The epic conclusion to the musical phenomenon.
Wicked: For Good is the second part of the movie adaptation of the musical by the same name. This adapts the second half of the musical, which would normally happen after a 20-minute intermission, but this movie took a break of about a year. Timeline-wise, we pick up a year after the first film. Everyone has fallen into their roles, whether they like them or not. Elpheba is still fighting for the freedom of the animals and against Oz, and although Glinda has assumed her role as “Glinda the Good”, she is still a friend to Elpheba. If you have seen the musical, you know how this is going to play out, but for those who haven’t, I will just say I was happy with the conclusion.
In this second part, Dorothy arrives, and we get to see the ripples of her actions and who each of her companions ends up being. I love that this musical tries to contextualize the original story, and although Dorothy has her fun adventure, as we all know, there is a larger story happening in this world. I think they do a great job fleshing that out in these two films and giving the world more gravitas.
Of course, it being a musical, there are songs. I thought they were fine. I think personally I’m just more of a fan of faster, upbeat songs, which typically happen in act one. I did like Popular and Defying Gravity, but I feel there weren’t as many hard hitters in the sequel for me personally. Not to say they aren’t good, I just don’t think they were as catchy, but I think the songs all add to the moment, visually they look great, and the choreography is fun. They just probably won’t make it onto my personal playlist.
Overall, if you were a fan of the first one, give this one a watch. It continues with its great quality, and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo both do another fantastic job. If you’re curious for more, check out the trailer below.
-Jared Gomes
