REVIEW: 'Wicked: For Good' misses the mark
A year after Wicked became the highest-ever grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical, the sequel, Wicked: For Good, is here to complete the story of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), Glinda (Ariana Grande), and the Wizard of Oz.
The film picks up some time after last year’s cliffhanger, where Elphaba takes to the skies in her fight for Ozian rights against the land’s oppressive government. At the same time, her former best friend, Glinda, has become a mouthpiece for the regime. Making things more complicated, their old friend, Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), is now a member of the Wizard’s armed guards, tasked with capturing the so-called “Wicked Witch.” As Madame Morrible (Michele Yeoh) and The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) manipulate public opinion from behind the scenes, Glinda works with their corrupt administration in hopes of making Fiyero her husband.
Speaking as someone who read the book, adored the first film and paid to see three different productions of the play in two different countries, I’m going to come right out and say that Wicked: For Good isn’t good at all—it’s actually pretty terrible, representing everything fans were afraid Part One would be (before we actually saw it).
Granted, the second half of the play has always been weaker than the first, but the majority of the adaptation’s shortcomings have nothing to do with the source material. After all, despite Part One having a length equal to the play, while telling only half the story, the filmmakers justified its expanded runtime with inspired world-building and character development. For Good, on the other hand, embodies all the worst tendencies of modern blockbuster filmmaking, with shallow motivations and soulless CGI spectacle taking precedence over actual stakes or believable emotion.
Crucially, the emotional core of the film rings hollow, as Bailey and Erivo exhibit a devastating lack of anything approaching chemistry. Indeed, their big duet, As Long As You’re Mine, is so devoid of passion, it’s mesmerizing; when Elphaba delivers her immortal, “I feel Wicked,” line at the point of consummation (after removing her robes to put on a bulkier robe), you’ll just have to take her word for it.
Ironically, in a story about character assassination and historical revisionism, Glinda comes across as the most whitewashed, presented in the film as tragically misguided, rather than a willing participant who eventually comes to her senses. For Good even adds sequences—including one involving her trademark bubble, and another depicting a childhood flashback—to make her even more blatantly sympathetic. It’s like the filmmakers were so scared of Grande’s fans, they decided against making her character complicit.
Other changes from the play aren’t as egregious, such as Nessa’s ultimate wish and the increased role of the flying monkeys. However, the animals (whose plight in the first film was brilliantly expanded on) are little more than plot devices to drive a couple of action sequences, while giving Elphie an excuse to sing and wax poetic. Even the memorable Doctor Dillamond (Peter Dinklage)—whose greatest fear was losing his voice—doesn’t even get a word in here.
In Part One, the world of Oz dazzled with eye-popping production and costume design, while Erivo and Grande’s layered performances (and incredible vocals) elevated Elphie and Glinda from Broadway mainstays into a big-screen duo for the ages. For the most part, the same holds true here, as Erivo and Grande’s are fantastic as ever. Indeed, their vocals may be For Good’s sole saving grace, as each powers through the script’s contrivances to put their own unique spins on classic tracks like No Good Deed and I’m Not That Girl, respectively. The two new songs by original composer Stephen Shwartz are glorified fillers that aren’t objectively offensive, though their placements in the film lack subtlety to the point of pandering.
Which brings us to the point that trips up most prequels, namely, when they catch up to the stories they’re supposed to be prefacing. As the studio behind the film in question, Universal Pictures clearly wanted to have its cake and eat it, placing Elphie and Glinda on the sidelines of major canonical events (as in the play), but also trying to make huge deals out of those events while never actually showing Dorothy’s face. This becomes especially distracting during Boq’s March of the Witch Hunters solo, as the cinematography takes pains to never show who the luckless Munchkin is (literally) marching alongside.
All told, Wicked: For Good is a textbook example of why finales shouldn’t be broken into two films, as doing so tends to kill the story’s momentum, while forcing the filmmakers to fill both halves with enough to justify their existence. Ironically, For Good also manages to exemplify another type of film: the one whose predecessor ended so incredibly well, they never should have made a sequel in the first place. Just as Neo flew off to face his oppressors in the The Matrix, audiences everywhere would do well to just pretend that Elphaba took to the Western skies, leaving what came after up to their own imaginations.
Or better yet, just watch the play.