Jon M. Chu | 2hr 17min
Jon M. Chu was fortunate indeed that adding another hour to his adaptation of Wicked’s first act felt like an act of generosity rather than indulgence, opening up the world of Oz as seen through Elphaba and Glinda’s eyes with whimsical, steampunk flair. The narrative had room to breathe, sidestepping accusations of a cash grab despite splitting the musical into two extended parts – only for the languid, uneven pacing of Wicked: For Good to partially erode that goodwill. This is not to say that it lacks creative ambition, as this second chapter dazzles with its lavish production design and a duo of commanding performances, yet still the story’s faltering momentum blunts the emotional urgency of its eccentric, fantastical spectacle.
At the source of this structural imbalance, one must turn to the inherent flaws of the theatrical source material. Where Act 1 of Wicked is buoyed by its freedom from The Wizard of Oz, Act 2 stretches to fit around its narrative, and incidentally features far fewer showstopping songs. To compensate here, Chu takes significant musical liberties, most notably folding reprises of ‘The Wizard and I’, ‘What is this Feeling?’, and ‘Popular’ into the opening number ‘Every Day More Wicked’ like a sweeping recap. It’s difficult to blame him for trying to recapture the magic of those melodies too, especially given that the two entirely new pieces in this film are a little shakier. While ‘No Place Like Home’ offers a tender reflection on Elphaba’s duty to a realm that despises her, ‘The Girl in the Bubble’ is a dull excuse to grant Ariana Grande her own solo, evidently angling for Best Original Song consideration at the Oscars.
Where Wicked: For Good does largely succeed is in the staging of its cornerstone set pieces. Despite being the film’s namesake, ‘For Good’ cannot be counted among those, denying Cynthia Erivo and Grande the cinematic resonance that their dynamite performances otherwise deserve. Instead, ‘No Good Deed’ stands as its apex, underscoring Elphaba’s rejection of ‘goodness’ as she takes up residence in a gravity-defying castle of inverted arches and hanging columns that seem to float without foundation. Against the orange glow of the setting sun, frozen visions of her innocent past propel her towards a bitter embrace of the title bestowed upon her, cementing her identity as the Wicked Witch of the West. It is an impressive sequence to be sure, but not entirely outshone by the carnivalesque spectacle of ‘Wonderful’, where the Wizard’s mechanical gimmicks, magic tricks, and colourful lights conspire to mask the hollowness beneath his charisma.
Though Wicked: For Good’s narrative itself lacks the drive of its predecessor, its expanded scope is not all in vain, building out characters beyond their stage-bound outlines. Nessarose benefits here in an additional scene as the new Governess of Munchkinland, grappling with her sister’s abandonment and straining to keep Boq by her side, while a flashback to Glinda’s childhood teases out her long-held insecurity of a life built on charm rather than magic. Most radical of all though is Elphaba’s arc as an animal rights crusader, reframed as a resistance fighter directly dismantling Oz’s systemic exploitation. Quiet unexpectedly, even the Cowardly Lion assumes a larger role in this storyline, representing a reactionary backlash from within the animal community she seeks to protect.
If there is anything that Wicked: For Good improves on over the stage show, it is this refined clarity of character objectives, layering Elphaba and Glinda’s complex friendship of dualities with greater personal stakes. Unfortunately, as a consequence of drawing out so many subplots, Chu runs into an issue when the story starts overlapping with The Wizard of Oz. Where the stage show’s brisk pacing once smoothed over the deliberate omissions of Dorothy’s journey through Oz, here Wicked: For Good feels disjointed in its fragmentary allusions. What once functioned as ironic subversion of a fairytale framework now registers as conspicuous absence, awkwardly skipping over any scene that involves Dorothy while lavishing painstaking attention on every other narrative beat.
Wicked: For Good may not match the coherency of its first part, but with that said, the visual grandeur remains a triumph of design and imagination. For all its structural missteps, Chu’s second chapter never lacks conviction in its world building, rendering Oz as a dreamscape of green, pink, and golden opulence. If the first film was a soaring act of liberation, then Wicked: For Good is a messier, heavier reckoning, burdened by the impossible weight of cinematic canon yet determined to carve out a space for reinvention.
Wicked: For Good is currently playing in cinemas.
