Second Part Holds Up Better Than Expected
I decided I really needed to watch Wicked: For Good very close to my first viewing of Wicked, so I set aside some time just a few days later to watch the second part. No, I’m not considering this a sequel. It’s one story broken up into two parts, and I will stand by that. Anyway, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this movie as much as I did despite some flaws.
This movie, essentially act two of the stage musical Wicked, picks up a bit after the first movie ended. In that time, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) has become infamous in Oz for being…well…wicked. Of course, her best friend, Glinda (Ariana Grande) knows the truth, but she doesn’t have much of a chance to set the record straight. She’s also become the face of hope as Glinda the Good, an idea of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), the real power behind The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).
But Elphaba knows that The Wizard is a fake. She’s also determined to make sure that the animal residents of Oz are given equal treatment. But will her efforts help or hurt her cause?
This is where I see the musical as more of a look at propaganda than an apology for evil. We know that Elphaba’s motives are usually good even if her actions are questionable. And yes, the way she goes about this are quite often bad. But, the true villain of the piece is Madame Morrible, with The Wizard being pretty bad himself. But, the two of them are able to spin it so that Elphaba doesn’t have the ability to get her side out or share what she knows. The people aren’t willing to listen any way. This is captured perfect in the song “Wonderful.”
Of course, the problem with all of this is you have to be able to think through what you are seeing. Much like with propaganda. It’s not as black and white as the original story. It’s very gray, various shades of gray. And I can see the problem people have with this story since it makes the traditional villains heroes and traditional heroes villains. I enjoy it for the fan fiction it is that makes us think. But that may just be me.
But enough about the themes. Shall we look at this movie itself?
Much of what I said about the first film holds true here, too. Things look great, outside a moment or two. The leads are fantastic. The rest of the cast is good, although a couple really struggle when they have to sing.
Not that much of the music here is memorable. There’s a reason that “For Good” is the best known of the songs from the second half. And the two new songs added to this movie don’t add much to things. Likewise, we don’t get many dance numbers, although I enjoyed what we did get.
I was worried when they took the one hour second act and more than doubled it that this half would drag. And yes, there were some moments in the middle that were slower than they should have been, but overall, I found the pacing worked.
The second half is where we get Dorothy crashing things. We don’t see more than her back here, and we get glimpses of the original Wizard of Oz story. Those nods and the Easter Eggs we get to the original are fun, but the emphasis is on how all of this impacts Elphaba and Glinda.
Back to the beginning of my review for a minute. I talked about how I view this as a continuation, not a sequel. There are so many things that tie back to the first movie, as you’d expect since this is Act two of the play. You really need to watch these two movies close together to get the complete picture. That’s not true with true sequels.
Another thing that bothers me with this story is the melancholy ending. I get it. It is the right ending. But I guess I wish that we’d gotten a full redemption, but that would break Wizard of Oz cannon. Of course, it breaks cannon in another way, but we won’t go there.
In the end, I think fans of the Broadway musical will be satisfied with Wicked: For Good and these two movie musicals overall.
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