Film Review: ‘Wicked: For Good’ Has Its Charms (Led By Ariana Grande) But Can’t Justify Its Two Part Split

Last year, I found myself on the lower end of the recommendation spectrum when it came to Wicked (reviewed here). I found it worthy of a mild thumbs up, while having some real issues with the film. As much as anything, I was curious what was coming next, hoping it would elevate what came before. Well, sadly, Wicked: For Good ends up showing exactly why this never should have been two movies. The Broadway production managed to become beloved by depicting this material as one show. Here? In double the length, we get a lesser product. The end result is a flick with things to unquestionably offer, but in a package that I can’t bring myself to overall recommend.

Wicked: For Good is at its best when we’re watching Cynthia Erivo and especially Ariana Grande as our heroines. They’re even better this time around (more on that later), almost papering over the issues with the film. However, many of the same things that didn’t work for me are still in evidence here, with the unsatisfactory nature of this part just not able to take me across the finish line. Audiences on Broadway have long been divided on the second half of the show, more or less agreeing, despite whether they overall love it or not, that part two is the weaker part. Unfortunately, that extends to the adaptation, even with all of the additions, which simply add an unacceptable amount of bloat to the proceedings.

Picking up a few years after the events of the first film,  Elphaba Thropp (Erivo), now lives exile as a fugitive in Oz, known as the Wicked Witch of the West. She’s still fighting for the rights of animals in the land, as well as to expose the lies of the Wizard (Jeff Goldbum). Elphaba will appear from time to time to help the animals or spread a message to the people of Oz, though the propaganda machine, led by Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), works overtime to keep her villainized. Meanwhile, Glinda Upland (Grande), now is being put forward by those in power as Glinda the Good, a force of light to counter the Wicked Witch’s darkness. Madame Morrible and the Wizard have them on opposing sides of the fight, though for Glinda, she’s just worried about her friend.

As animal rights continue to be revoked in Oz, those of the Munchkins are next, including Boq (Ethan Slater), who works for Elphaba’s sister Nessarose Thropp (Marissa Bode), the new Governor of Munchkinland. While Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) is set to wed Glinda and is leading the search for the Wicked Witch, Elphaba still pines for him. When Elphaba and Glinda encounter each other again, they’re forced to not just reckon with the consequences of their actions, both in the prior film and during this one, but with how their places in the world currently hurt the other. It all must come to a head, spurred on by the arrival in a house of Kansan Dorothy Gale.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are both even better this time around, with Grande especially a highlight. They have a full movie’s worth of character building to lean on, so anyone watching this one is already invested, much like they are. Erivo has to go darker here, as she’s fully transformed from an innocent into a hardened rebel, though she still has soulful song numbers to let in the light. Grande gets to again be very funny, though here is where her character’s internal journey really shines. Again, their chemistry together is strong, as expected, though it’s even more necessary this time around. The same goes for their singing, which is powerful, even with lesser songs to be belting out here. There’s less for Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater to do here, though they wind up in places that fans will appreciate, as well as those only with knowledge of The Wizard of Oz will be surprised by. Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh are very under-served, though they remain welcome presences. In addition to the aforementioned Marissa Bode, the supporting cast includes Bronwyn James and Bowen Yang, as well as voice work for Sharon D. Clarke, Colman Domingo, and more.

Director Jon M. Chu retains the aesthetic of the prior movie, for better and worse. The production design is impressive, though Chu and cinematographer Alice Brooks don’t have it all pop as much as you’d like. The adaptation, penned by Dana Fox and Winnie Holzman, again feels stretched thin. Chu, Fox, and Holzman, despite going to the book for additional material, are hamstrung by doubling the time needed to tell the story. On stage, it was two and a half hours, while Wicked itself was ten minutes longer than that. Throw in Wicked: For Good being two hours and seventeen minutes long itself, the whole package never justifies that length. There’s a three hour version of these two stories that might not satisfy hardcore fans, but would solve the pacing issues that plague both films. Here, the movie is also knocked down by the songs not being as strong. Nothing was going to match Defying Gravity, but the songs from the show don’t land as hard, while the two original numbers added here do not work at all. Those dings in the armor of the flick ultimately doom it, at least for yours truly.

Wicked: For Good will likely delight fans of the first one, as well as Grande devotees. The thing is, the bloat in both flicks just winds up keeping things from landing as it should. Even if it had been three hours long, one big Wicked adaptation would have been an emotional wallop, one that likely would’ve proven impossible to resist. Instead, the split, which has no creative merit, only financial, is a dealbreaker for some. I was on the fence, but when things ended, I realized how much more I would have felt for the characters had there not been an extra hour or two of padding, as well as a year delay in finishing the story. Alas.

SCORE: ★★1/2