film a different feel from its predecessor, but we aren’t watching Wicked for the fighting or flying.

Goldblum, Grande, and Erivo in Wicked: For Good – Universal

We may, however, be watching for the music. Most of the songs in For Good do a fine job of explaining what’s happening or trying to push those characters forward, but very few are as memorable or powerful as songs from the first half like “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” or “Defying Gravity.” The exception is the titular “For Good,” which comes in near the end of the movie when it finally decides to move things ahead in a meaningful way. It’s a lovely, intimate moment between the characters, and it really drives home just what each has gone through. Up until then, though, the long-running debate of which half of Wicked has the better songs feels cemented by For Good. The answer? Not this one.

No matter which side of that debate you fall on, though, the songs are one place where Erivo and Grande continue to shine. Each is just so effortlessly present and charismatic in their performances. We saw lots of that in the first film, but it continues here as each—eventually—has to make some life-changing, difficult decisions. Of the two, it’s Grande in particular who rises above. Glinda’s story has more shades of grey to play with than Elphaba’s, and Grande does a great job of letting us feel that conflict. Her performance is undoubtedly the bright spot in an otherwise murky movie.

Another highlight is the whole Wizard of Oz-ness to the film. One of the most exciting choices both this film and the original musical made is making this story a larger puzzle that the characters and story of the original 1939 movie can fit into. So, in a very Back to the Future Part II way, it’s incredibly rewarding to discover how both Glinda and especially Elphaba impact that story, even when it doesn’t all quite fit together. The big downside, though, is this film predisposes you to have seen and know the 1939 Wizard of Oz incredibly well, which, hopefully, most of us have. If you haven’t, you may be left scratching your head more than not at all this stuff about Toto, Kansas, buckets of water, and tornadoes.

You’re not in Kansas anymore. – Universal

In the end, we found Wicked: For Good to be an odd movie. There are moments where the performances and visuals really hit home and bring it all together. But, more often than not, we were left disappointed at how little in the film was as memorable or special as that first part, or other fantasy films for that matter. Wicked: For Good doesn’t look like, but always feels like, a by-the-numbers, A-to-Z conclusion of this story, with extended moments that draw it out to feature length. In Part One, we continually felt that making Wicked two movies was the right choice. Now, having seen For Good, it seems maybe it wasn’t.

But, again, most of that won’t matter to fans who are just dying to see this world, these actors, and these characters again. That stuff is all right on point. We just wish it were in the service of a more powerful, interesting, cohesive, and complete story.

Wicked: For Good is in theaters November 21.

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