On Nov. 21, “Wicked: For Good” was released. The first Wicked movie, which depicts Act 1 of the Broadway show of “Wicked,” came out on Nov. 22, 2024. With the release of “Wicked: For Good,” the story of Wicked is complete. This was a highly anticipated film, with many long-time Wicked fans, as well as new ones from the first “Wicked”.
“Wicked” ended with the powerful and emotional “Defying Gravity,” when Elphaba decided to use her powers against the corruption of the Wizard of Oz. The story picks back up in “Wicked: For Good” after four years, and Glinda has become a public figure as “Glinda The Good,” while Elphaba has become known as “The Wicked Witch of the West.”
Act 2 of Wicked has a much darker plot than Act 1. While “Wicked” tells the story of Elphaba and Glinda becoming friends at school and their journey to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, “Wicked: For Good” shows dark times in Oz. Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship is struggling, as Elphaba is being hunted by Madame Morrible and Glinda is a public figure in Oz. Tensions rise between them when Fiyero leaves Glinda on their wedding day to go with Elphaba. Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose, becomes “The Wicked Witch of the East” after casting a spell on Boq, which Elphaba has to fix by turning Boq into the Tinman. Nessarose is crushed by Dorothy’s house, and Elphaba and Glinda fight when Elphaba goes to say goodbye. Fiyero is then captured, and Elphaba saves him from being killed by turning him into the Scarecrow. Dorothy is sent to kill Elphaba, and Glinda watches Elphaba “die.” After Glinda and Dorothy leave, Elphaba comes out from hiding in the floorboards, and leaves Oz with Fiyero.
Although “Wicked: For Good” was very dark, I still enjoyed it. I was able to appreciate the many deep emotions and themes in this movie, while also enjoying the light-heartedness of the first film.
The plot of this film felt a bit rushed. There were a lot of plot points to cover, and many of them felt brushed past. I was looking forward to seeing the transformations of Boq and Fiyero into the Tinman and the Scarecrow, and I was not satisfied with how these scenes were portrayed. Boq’s transformation was good, but Fiyero’s was completely skimmed over.
The involvement of Dorothy was also very rushed. I liked how she was not the main focus, which would have taken away from the actual story of Wicked, but it was confusing to understand what was happening with her.
The first film did not feel rushed, and I think this was due to its longer run time which allowed more time to fully tell the story.“Wicked” had a run time of two hours and forty minutes, while “Wicked: For Good” was only two hours and seventeen minutes. Overall, the second movie should have been longer in order to highlight the full story.
The music in “Wicked: For Good” was amazing. Personally, the overall music in “Wicked” was better than “Wicked: For Good,” but the second film had some great songs as well. My favorites include “As Long As You’re Mine,” “No Good Deed,” “Thank Goodness/I Couldn’t Be Happier,” and “For Good.”
“Wicked: For Good” had two new songs, “The Girl in the Bubble” and “No Place Like Home.” “No Place Like Home” was a good song, but nothing jaw-dropping. “The Girl in the Bubble” felt the same way, but both songs added more depth to Elphaba and Glinda’s characters. “No Place Like Home” explores Elphaba questioning why she loves Oz, even though she has been treated poorly by the place. This song helps the audience sympathize with Elphaba, as she is being hunted and rejected by Oz but still loves it and wishes to save and protect her home. “The Girl in the Bubble” shows a turning point for Glinda when she realizes she must stand up for what is right, instead of performing for the public. Musically, these songs were a bit of a let down, but they add more meaning to the story of “Wicked: For Good.”
A large reason for the success of “Wicked: For Good” was the acting. This film had fantastic performances from actors such as Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, and Ethan Slater. Grande and Erivo had incredible musical performances, and they played the characters of Elphaba and Glinda very well. Bailey embodied the charismatic nature of Fiyero in “Wicked,” and perfectly displayed his character arc of becoming more serious and standing up for what is right. Slater had a great performance of Boq in “Wicked: For Good,” While Slater’s character was goofy in “Wicked,” Slater’s performance of the Tinman in “Wicked: For Good” was outstanding. He showed the Tinman’s anger towards Elphaba and Nessarose spectacularly, and his performance shined.
While most of the casting for “Wicked” and “Wicked: For Good” was great, there was one mistake that negatively affected the film. Michelle Yeoh was not a good fit to play Madame Morrible. Acting wise, Yeoh did a great job as Madame Morrible. She portrayed the evilness of Madame Morrible, and displayed how Morrible deceived Oz. Unfortunately, Yeoh could not fulfill the musical role of this film. Her singing was not good enough for this role, and it took away from the film.
“Wicked: For Good” was a great film, with fantastic musical and acting performances, and a deep and emotional storyline. Although, it did not fully live up to its high expectations set by the success of “Wicked.”
