‘Wicked For Good’ Review

In the interest of fairness, musicals must be evaluated differently from other films. On-the-nose exposition, and characters telling you exactly what they’re feeling at every moment in a way that would be infantilizing in a classical drama, is instead acceptable when done through song.

But even with this alternative grading scale, ‘Wicked: For Good’ is a disappointment, with such drab lighting and lazy choreography that you would get as much enjoyment from turning on the soundtrack and closing your eyes.

‘Wicked: For Good’ picks up right where the previous one left off. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is banished from Oz, with the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), using the state’s considerable propaganda power to ensure the citizenry believes her to be a villain who wishes to see all Ozians die. While Elphaba looks to free all of the enslaved animals and reveal the Wizard for the liar she knows him to be, Galinda (Ariana Grande) takes on a larger role within Oz as a figurehead, a good witch to bring hope and optimism back to the people, even at the risk of corroborating the Wizard’s lies about Elphaba. Torn between Elphaba and Galinda is Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), tasked with hunting down the Wicked Witch while being arranged to marry Galinda at Oz’s version of a royal wedding, even as he knows Elphaba is in the right.

People, understandably, come to musicals for the music. And while ‘Wicked: For Good’ doesn’t have any songs that quite match the highs of 2024’s ‘Wicked’, there are still several numbers that will stick in your head long after the film ends. But unfortunately, these musical numbers are filmed so unimaginatively, with so little interest in creative choreography or blocking, as to frustrate more than they delight. A new song for this film, ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ is the only number that has some clever filmmaking, having Ariana Grande actually interact with her setting, while all of the other songs are presented with all of the energy of an Ambien.

Jon M. Chu is the most milquetoast of directors, exhibiting an over-reliance on visual effects and a lack of confidence in those same effects, choosing instead to shoot his actors in medium close ups with shallow focus, disconnected from their environment, preventing any opportunity for immersion. There is color, but none of it pops as every scene is lit so flatly, so dimly as to wash everything out.

The performances throughout are uneven, with Cynthia Erivo solid, even as she seems more comfortable with the songs than the dialogue, and Jeff Goldblum delightful, playing the Wizard as … Jeff Goldblum. Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey deliver strong turns as Elphaba’s conflicted friends, while Michelle Yeoh and Marissa Bode are unfortunately weak, seemingly unable to grasp their characters and thus delivering line readings with a little too much mustard.

As ‘Wicked: For Good’ aligns more directly with the plot from the original ‘The Wizard of Oz’, scenes come more quickly, shifting characters’ allegiances and motivations in ways jarring and head-scratching. In one scene, Elphaba is looking to free the animal slaves of Oz, in the next she’s screaming viciously at a young girl to take off her shoes. It’s an impressive feat of corporate filmmaking that a three hour ‘Wicked’ musical can be stretched into two movies, totaling five hours, and yet the filmmakers still end up feeling rushed at the end, prioritizing plot over character in a disorienting frenzy.

With all of this stagnant filmmaking and lethargic pacing, ‘Wicked: For Good’ fails, like its predecessor, at matching any of the wonder and awe from the original ‘The Wizard of Oz’, such that when the final musical note swelled and the credits came on screen, I was left not with a sense of triumph, but relief that it was finally over.

Wicked: For Good
Rated PG for action/violence, some suggestive material and thematic material.
Running Time: 2 hours and 17 minutes

Director Jon M. Chu
Writers Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox
Stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Rating PG
Running Time 137 Minutes
Genres Fantasy, Musical