2024’s movie adaptation of Wicked quickly became one of the biggest musical films of all time. Now, the second half of the stage play has been adapted into Wicked: For Good. Does this second movie stick the landing, or was the first just one-off magic? Let’s explore the ins and outs of this continuation to find out.

The Good

One of the few downsides of the first movie was that despite this being the land of Oz, the colors were washed out. Here, they’ve remedied that with vibrant colors that look spectacular. It’s a change that really paid off. Because of it, the visuals manage to look even more impressive than ever. The visuals throughout the film in general are all beautiful.

The performances might even be more impressive here than in the first film, and that’s impressive. Ethan Slater is especially fantastic as he steals the show as Boq. He adds so much emotion to the role, more than ever before. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are also top-notch in their respective roles. Their acting really pulls the audience in, makes them feel for the characters, and even allows for the audience to side with them during various conflicts. They deserve to do well when award season comes around.

This movie is incredibly emotional. It pulls at your heartstrings enough to force a tear. It’s hard not to feel enraged by how certain characters are treated and want to come to their side. The hurt in the characters’ voices and facial expressions hurt the audience just as much. This level of emotion escalates the movie’s immersion immensely.

The characters arcs in the film are tremendously well-written, and make the story much more powerful. Seeing these characters grow over the course of these movies is truly heartwarming, and it’s impossible to feel satisfied with where they all end up.

The makeup in this film is nothing short of Oscar-worthy. Yes, the makeup on Elphaba is just as great as it was the first time around. But on characters like the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, it’s on another level. Instead of taking the CGI route, they used traditional makeup to bring these iconic, fantastical characters to life, and they look incredible.

The Bad

This is a musical, so the songs need to really stand out and feel like one of the best elements of the movie. Unfortunately, however, most of the songs don’t really pop or stand out like the ones in the first movie. There were a couple that were really solid, but others felt a bit forgettable, even if the singing was terrific. This is more of an issue with the source material, but it’s still a bummer leaving a musical and not thinking about the memorable and entertaining songs you listened to.

There are some characters, mostly Nessarose and a little bit Glinda, who completely contradict themselves. They lie, they say one thing and do another, and they blame those around them when things go wrong because of their actions. It’s frustrating character writing. It’s fun to go to a movie to laugh or cry or be impacted in an emotional way, but feeling angry due to annoying character writing isn’t the most enjoyable experience.

The Wizard and Madame Morrible don’t recognize characters they’ve met before? It was known among the guards, and assumedly those in charge of them, that Fiyero was transformed into a scarecrow and that he betrayed his fellow soldiers to protect Elpheba. Why wouldn’t they be suspicious that he’s going on the quest with Dorothy to kill Elpheba? Surely they would see that he was going with them to betray them again and save Elpheba. Maybe there should have been a scene clearing this up.

Conclusion

Wicked: For Good is an excellent finale for the tale that was set up in the first Wicked. The acting, visuals, emotion, and story are all handled exceptionally well. There are definitely some issues, but they’re more of an issue with the source material and the movie wanting to bring the play to life in the most organic way possible. Most of the songs are forgettable, with a couple of exceptions. That being said, it’s still a wickedly good time. Watching both movies together back-to-back is surely a magical experience.

Rating: 8/10

Rating For Both Movies Together: 9/10

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