When Wicked Part One came out a year ago, it sparked a phenomenon that has been consistently carried over the long 12 months in between the two movies. Now that part two, or “For Good,” has come out, it’s safe to say the hype was not misplaced, nor is this franchise going anywhere.
“For Good” picks up a year after the first (matching up with the real-life premier schedule) and quickly sets up where the characters from the first part have ended up. Elphaba is flying around Oz, attempting to warn the people of the Wizard’s lies and deceits, but is only misunderstood and continually accused of being wicked. Galinda has fully stepped into her role as “The Good Witch,” despite not having any actual magical powers. Fiyero now works at the royal guard, Madame Morrible is the press secretary for the wizard and the Wizard is still just as much of a fraud as he was before.
One criticism of the film that I actually agree with is that the movie has very odd pacing. The beginning film opens very intensely with Elphaba’s action-packed scenes, and heaps of introductions and exposition, and then immediately tapers off into a slow crawl of nothingness for about an hour. Galinda does bureaucracy stuff, Elphaba is misunderstood, Galinda does bureaucracy stuff, Elphaba is misunderstood, back and forth for a long, long time. When the plot does finally pick up again, it comes as a relief, but then makes the second half feel very, very rushed.
Given how long it took to fully create, I was not expecting the plot and message of the movie to be so timely, but watching the film in theaters, I was struck by just how many parallels were being drawn with the present day. Of course, the apartheid metaphor is very strong as it was with the original musical (Animals and Munchkins not being allowed to travel without special passes), but the detention, deportation and fleeing of the animals is heavily reminiscent of the current immigration situation. I think it’s a sign of how well this movie was produced and directed that it was so strikingly familiar to the real world, even given the fantastical setting.
One of the criticisms I have heard about this movie is that it “spent too much time setting up the Wizard of Oz,” which is a statement that really confuses me. Fundamentally, the entirety of the wicked franchise (including the first movie) functions as a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, so yeah, of course its story is going to work to set up its plot and explain how it aligns with the wicked-specific aspects of the universe. I personally think that’s a weak criticism because it implies you just misunderstood the context of wicked.
And of course, you can’t talk about this movie without talking about the singing. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande gave stunning performances throughout the movie, and almost all of the supporting cast were great. The only issue I had with some of it was that some characters were very noticeably autotuned (Madame Morrible…), but otherwise, of course, stunning.
Finally, I want to talk about the creative design of the movie. The lighting, costuming, and set pieces for the film feel so real and beautiful, and there is seemingly painstaking detail in every last piece of the movie. Some personal favorite standouts: the design of the guard’s uniform with the permanent one-shoulder jacket look is so crisp and creative, the Hitler reference in the scene where the Wizard bounces the globe around is creative and visually revealing and the castle in which Elphaba hides out at the end of the film is genuinely so imposing looking, it really creates the sense of her leaning into her own wickedness.
Wicked “For Good” was a wonderful addition to the franchise and was a good sequel to the first. While plot-wise, I don’t think it can stand on its own, all of its other strengths make it a must-watch for any musical lover, or really anyone who wants to spend two hours watching one of the best movies of the year.
