Wicked: For Good

Presenting the second-half of the Broadway musical Wicked as its own movie, I'll admit enjoying Wicked: For Good slightly more than Wicked: Part I. Tension is already set at the beginning of the film as time has past since Elphaba Thropp's (Cynthia Erivo) decision to stand against the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum). And, honestly, things are not going all that great for the most powerful witch in Oz. The Wizard's soldiers are hunting her with his propaganda machine in full gear painting Elphaba as the cause for all evil. And the animals which Elphaba wishes to save, those who aren't being caged, are fleeing Oz in great numbers unable to trust any humans.

Stylistically the film has the same highs and lows as Wicked with some impressive CGI and sets, and every once in a while the camera catches something that looks like it might have been borrowed from a junior high drama department. However, the film does have the advantage of The Wizard of Oz characters and subplot teased in short sequence, often from behind or at a great distance. Although we learn the backstory of our Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion, we don't get a good look at Dorothy whose climactic moment with or Wicked Witch is framed in a simple, yet highly effective, manner.

Despite her best friend's distress, things otherwise start great for Glinda (Ariana Grande) who the Wizard has framed as the embodiment of good to fight the Wicked Witch. She'll get her own journey through the movie, questioning her own actions and whether or not getting everything you ever wanted is a "good" thing, as the sequel really does put the friendship, and choices, of these two characters front and center. Allowing Glinda to grow up a bit also helps Grande's performance offering her much more emotional motivation to play with on-screen.

We may not get "Defying Gravity," but overall I enjoyed the music of this second-half of the story more than Wicked providing short (often sadder) reprises for the first film's big numbers along with the wacky "Wonderful" which offers a bit of false hope all can be resolved peacefully and the standout "No Good Deed" which gives us our Wicked Witch fully embracing her destiny.

There are nagging issues with film's plot that shouldn't be problems for a story that had five hours to work everything out. The idea of water being the weapon to be deployed against the witch is never explained, simply introduced. It's not only the soldiers who believe this idea but also apparently the Wizard making a crucial plot point perplexing at best. Was this simply rumor and propaganda that became accepted (even by those who know better)? Why not weave the idea as misdirection caused by Elphaba or even Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) allowing our protagonists to create the key piece of misinformation on which everything rests.

And there's Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) whose power boost in the second film as a witch to rival Elphaba, but then who doesn't, is inexplicable. While central to the story, our Wizard isn't needed to do much here other than be symbol for Elphaba to overcome (which, of course, he cannot on his own). Madame Morrible's powers are a bit of an ex machina to introduce The Wizard of Oz elements and also provide some power behind the throne, but if she's really this powerful why would she ever need the Wizard (or be content to be his lapdog)?

Splitting the story into halves works well enough as ultimately a five-hour version of these two films wouldn't be strong enough to keep my attention. That said, I will give the sequel credit for making some improvements as Wicked: For Good is a far tighter and more focused film with its themes of betrayal and Disney-esque civil unrest are much stronger than thirtysomethings playacting school drama backstory. Honestly, I think much of the first film (some of which gets paid off here) could have been greatly truncated given how Wicked: Part I is mostly setup for the meat of the story explored here.

• Title: Wicked: For Good
• IMDb: link