When we last left the Land of Oz, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) was flying off into the sky while Glinda (Ariana Grande) looked on. It was a bad time in Emerald City, but a great time for the audience. Even though I’d seen the musical a couple of times and knew exactly what was coming, I was eager to see how director Jon M. Chu, along with Erivo and Grande, would make the second half of the story, Wicked: For Good, their own.
Like most musicals, the second act doesn’t exactly burst out of the gate, and this film mostly falls into that trap. The first few minutes are fun, but soon the pacing crawls as the story gets padded with exposition that could’ve easily been condensed. Case in point: the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) has a song with Elphaba and Glinda. It’s… fine. Not a showstopper. And I found myself itching to get back to the meatier parts of the story.
Erivo and Grande, who were brilliant in the first film, pick up right where they left off and somehow soar even higher (sorry, couldn’t help it). Since they filmed both movies back-to-back, it makes sense, they’ve lived in these characters for so long that it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing them now.
In the first film, Erivo had the slight advantage because the story centered on Elphaba’s transformation into the Wicked Witch of the West. But this time, the spotlight shifts to Glinda. Grande has a lot more to do, and you can feel her relish every line. She starts the film disillusioned and sad, trying to maintain her cheerful facade. She’s now practically a double agent, working with the Wizard and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), thinking she can help the people of Oz more from the inside, all while secretly trying to help Elphaba.
Meanwhile, Elphaba has been hiding deep in the forest, working to take Oz down. When Glinda convinces her to meet with the Wizard, promising she can do more good by joining them, Elphaba reluctantly agrees, but only if all the imprisoned animals are freed. The Wizard agrees… and then she discovers a secret room filled with caged animals, including Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage). Her rage goes straight to eleven, and she goes full scorched earth.
Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), now working for Oz, is ordered to find and capture Elphaba but instead helps her escape because, well, he looooves her. Nessarose (Marissa Bode), now the mayor of Munchkinland after her father’s death, has been using her position to keep Boq (Ethan Slater) practically as her prisoner. The poor guy cannot catch a break.
Once Dorothy’s house drops onto Nessarose, Wicked and The Wizard of Oz start to mesh. Dorothy begins her quest to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West so she can get back to Kansas, and when Glinda warns Elphaba, she hatches a plan to take down the Wizard and free all of Oz.
Bailey has a lot more to do here, and he’s terrific. And if you had told me Boq was going to turn into a furious, vengeful Tin Man, I wouldn’t have believed you. But seeing Slater unleash that much rage? Shockingly scary and really fun. I’d honestly watch a spin-off of him storming around Oz and causing havoc.
Erivo has the voice of an angel, not a surprise if you saw the first film. And Chu clearly knows the talent he has in her; the number of close-ups makes sense because her face tells a whole story on its own. Grande, meanwhile, is even better this time. Looking at both films together, her arc from a slightly clueless, headstrong Galinda to truly becoming Glinda the Good is beautifully done.
Chu should direct every movie musical from now on. And while we’re at it, someone give him a superhero movie. His flying sequences with Elphaba are fantastic. I loved what James Gunn did in Superman, but Chu cranks the aerial work up several notches.
