My Review of Wicked: For Good (2025)

 

Written by Winnie Holzman And Dana Fox

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Elphaba: "You're the only friend I've ever had."

Glinda: "And I've had so many friends... but only one that mattered."

The most anticipated sequel of the year and of course, it would be at the tail end of 2025. Given the high bar that Wicked: Part I set up, could this second half stick the landing? I actually think it did. I really do.

Things certainly changed between movies. Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) became the most hated woman in all of Oz with the likes of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) doing their best to keep it that way. They've also elevated Glinda Upland (Ariana Grande) into their official mascot for goodness.

It was a role that Glinda was a bit too happy to uphold. Despite not being able to make magic of her own, Glinda was happy to use a bubble to float over Ozians while also springing a surprise wedding on the increasingly conflicted Fiyero Tigelaar (Jonathan Bailey). Glinda really was living in a bubble that was about to burst.

Going back to Elphaba, it was hard for her to be seen as a villain while secretely trying to be a revolutionary as well. None of the animals trusted her and the ones that were starting to ended up turning against her thanks to the Cowardly Lion (Colman Domingo). Elphaba really had very little allies. 

Then there was her relationship with Nessarose (Marissa Bode). It had soured as the movie progressed and the latter had shown her own cruelty with her treatment of Boq (Ethan Slater). The latter in particular had a transformation put upon him that would turn him against Elphaba and Nessarose as he unwillingly became the Tin Man.

Things in the first half did move slowly but fortunately everything from Elphaba and Glinda's reunion onwards sped things up. Elphaba almost came to a truce with the wizard until his mistreatment of animals reared it's head and Fiyero choosing Elphaba over Glinda put Nessarose in danger and added Dorothy Gale (Bethany Weaver) into the mix. That and some devious spellcasting from Morrible herself.

I think we all knew the second half would have to factor Dorothy in some capacity and we got a different-ish slant on The Wizard Of Oz in between the Elphaba/Fiyero love story and the latter's transformation into the Scarecrow. The movie committed to showing as little of Dorothy as possible while also making sure that the Wicked Witch of the West ended up getting melted.

Of course, this wasn't Dorothy's movie. It was Elphaba and Glinda's movie and their friendship/love story of sorts were always going to be the highlight. In the third act we had them literally scrapping with each other while also professing their love to one another. Both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande sell it to perfection, including at least one moment that did make me cry a little.

By the end of the movie, both the Wizard and Morrible have got their just desserts, Glinda finally managed to live up to actually being good and two characters assumed dead were very much alive. More importantly and keeping with the title, everyone had been changed for good.

- Elphaba being the Wizard's daughter made it into this adaptation. The animals were forced to make the yellow brick road. The Flying Monkeys also defected to Elphaba.

- Nessarose now could fly thanks to the silver shoes. In the stage versions, they made her able to walk.

- I quite like that Tin Man and Scarecrow look like slightly upgraded versions to their 1939 counterparts.

- I was hoping this movie would recreate the Broadway and the last scene actually did. 

- Standout music: The obvious ones first - Every Day More Wicked, Thank Goodness/I Couldn't Be Happier, Wonderful, As Long As You're Mine, No Good Deed and For Good. New songs like No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble have the desired effect.

- Chronology: Five years passed since the events of the first movie. Elphaba and Nessarose's father died between movies.

Wicked: For Good might be the best movie I've seen this year and while it's not as perfect as it's predecessor, it damn well hit the right spots either. All of the performances are superb but Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey really delivered with every single scene. I loved this.

Rating: 9 out of 10