Theater fans are in for a treat with Wicked: For Good, the highly anticipated sequel to last year’s magical musical sensation.
The film stays true to its Broadway roots, preserving everything audiences loved while elevating it with grander sets, stunning visuals, and cinematic spectacle—making the ticket price well worth it for the experience alone.
WICKED: FOR GOOD ACT 2
However, that loyalty is a double-edged sword.
By sticking so closely to the original script, the film inherits all the structural flaws that have plagued the stage show for years.
Act 2 is indeed harder to adapt.
Firstly, it lacks the hit-after-hit energy of the first part.
Secondly, the story gets messy because of the need to bridge the plot with the events of The Wizard of Oz, while sidelining Dorothy.
On stage, the music carries you through the plot holes.
But here, the inconsistencies are much more noticeable, particularly because director Jon M. Chu stretches the original narrative into a feature-length film running over two hours.
The result is undeniable bloat.
The pacing drags and the story fractures become impossible to ignore.
To be fair, the film tries to patch things up.
It leans harder into the Animal Rights storyline—the subplot about nimals losing their ability to speak.
It gives the conflict more weight than the stage version ever did.
But that’s just one of the issues.
WICKED: FOR GOOD VILLAINS
The villains, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) and the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), still feel murky.
Their motivations are unclear. Are they evil just to be evil? It creates a vacuum where the threat should be.
The secondary characters suffer, too.
Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Boq (Ethan Slater) feel underdeveloped. They lack complete arcs and mostly just exist to move the plot forward for the witches.
Despite the issues with the plot, Wicked: For Good still soars because of the powerful performances of the two leads.
WICKED: FOR GOOD main stars
Ariana Grande finds tragic depth in Glinda’s bubbly facade, and Cynthia Erivo is simply a powerhouse.
Ariana plays Glinda, who now has to show overwhelming positivity as a good witch.
She knows she’s being used by the Wizard as a tool to fool the citizens of Oz into submission, but she’s too blinded by ambition to resist.
Behind her exterior, however, Glinda suffers from not being able to protect her friend Elphaba, and then losing the love of her life.
Ariana succeeds brilliantly here. She manages to show that internal war without ever fully dropping the smile, making the tragedy feel real.
And Cynthia matches her step for step. Her Elphaba isn't just a rebel.
She is also a woman learning to find strength in total isolation. She embodies the weight of sacrifice. She accepts that doing the right thing means being alone.
It is a performance that demands a lot of quiet power, and Cynthia delivers it with a raw intensity that keeps you glued to the screen even when the script wanders.
And of course, accolades must also go to the film’s stunning cinematography and set design.
It’s a movie that must be seen on the largest screen you can find for an even more immersive experience.
All in all, this movie is a lot like the land of Oz itself: beautiful, chaotic, and a little bit overwhelming.
The runtime is punishing and the script is messy, but the emotional payoff is undeniable.
It works because Erivo and Grande refuse to let it fail. They take a flawed, bloated story and fill it with enough genuine heart to win you over.
It might not be a perfect film, but with performances this strong, it doesn’t have to be.
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