fans of the original Wicked Of course, gonna get stuck Wicked: for goodThe second half of the story picks up several years later and brings the story of Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo) to a big, rousing conclusion with all the stunning visuals, costumes, and effects you fell in love with in the first film, However, the problem is for good Doesn’t do anything more than that. It is driven by a long, repetitive story that lacks the innocence and exploration of the first film, while also being darker and less fun. That’s certainly the point, but it makes this sequel pale in comparison to the original.
When last we left the wonderful world of Oz, Elphaba had fully embraced her powers as a witch and left Glinda unsure of her future, while all of Oz was unaware of the powerless evil of its Wizard, played by Jeff Goldblum. Wicked: for good There’s some vague timeline after that, which is a little confusing because not much has changed in the beginning. (There is a fleeting mention of “12 tide turns”, which suggests 12 years, but it’s not something that’s given enough weight or clarity to land impressively). Elphaba is still trying to prove that the Wizard is evil and save Oz, while Glinda is still torn between her dreams and her friend. They’re almost exactly the same, except each is much more famous now.
Basically, the world around both of these characters has changed a bit, but neither of them have, which immediately spoils. for good Loss. In the first film there was a lot of concern about where these characters might go. So, when you realize that neither of them have achieved anything noteworthy in such a long time, it’s a sign that there isn’t a lot of room left for this story. Everyone only needs to do one or two things to achieve their goals, and yet, they haven’t done it. How does this get pulled off into an entire movie? How much longer can they delay the inevitable?
Presumably, writers Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, along with director Jon M. Chu, are simply following the overarching narrative created by the original stage production. The point is that when you see Wicked On stage, you don’t leave during intermission for a year. Everything works better when it’s fresh in your mind and less cinematic. This adaptation really suffers by not spending a little more time covering what’s happened since the previous film. Instead, it comes back as if nothing happened, which makes things confusing and quickly repetitive.
You’ll be left scratching your head about how characters like Elphaba’s sister Nessa (Marisa Bode), her school friend Bok (Ethan Slater), and shared love interest Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) got their new roles. What happened that transformed Glinda from schoolgirl to this new megastar? Has Elphaba really made no progress in a decade?
With so little context, those stories and questions just keep going round and round Wicked: for good In a pattern. Some big event happens. Elphaba appears. Glinda comes in. There’s an action scene, a reconciliation and then the same is repeated. Every time, the story progresses ridiculously slowly. Some of those action scenes give the film a boost, giving the film a different feel from its predecessor, but we’re not looking for that. Wicked To fight or flight.
However, we will be watching the music. Most of the songs in this for good do a good job of explaining what’s going on or trying to flesh out those characters, but very few are as memorable or powerful as songs from the first part like “The Wizard and I,” “Popular,” or “Defying Gravity.” The exception is the title “For Good”, which comes at the end of the film when it finally decides to move things forward in a meaningful way. It’s a sweet, intimate moment between the characters, and it really highlights everything that each has gone through. However, by then, there was a long-running debate over which half Wicked Better songs make you feel stronger For good. Answer? Not this one.
No matter which side of that debate you’re on, though, the songs are one place where Erivo and Grande continue to shine. Each is effortlessly present and charismatic in their performances. We saw a lot of that in the first film, but it continues here as everyone eventually has to make some life-changing, difficult decisions. Of the two, it’s typically Grande who rises above. There are more shades of gray in Glinda’s story than Elphaba’s, and Grande does a great job of making us feel that conflict. His performance is undoubtedly the bright spot in an otherwise questionable film.
Another highlight is the entire Wizard of Oz-Sensitivity towards film. One of the most exciting choices in both this film and the original musical is to make this story one big puzzle into which the characters and story from the original 1939 film can fit. So, in a lot Back to the Future Part II By the way, it’s incredibly rewarding to know how both Glinda and especially Elphaba influence that story, even when it doesn’t all fit together. However, the big downside is that this movie makes you want to watch and learn about 1939 Wizard of Oz Incredibly good, which, hopefully, most of us have. If you haven’t, you might be left scratching your head over all this stuff about Toto, Kansas, buckets of water, and tornadoes.
Finally, we found Wicked: for good To be a weird movie. There are moments where the performances and visuals really hit home the impact and bring everyone together. But, more often than not, we were left disappointed by how little the film was as memorable or special as the first part, or other fantasy films for that matter. Wicked: for good It doesn’t seem like it, but it always feels like a by-the-numbers, A-to-Z conclusion to this story, with extended moments that stretch it out to feature length. In part One, we constantly felt that building Wicked The two films were the right choice. have seen now for goodIt seems maybe that wasn’t the case.
But, still, most of this won’t matter to fans who are dying to see this world, these actors, and these characters again. That thing is absolutely fine. We just want it to be in service of a more powerful, interesting, cohesive and complete story.
Wicked: for good In theaters November 21st.
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