Without ever seeing Wicked, I went into last year’s movie adaptation with no expectations—and found myself mildly amused. I liked the movie just fine, enjoying the music and the plot kernels, even though it felt more like a setup for a sequel than a complete film.
I went into Wicked: For Good with my expectations a little higher—and I wound up quite bored.
After closing out the first film with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), aka the Wicked Witch of the West, taking off on her own as a fugitive from the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), Glinda (Ariana Grande-Butera) is left behind to help propel the propaganda machine of the Wiz and the evil Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). I mean, if you are good at heart, why would you ally yourself with somebody named Morrible? It’s clear from their name that they must be some sort of asshole.
While Elphaba is flying around causing trouble in her war to save the animals, Boq (Ethan Slater) and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) are walking into curses/spells that involve some famous Oz characters. This element of the story is so compelling—but it is rushed and pushed into the background. There is a missed opportunity for some real fun involving those Oz characters. I understand that may be the way in which it was handled in the stage show, but this is a movie, and these elements could’ve used some more heft.
The overall tone of the film is murky/dark; the musical numbers are so-so; and the story just doesn’t have a satisfying payoff. By the time Elphaba and Glinda are saying their goodbyes (until the inevitable sequel or prequel), the films haven’t done enough to prove their implied bond. They seem more like casual friends.
I know the two films put together are almost five hours long, but it seems like the story needed either a major trimming-down to one faster-paced movie, or another film to flesh out the undeveloped plotlines and holes. It doesn’t seem right at its current level of screen time.
Will there be more? The original Wicked novelist wrote all sorts of prequels and sequels expanding on the universe, although nothing has transpired onstage. If they do more, they need to spruce things up a bit and stick their landing better.
