The first Wicked film was everywhere, but Wicked for Good arrived almost silently, and that worried me. So the real question walking into the theater was simple: can Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo actually deliver a finale that lives up to the hype the first movie created?

So, is this film ticket worthy? Is Wicked for Good worth your time? Not every film, especially musicals are for everyone. So, let’s get into if Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo stick the landing on this one.

You can read the review below or watch the video review on YouTube:

The Emerald City and Oz are in chaos. The Wicked Witch is on the loose. The animals are losing their voices. Fear is everywhere, and Madame Morrible and the Wizard are using Glinda to calm and inspire the people. There are a few core stories that come together in Wicked for Good, which include the evolution of Fiyero and Glinda’s relationship, Madame Morrible’s constant stoking of the public’s fear, Nessa’s growing anger at her situation, and Elphaba’s isolation from everyone she cares about.

These are all big stories with big themes, and Wicked for Good simply picks up where the last film left off, without playing catchup for people who haven’t seen the original.

As tensions rise in Oz, Glinda and Fiyero are forced closer into a confrontation with Elphaba. That’s when we start to see cracks emerge in the carefully constructed Oz façade as they choose what they are willing to live with and what they can’t live without. That’s where the film finally starts showing us the complexities of these characters rather than the more stereotypical fantasy tropes that we get in the first film. Their personal conflicts create personal wounds and solidify relationships the push them into a final confrontation that will impact all of Oz.

First Impressions

One of the most impressive things about this film is the confidence with which Jon Chu opens the story. The construction of the yellow brick road, the cruelty toward the animals who are being used as fuel for its creation, and Elphaba’s intervention in that process sets the tone for everything that follows. That single moment defines the central conflict. Elphaba is placed directly in the crosshairs of the Wizard’s emerging industrial regime, which is trying to create stability and security for Oz that puts all of the power into the hands of the Emerald City.

Glinda steps into her new public role as political forces escalate the situation by turning Elphaba into a symbol of fear. The tragedy is that while everyone essentially desires safety, happiness, and the ability to control their own lives, only a few of them understand who they are really fighting against.

I keep hearing people complaining that the Wizard is made out to be the bad guy, that it subverts the original Wizard of Oz story, and that the “Wicked Witch” is made into the hero. If that’s the story you saw, you weren’t paying attention to the finer details that Jon Chu threaded into the story lines. I’m not going into spoilers here other than what we already know from the first film and the trailer, but seriously, Jon Chu actually shows us the villain who is really pulling the strings and it’s not the Wizard.

Heroes vs Villains

Wicked for Good challenges our ideas of heroes and villains as well as good and bad, but in ways that are a little different than expected. On the surface, the Wizard looks like the evil mustache twirling villain, but he is almost as much of a. mouthpiece for someone else as his giant Wizard face in the reception hall is for him. There is a moment in the film when he and Elphaba have an incredibly honest conversation about correcting the narrative and what the people will and won’t believe and how little power he has to change their perceptions. When you watch the movie or think back on it, if you have already seen it, I encourage you to really pay attention to what the Wizard really desires. He’s not evil, perhaps a little misguided, but not evil, and he isn’t really in control of Oz.

For example, Elphaba unwittingly becomes the villain of her story. She’s absolutely not a hero or at least she is not the hero that she imagines herself to be when looking back at the repercussions, even though she knows what she was fighting for was a good thing. By going up against the Wizard (without realizing her true opponent was actually Madame Morrible) she misses her chance to make an alliance by reacting to so many situations in a way that made it easy for Morrible to brand her as “Wicked” instead of thinking strategically about why the Wizard is doing what he’s doing, even after hearing his subtle admissions to wanting things to be different. As a result, in her fight to help people and the animals in need, she creates a series of unintended consequences that more often harm the very people she was trying to help, making it that much easier to be branded as “wicked” and that much harder to redeem herself in the eyes of the people.

Meanwhile, Glinda steps into public life guided by Madame Morrible as the Emerald City’s way of inspiring people to be calm and happy while they also look to the Wizard for protection from the Wicked Witch. Morrible gives her an electronic bubble to fly around in and a fancy fake wand to complete the picture as well as a fairy tale perfect wardrobe to make her look the part. However, even though this is everything Glinda wanted, she can’t escape how fake and false it all is and that realization slowly seeps into the way she sees herself and her role. She’s pinned up at the hero and the antithesis of everything that Elphaba is as the Wicked Witch, but she loves her friend and she knows that they are the same. They care about the same things, want the same things, and are trapped in the same fight … just on different sides of the conflict with no clear idea of how to solve the problem.

And then Dorothy arrives, bringing the primary battle between the wicked and the good as she goes to the witch’s castle to complete her task of bringing back the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wizard never tells her to kill Elphaba in the book or in the film, but because Dorothy’s story is left out of this film we actually don’t see the battle in anything but a shadow play on the wall. She is celebrated as a hero for killing the Wicked Witch, but that is never what she intended to do nor was it something the Wizard tells her to do. It’s largely an accident on her part, but one that is setup but I won’t say by whom because of spoilers.

