The complex relationship between the witches from L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz comes to an epic and dour conclusion in Wicked: For Good, an adaptation of the second half of Stephen Schwartz’s 2003 musical, which debuts in Prague and cinemas worldwide this weekend. The many pleasures of the first Wicked film—extravagant set and costume design, colorful effects, commanding central performances, and some bubbly, catchy tunes—are all diminished to some extent this time around, making the decision to cleave the stage musical in two perhaps a wise one: at least they got one good film out of it.
Still, there’s enough magic left over to please undemanding fans of the earlier movie, and as a largely faithful adaptation of the second act of the musical—for good and bad—Wicked: For Good represents a serviceable conclusion to the story. But as a standalone feature film, the listless, choppy narrative makes for a tough sit; despite being half an hour shorter than the first movie, this feels considerably longer.
After an engaging Harry Potter-style setup, Wicked ended with Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) flying off into the sunset to be branded the Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda (Ariana Grande) staying in Emerald City to become Glinda the Good—public personas entirely created by the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) to serve their propaganda and keep the residents of Oz living in a permanent state of fear against an imaginary enemy that only they can deal with.
Of course, Elphaba and Glinda are not embodiments of good or evil but complex characterizations who express anger, resentment, grief, sorrow, and joy—sometimes all within the same song. As brought to vivid life by Erivo and Grande, they are rich and even moving personifications that give unexpected depth to the memorable but one-note portrayals in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.
But that was all accomplished in the first film. While the actresses, at least, are no less interesting to watch here, the problem with Wicked: For Good is that these characters have no arc. Elphaba and Glinda end the film on the same note they began it, and the entire movie up to the climax could be cleaved off without the audience missing a beat.
What are we left with in Wicked: For Good? A lot of connect-the-dots to explicitly tie the film into the 1939 classic. You probably never wondered how the monkeys got their wings in that film, but Wicked answered that question in laborious detail. That level of exposition is endlessly and often senselessly repeated here, as we get the origin story of the Yellow Brick Road, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and nearly every plot point of The Wizard of Oz, the events of which occur in the background during this film’s climax.
This film gets so lost in needless exposition that it casts aside the supporting characters so nicely developed in the first film. Wicked: For Good only cares about love interests Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Boq (Ethan Slater), and Elphaba’s sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) in how they tie into the the events of the 1939 movie, and wastes three charming performances in the process. But they’re not the only ones who get shortchanged here.
In Wicked, one of the key moments involves Glinda taking malicious action against Elphaba out of jealousy, revealing much-needed layers of depth to her character. That moment is repeated here, but the screenplay (by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, adapting Schwartz’s musical based on the book by Gregory Maguire) robs Glinda of her agency. Instead of acting out against Elphaba during the film’s climax, the film transitions her inner conflict to the Morrible character, and misses an opportunity to provide Glinda with some moral complexity.
Still, while the first film gave us plenty of Elphaba backstory, one of the best moments here recounts Glinda’s: at a childhood birthday party, she is unable to conjure magic with a gifted wand but takes credit for a rainbow that appears over the horizon. It’s a nice little moment that underscores the character, and the actress portraying the young Glinda is perfectly cast.
The narrative issues in Wicked: For Good could be covered up with enough of the razzle-dazzle that so impressed in the first film, but even that is lacking here. The gorgeous Emerald City sets and costumes are still visible in early scenes, but slowly fade from the movie as it transitions to the darker settings of the rather nondescript swamp where Elphaba takes refuge or the eventual Castle of the Wicked Witch. Instead of turning the bright, poppy visuals of the first film into the kind of camp horror of the original Oz, cinematography by Alice Brooks becomes more traditionally glum in the vein of later Harry Potter movies.
But the biggest drawback here, which fans of the musical will already be attuned to, is a real lack of standout songs. The musical was frontloaded with catchy tunes, and that becomes a real problem when splitting it in two. There are really only three memorable musical numbers here: Erivo’s rendition of No Place Like Home—a new song written for the movie—the effortlessly charming Goldblum’s warbling of Wonderful, backed by Grande, and the final duet For Good, which finally delivers on the level of the first movie and finishes off this one on a high note.
Despite satisfying moments of emotional clarity between the two central characters, Wicked: For Good fails to justify its existence as a standalone film. The decision to split the story leaves this second installment with little narrative momentum, relying heavily on exposition and reenactments of Oz mythology to fill the gaps. What remains is a visually muted and structurally uneven finale that, while serviceable for devoted fans, falls short of the magic that made the first film soar.
