Almost a year after the first “Wicked” movie was released, “Wicked: For Good” was released Nov. 21. After being left on a cliffhanger, “Wicked: For Good” is the movie adaptation of the second act.
But did the movie defy expectations?
“Wicked: For Good” jumps ahead a year from the events of the last movie. Glinda has taken up the role of being the “good witch,” while Elphaba has been exiled from the Emerald City and other parts of Oz.
“Wicked: For Good” also added two new songs to the movie: “No Place Like Home,” sung by Cynthia Erivo, and “Girl in the Bubble,” sung by Ariana Grande. The film extended brief scenes from the musical, such as Glinda and Fiyero’s wedding, showing Glinda getting ready and walking down the aisle. They also extended Elphaba’s rebellion, showing how once the animals were free, they trampled the Wizard.
The movie excelled in many areas, making it enjoyable to watch for fans.
Highlights from the movie
The cinematography was excellent. Every scene was filmed clearly, letting the viewer see every detail. The filmmakers also highlighted angles and lighting, helping showcase the characters’ developments and emotions.
The attention to detail in the movie was phenomenal. Every house and building was covered in detail from top to bottom. Every costume was beaded and stitched to capture the uniqueness of Oz. In different scenes, you can even see the subtle differences in Elphaba and Glinda’s hairstyles.
Similar to the first movie, the singing was amazing. In the song “Every Day More Wicked,” the encore singers harmonized beautifully, clearly portraying fear and worry in their voices. Another song that stood out was “I Couldn’t Be Happier” by Ariana Grande; her character Glinda expressed gratitude and happiness, while also conveying the conflict Glinda felt between her, Elphaba and Fiyero.
A fan favorite from the movie was “Wonderful,” sung by Erivo, Grande and Jeff Goldblum. In the song, each actor expressed hope: Glinda, at having her best friend back; Elphaba, at freeing the animals and having their rights ensured; and the Wizard, no longer worrying about Elphaba exposing him as a fraud.
The song that stood out the most was “No Good Deed” sung by Erivo. The song is at one of the movie’s climaxes, where Fiyero is taken to the cornfields and Elphaba arrives at Fiyero’s castle to hide. In the song, Elphaba’s thoughts and emotions are scattered; she’s trying to cast a spell to protect Fiyero from harm, while her thoughts and feelings are telling her it’s too late. Erivo expresses Elphaba’s frustration in trying to protect someone she loves and her grief at losing someone she loves again.
The most surprising thing in the movie was the acting from Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater.
Marissa Bode plays Nessa Rose, Elphaba’s little sister. Between the two movies, there’s a stark switch in Nessa’s character. In the first movie, Nessa is sweet, just another teenage girl excited for school and gushing over her first love. But in the second movie, Nessa is completely different. The character is introduced to us when she’s in mourning. Her father has passed away recently, but instead of being sad and grieving, she’s fueled by anger and resentment. Nessa is cold and mean, not wanting to be anything like her sister.
Bode does a great job of portraying this change through her tone and expression. When Slater’s Boq questions Nessa about a bill proposed to her in front of one of her subordinates, Nessa responds with a sharp glare, her voice switching from calm to defensive in an instant. In most of Nessa’s interactions with Boq, her voice has a sharp and intimidating edge; she’s constantly reminding him who’s in power.
What shocked fans the most was Ethan Slater’s acting for the Tin Man. In the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” the Tin Man was a sweet, lovable character who wanted a heart. But in Wicked, the Tin Man’s backstory is far darker. Boq tries to leave Nessa for Glinda after finding out that Glinda is marrying Fiyero. But Boq’s attempts fail, with his first attempt resulting in the Munchkins being trapped in Munchkinland. In his second attempt, Nessa tries performing a love spell to make him stay with Elphaba’s spell book, but the spell doesn’t work, making Boq’s heart fail. Trying to save him, Elphaba turns him into tin so he doesn’t need a heart to live. After Elphaba leaves, the next time we see Boq, he is no longer the caring, awkward guy; rather, he’s filled with anger and hate. Boq leaves Nessa, not for Glinda, but to seek revenge on Elphaba. The character shocked fans since many thought that Slater could only play goofy, non-serious characters. In the song “March Of The Witch Hunters,” Slater’s voice is filled with rage and disgust.
Slater had one of the most memorable performances in the entire movie; he genuinely contributed to the movie’s highlights. Without Slater and his outstanding performance, “Wicked: For Good” wouldn’t be as good as it is. Though the movie had its highs, it also had many lows. Some areas exceeded expectations, while others came out underwhelming and messy.
The lows of the movie
One of the lows of the movie was the “No Place Like Home” scene. It wasn’t in the musical, and its insertion made the transitions between the other scenes look sloppy. Even though the song was good, the scene didn’t add to the movie since it was already implied that the animals were leaving Oz. The director could’ve replaced that scene with a cut scene that had a greater contribution to the movie.
Another low was Johnathan Bailey’s acting for Fiyero. Although his acting wasn’t horrible, it wasn’t great either. In almost every scene Bailey is in, he maintains a blank face with barely a hint of emotion in his eyes. Bailey’s voice and acting also lack genuine passion.
In the scene where Glinda and Fiyero are having a heated conversation, Fiyero’s voice lacks the accusatory and defensive tone one would expect. Instead, it comes out as a vaguely annoyed whisper. In the same scene, Grande expresses multiple emotions in her tone through a whisper, and that’s not reciprocated on Bailey’s end. Bailey’s performance was underwhelming and made Fiyero seem more like a pretty face than a necessary character.
The biggest low from the movie was Michelle Yeoh’s performance as Madame Morrible. Yeoh is an extremely talented actress who has starred in movies such as “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” but it was very clear this wasn’t the right role for her. Most notably, Yeoh cannot sing, which is an important part of Madame Morrible’s character. In the songs Yeoh was featured in, her voice appears off-key and off-beat. Fans were extremely disappointed in this casting, since many other actresses can sing and could’ve performed Madame Morrible better.
Overall, the movie was a mix of wicked and wonderful. The film is worth seeing for both the experience and to see the story’s conclusion. But it isn’t for everyone; if “Wicked” or the trailers for “Wicked: For Good” weren’t appealing, then wait for the movie to arrive on streaming.