What we get here is a complex look at heroism and villainy and the fine line between those two roles and how perception of the people watching it all unfold can be curated and directed to turn villains into heroes and villains into heroes as well as how to hide the true villain in the shadows of the story where they can pull the strings to create a new reality that benefits the power broker that nobody ever suspects.

What I love about this story in Wicked for Good is that it never actually takes a side. It never chooses the Wizard, Glinda, or Elphaba as the hero or the villain. It merely presents their stories as promoted by Madame Morrible and it leaves us to come to our own decision, and there is a bitter truth that all three of them could have been happy together in Oz, if they were given the chance.

Musical Highlights

The performances of both Arianna Grande and Cynthia Erivo are both fantastic. They are talented performers and the actresses just melt away into their characters, keeping the story front and center the whole time. However, this is a musical. So, we should talk about the music, and I was honestly surprised that the music in this film is its most surprising achievement because I have always preferred the music from the first half of the stage play. So, I went into Wicked for Good expecting a ho-hum musical story, but Stephen Schwartz’s return to compose two new songs gives the film a cohesion that ties the old and new music together beautifully. It elevates the story in this film to actually be deeper and much more mature than in the first film. Plus, the two new songs allows us to see who Elphaba and Glinda are when their masks fall away.

“The Girl in the Bubble” is where Glinda finally stops performing her happiness. Ariana Grande shows us the loneliness behind the glitter and shine of being Glinda the Good. It’s the moment when she steps away from the part she has been playing for everyone and becomes the person she wants to be for herself.

“No Place Like Home” is Elphaba’s emotional center. Cynthia Erivo’s voice reveals the grief, longing, and clarity that define the loneliness of her journey. She loves Oz even though Oz has rejected her at every turn. The song captures the essence of her story and the longing of a woman trying to do what’s right in a world determined to misunderstand her.

Jonathan Bailey’s song as Prince Fiyero and Elphaba admit their love to each other adds warmth to the film. He’s handsome and strong, and he’s got a great singing voice. However, during that romantic scene, it feels a bit like he’s over acting and it creates some odd facial expressions that just popped me out of the movie. But it wasn’t enough to ruin the film or his character.

Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum remain compelling as actors, but unsurprisingly, their songs are not a high point. It’s not that they can’t sing. Hey, they sing better than I do, that’s for sure, but when compared to the voices of Arianna Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey they just sound weak and you just want them to stop.

Visual Effects

As good as the music and acting is in Wicked for Good, the effects blow everything else away. This film is gorgeous in every way. From the physical set designs to the digital effects, the cinematic triumph of this film is the visuals. This movie is cinematic magic.

In the first film, there were occasional moments when the digital effects created this uncomfortable blur that hurt my eyes, but that was not an issue here. It really goes to show how quickly digital tools are improving and how much a talented engineer can improve the audience experience because these effects were dialed in and gorgeous The combination of the cinematography, costuming, and effects created a world that feels consistent and real from scene to scene.

If this is the future of AI-assisted effects, used by talented human engineers who have the vision and imagination for seamlessly blending physical and digital designs, I think Hollywood films just might have a chance of pushing films into a new era of design, especially since this film reportedly only cost around $150 million to make.

Recommendation

So, is Wicked for Good ticket worthy? Well, it’s not perfect, but it’s a lot of fun. It respects the audience, the characters, and the legacy of The Wizard of Oz. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande deliver strong performances. Plus, the music was so much better than expected, the visuals were outstanding, and the story comes together in a way that feels earned … but with two giant exceptions. If you haven’t seen Wicked or The Wizard of Oz, you are going to be absolutely lost. If you saw Wicked but not The Wizard of Oz you won’t be lost, but you’re not really going to get the most out of the ending and the story as a whole.

If you enjoyed the first film, you will almost certainly enjoy this one. It ties everything together with emotional maturity, musical strength, and thematic depth. The character arcs land, the story expands meaningfully, and the world feels complete. So, yes, for fans of Wicked and for fans of The Wizard of Oz, Wicked for Good is absolutely ticket worthy.

Now, bringing us back to reality, if you don’t enjoy musicals or drama-focused fantasy storytelling, this film won’t change your mind because it embraces those genres completely and never apologizes for it.

Final Thoughts

So, Wicked for Good, have you seen it? Are you planning to? Did you enjoy the first film? And, most controversial of all, do you think they should do a remake of the OG film The Wizard of Oz? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, please give it a like and subscribe for more. You can also visit my YouTube channel at @ErinUnderwood for more videos.

***

If you’d like to read WICKED, listen to the soundtrack, or catch up on The Wizard of Oz, you can use my Amazon Associate links:

• Wicked for Good, soundtrack (streaming): https://amzn.to/3KcM7Pe
• Wicked by Gregory Maguire (paperback book): https://amzn.to/48pN5zP
• Wicked by Gregory Maguire (audiobook): https://amzn.to/3KpLWQE
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, illustrated by L. Frank Baum (paperback book): https://amzn.to/3Xi1Pvt
• The Wizard of Oz, 75th Anniversary film (Prime Video): https://amzn.to/4ahJMgp