Film Review: Wicked: For Good
Arts
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M. Chu
Universal Pictures, Marc Platt Productions
In Theaters: 11.21.2025
It’s not easy being green, but it’s certainly lucrative. While hopes were high last year that Wicked would be a hit, it shattered all expectations and became the biggest sensation of the latter half of 2024. Raking in so much profit that the road to its follow up, Wicked: For Good has truly been paved with gold. It’s become such a cultural phenomenon that frankly, there’s little point in the review, or any review, because this is the kind of moviegoing experience that connects with mass audiences in such a major way that what the critics say is all but irrelevant. But Wicked: For Good is far from irrelevant, and this critic definitely has some things to say about it.
Wicked Returns: A Darker Oz
Beginning five years after the events of the first film, Wicked For Good finds Oz reshaped by political maneuvering and fractured loyalties. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo, Harriet, Widows), now branded the Wicked Witch of the West, has become a symbol of resistance as she fights to free the Wizard’s imprisoned Animals, reveal the truth that he is a fraud who can’t do any real magic and demand the Justice Department release all of the Ozstein files. Meanwhile, Glinda (recording superstar Ariana Grande-Butera) has been elevated — more by design than choice — into the regime’s polished public face.
When the Wizard orders Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey, Bridgerton, Jurassic World Rebirth), now Captain of the Guard, to track down Elphaba, Glinda subtly misdirects him while wrestling with her own doubts. Elphaba’s attempt to seek help from her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode, Carsleepers), who is now the Mayor of Munchkinland, spirals into tragedy. Elphaba’s returns to the Emerald City brings another confrontation with the Wizard, whose offer of alliance falters when Elphaba learns the true cost of his rule. As Fiyero defects to protect her, Glinda feels heartbroken, and the Wizard’s forces unleash a storm aimed directly at Elphaba.
A PG Film With a Dark Edge
The second film is substantially darker than the first, and while it is PG, it’s a bit less kid friendly, though I’d say most kids over eight-years-old will be fine seeing it with an adult. Still, there’s a lot of heavy stuff going on here, and anyone who doesn’t feel even more like there’s an urgent political subtext to this entry is looking at America with emerald-colored glasses. The opening action sequence feels almost like watching Elphaba take on ICE. Later, travel bans come into play. Even though the writers wrote much of this long before the Trump era, the story draws striking parallels.
Additionally, the song “No Place Like Home” feels like a rallying cry for those wanting to leave the U.S. right now. Honestly, it absolutely knocked me on my Ozz. While many are complaining that the movie is too long, and that splitting the musical into two parts was wholly unnecessary, I can’t agree with the latter point. Yes, the filmmakers padded the movie, but they also fleshed it out, creating a deeper, clearer, and more complete story than the stage version. It’s also a story about the effect that people and events have on each other, and as such, it can’t feel rushed.
Stellar Performances: Erivo and Grande Shine
Erivo flies high once again in the role that will likely define her film career, and I couldn’t love Elphaba more. At the same time, the character lets her anger get the better of her, makes mistakes, and allows manipulation to feed her Wicked Witch persona.
Grande-Butera is simply perfect, and while she doesn’t get as many laughs, Glinda takes a more active role in the story this time, coming into her own as a character and a person. As someone who has never followed her pop career, I’ve become such a fan of her as a comic actress this past year that I’d watch her in almost anything, even the upcoming Why Are We Making Another Focking Sequel To Meet The Parents?
Why Wicked: For Good Resonates With Fans
Wicked: For Good isn’t a movie for critics, it’s for audiences. Watching it as both a critic and an audience member seeking transport over the rainbow, I felt highly satisfied. As someone who counts The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as the first book I ever read and was an obsessive fan of the Harry Potter series but can’t find enjoyment in them anymore since J.K. Rowling revealed herself to be the Wicked Witch of the U.K., I genuinely needed these movies. They’ve changed me for good. —Patrick Gibbs
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