Wicked: For Good review – Behold, the magic of cinema!
I thought there was no way that Wicked: For Good could top Wicked. The first part contained the most memorable songs and I vaguely remembered the story from seeing the show, whereas I had no recollection of the second part at all, leading me to think it must be unremarkable. It may have been on stage, but that’s certainly not the case with the movie, which is an absolute delight and somehow even better than its predecessor.
In Wicked: For Good, which picks up several years after Wicked, the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madam Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) have been spreading lies about Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), branding her the Wicked Witch of the West throughout Oz, while promoting Glinda to Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande). Our leads have to fight for their friendship while their standing in society – and mutual love of Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) – threaten to tear it apart. They are tested even further when a young woman named Dorothy arrives in Oz!
I really thought this would be the disappointing part but I surprisingly liked it more than the first. By splitting the story into two films, Jon M. Chu has the time and space to give the characters more depth, make the most of the songs and flesh out the central conflict – the pull of friendship versus doing what’s right – for maximum impact. As a result, he has made an absolutely beautiful and surprisingly moving film that brought tears to my eyes.
The second half doesn’t have a rousing showstopper like Defying Gravity, but numbers like No Good Deed and For Good are far superior to their stage show versions. They are powerful, emotional and capture the gravity of the situation and are so well performed (those voices!) that everyone in my screening burst into applause. I also loved the delightful staging of Goldblum’s number, Wonderful, and liked Erivo’s new song, No Place Like Home, a meaningful call to action that she sings to the animals. On the negative side, Yeoh should not be given any singing, and Grande’s original song, The Girl in the Bubble, is underwhelming and didn’t add much to the story.
Both of the lead performances were once again terrific, and it’s impressive that they filmed both parts at the same time and were able to create such a distinction between the versions of their characters. I expect both to get Oscar nominations for their work, but I feel like Grande could actually win. Her crying scenes at the end are so touching! Glinda is considerably different this time – she is no longer the shallow hair-tossing girl; she is more serious, has deeper feelings, and is conflicted about liking her new life in Oz and disapproving of how Elphaba is treated. She still has comedic moments though, and the film overall has a good balance of light and dark.
Just like the first part, this film is joyous, beautiful, spectacular and a technical marvel. I’m predicting Oscar nominations for production design, costume design, cinematography and hair and make-up at the very least. I’m now torn over whether I want Frankenstein or Wicked: For Good to win these categories! They are both stunning cinematic spectacles on an epic scale. This is what cinema is all about!
In cinemas from Friday 21st November