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With expectations somewhere over the rainbow, this sequel fails to live up to them and proves that splitting this story into two was a fatal mistake. After last years well-earned success, “Wicked: For Good” is the second part of the Broadway adaptation that gets caught juggling too many themes, dropping them all to splatter on the colorful path to despondency. The musical numbers don’t quite land, the use of CGI is too prevalent, and that coveted emotional connection gets lost in a cyclone of Dorothy’s shadow.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is now a fugitive from the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), who has convinced the populace of Oz to fear and despise her. Tasked with hunting her down is Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who has become romantically entangled with Elphaba’s best friend, Glinda (Ariana Grande-Butera). As the newly titled Wicked Witch of the West pursues a way to expose the Wizard’s lies, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) uses the distraction of Dorothy’s sudden arrival to her and the Wizard’s advantage.
There is no doubt that director Jon M. Chu successfully captured the magic of Oz, bringing the stage musical to life in a big way last year. Unfortunately, that magic has been depleted for this second part, leaving the land of Oz a little duller and a little less interesting than how he found it. The most glaring problem is the sheer number of subplots happening simultaneously that seem forced and undeveloped. There is the odd fixation from the Wizard on revoking the speaking animal population’s rights, imprisoning them and forcing them into exile. Then there’s the main character’s sister, who is hastily created into a villain herself by imposing a non-travel clause against Munchkins out of her obsessed love for one who doesn’t share those feelings. Not to mention the couple of love triangles and the original Dorothy storyline being worked in the background as added distractions.
Last year’s “Wicked” was wonderfully paced despite the long runtime, but the pace in this sequel is crippled by all the unnecessary inclusions. Between the hurried scenes, a loss of connectivity, and an overly drawn-out conclusion, this follow-up is more of a grind to sit through, feeling much longer than its two-hour 18-minute runtime. It is also visually inferior to its predecessor with sets that seem less impressive, some glaringly poor CGI of the animals, and choreography that feels muted and pedestrian. The songs, although well-sung by the two stars, are not even remotely as memorable as they were in the first film.
Chu does generate interest by incorporating the characters made famous in “The Wizard of Oz,” but he wisely keeps the attention on Elphaba and Glinda, using Dorothy and co. as more of background characters. In fact, the audience never even sees Dorothy’s face throughout the duration. While Chu constantly references the events from the 1939 classic, he displays what is happening behind the scenes that impacts and inspires these memorable events. This creates interesting tie-ins that work to captivate fans of the original story.
When it comes to the cast, there are some positives and negatives that deserve some context. For starters, the main drawback from last year’s film rears its head in an even bigger way for this movie. The chemistry between Ariana Grande-Butera and Jonathan Bailey, as well as the chemistry between Cynthia Erivo and Bailey are completely non-existent, nullifying the believability of this love triangle. However, when Ariana shares screentime with Cynthia, their chemistry is off the charts as in the first film, harnessing viewers’ attention and interest in their complicated friendship.
As for the supporting actors, Jeff Goldblum shines above the rest in this latest film, bringing his eccentricities to bear and achieving the only comical amusement to be had. Michelle Yeoh is the obvious weakness of the supporting cast with unconvincing line delivery and hideously tone-deaf singing. As for Bowen Yang, who was a positive standout in last year’s film as one of Glinda’s friends, he is completely lost in this overly dense jumble of subplots.
The disappointment of this finale is profound, proving it would have been better served to maintain it as one complete production, rather than two. “Wicked: For Good” is one yellow brick road you won’t want to follow. Best to wait for your closure and stream at home instead of spending the time and money at the theater.
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