A scene from 'Wicked: For Good.' Universal Pictures
Stepping back into Oz, "Wicked: For Good" casts a gentler spell for audiences this time around. It’s a continuation that dazzles often enough to remind you why this world holds such enduring appeal, yet it never quite recaptures the uncanny magic that made the first film feel like a revelation. Built on the bones of the Broadway musical’s Act II (its rather less iconic half) the movie mirrors its source: imperfect, uneven, but ultimately satisfying when seen as the concluding movement of a larger whole.
Like its predecessor, "For Good" uses its generous runtime to stitch together mythology the stage show could only gesture at. Jon M. Chu’s camera returns us to Oz with the confidence of a storyteller who knows there’s more to explore, from political tensions to tying itself more deliberate to L. Frank Baum’s original lore.
As teased in the first film, Dorothy does make an appearance here, but she’s wisely not given much airtime at all. "Wicked" has always been about Elphaba and Glinda after all, but the inclusion of Dorothy’s quest down the yellow brick road paves the way for the story’s full circle moment.
A grimmer Oz
The story picks up seemingly several years after the jaw-dropping, gravity-defying finale of the first film. Much has changed. Everyone is older, and the happy crew that once danced at the Ozdust Ballroom seemed to have largely gone their separate ways.
Treated as public enemy number one, Elphaba now lives in a hidden forest lair, still determined to expose the Wizard’s tyranny. Meanwhile, the Wizard’s campaign to oppress talking animals rages on. Some creatures flee Oz; others are increasingly getting subjugated under the new rule. The allegory is unmistakable: fascism rising, truth manipulated, marginalized groups pushed out. But the film keeps these themes as backdrop rather than center stage, choosing to remain tightly focused on the Wizard and Madame Morrible’s escalating plot to bring Elphaba down.
This story simply isn’t as fun as what came before. The whimsy is replaced by political manipulation, scores to settle, and the romance plot that demands a resolution. It’s not that the film lacks spectacle as Chu ensures we’re never far from sweeping visuals of a still-stunning Oz and Emerald City, but the energy is unmistakably darker, more somber, less buoyant than the effervescent first installment.
Two best friends
The performances, however, remain a shining anchor. Cynthia Erivo continues to give a deeply moving Elphaba who is steely in her convictions yet emotionally exposed, especially in moments where the character’s shows her deep care for the few people she loves. Ariana Grande, meanwhile, is once again immensely likable as Glinda, navigating her character’s internal contradictions with surprising nuance.
The dynamic between the two remains both "Wicked" films’ core strength. Even as they grow further apart — one condemned as the Wicked Witch of the West, the other as though anointed as Glinda the Good — the emotional tether between them is unmistakable. Their friendship is the source of the film’s most powerful, tear-inducing beats, grounding the high fantasy in real emotional stakes.
The new songs added for the film serve their narrative purpose but don’t entirely blend with Stephen Schwartz’s iconic score. Elphaba’s “No Place Like Home,” sung as she tries to convince fleeing animals to stay and fight and Glinda’s “The Girl in the Bubble,” which offers insight into her childhood and internal conflict, fares similarly. Both are pleasant enough, but unmistakably unfamiliar and rather unnecessary, the way original film additions to classic musicals often are.
In the end, "Wicked: For Good" may not match the soaring, surprise-filled magic of the first movie, but it delivers enough visual, emotional, and of course musical, splendor to feel like a worthy conclusion to this two-part phenomenon. It may be the less enchanting half, but taken together with its predecessor, it completes a cinematic retelling that honors the musical’s legacy while giving longtime fans the closure they’ve long imagined.