Broadway buzz is back on the big screen with a second round of “Wicked,” and the experience in the sequel surpasses that of the first.
“For Good” picks up a short while after the events of “Wicked.” Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is working to disrupt the actions of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), who she’s found out has no magic at his disposal. In response, He and his associate, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) are slamming her with propaganda, labeling her the Wicked Witch of the West.
Glinda (Ariana Grande), meanwhile, has been put forward as Glinda the Good, with Oz presenting her as a positive witch to rally around against Elphaba’s efforts. While the two are pitted against each other, though, their friendship remains. Yet its strained as the situation in the realm grow more dire under the leadership of Oz and Morrible.
In the animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” the lead character Aang throughout the entire series has the title of Avatar. However, it’s not until the final episode where he truly assumes that role and becomes a full-fledged Avatar. The purpose of the series is him getting to that point, where he earns that title in a sense.
The reason to bring that up is because it’s somewhat similar to the path Glinda is on in this flick and it’s one of the things that narratively works about this movie. Glinda, for the entire runtime, is Glinda the Good, but it’s not until the movie’s third act where she actually assumes that role to the full extent. It’s a strong evolution for Glinda, making her not just likable, but respectable.
That’s not to say her counterpart is lacking. It’s still Elphaba’s story, and hers is a harrowing one. There’s the sense she wants to do right and believes her efforts just, yet the best intentions sometimes lead to bad outcomes, complicating the cause. It’s effectively shown that even though she’s harnessed great power, she’s still flawed. It’s punctuated by the song “No Good Deed.”
Speaking of the music, it’s absolutely powerful, especially in the third act. The music reaches extreme heights thanks to the two actresses at the picture’s core. Both are mighty with their singing, with the ballads carrying energy and emotion. It certainly helps that the two have a strong chemistry on screen as well.
What’s less strong about the movie is how the supporting characters are handled. Do you remember that scene in “Spaceballs” when they watch the VHS copy of the movie? Where Dark Helmet tells one of the crew to fast forward a particularly embarrassing part, saying “No, go past this. Past this part. In fact, never play this again.”
Well, one has to imagine that a similar conversation was had between director Jon M. Chu and his editor whenever the character Nessa was on the screen. Every moment with Elphaba’s sister felt extremely rushed. Her relatively short character arc plays out in the time it takes Usain Bolt to run a race.
This in turn, leads to another character’s fate also feeling rushed and not fully developed. It’s too bad, because it somewhat undercuts the conflicts of the second half of the movie. Another detriment are some notably jarring shifts in tone.
There’s a scene where something rather tragic takes place to one of the characters, and it should be impactful and sorrowful for the two leads. Yet, during the same scene, the tone shifts on a dime from tragic to comedic with a duel that’s played for laughs instead of serious conflict.
Still, as a cinematic experience, the “Wicked” sequel largely works. It’s an electric watch, infused with musical fantasy that is effective through much of the runtime. The music has power behind it, the top performers are strong and while the CGI is a bit excessive in places, it’s mostly visually appealing. 4 out of 5.
Matthew Liedke on Film 