As a self-proclaimed theatre kid, I connect very closely to the Wicked franchise. Based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and later the 1939 film of the same name, Wicked was published in 1995 by Gregory Maguire. The book is a darker, more complex prequel to the Oz series, focusing on the prejudice and mistreatment Elphaba faces throughout the Emerald City’s corrupt regime. It is an extremely empowering tale that debates morality and government oppression, begging the question, “What is good?” Eight years after the novel was released, a musical of the same name premiered on Broadway. The Wicked franchise revived the Oz series for good, bringing more complex ideas and themes into the original concept. No less than twenty years later, in an homage to the book and musical, Wicked was released in 2024. As a hater of musical-to-film adaptations, I didn’t think Wicked was terrible. While I was originally skeptical of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo playing Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, they grew on me. Now, a year later, I stepped into the movie theatre, expecting the same– if not better– from this sequel.
I have never been more wrong in my entire life.
Beforehand, I want to acknowledge my favorite parts of this film. Truthfully, it’s not all that bad. Grande and Erivo continue to amaze me with their acting and singing skills. No matter how strange they act in interviews together, it is evident that they are a perfect match for these roles. The cinematography complements the story beautifully, though it is a major downgrade from the previous film in terms of shot and angle variety. And I’ll admit I had “No Good Deed” and “For Good” stuck in my head for days after I watched the film. Wicked: For Good isn’t inherently a bad film– it had a strong production team and a 150 million dollar budget. The problem is that they spent all of their energy in the wrong places.
For all I can describe it, Wicked: For Good is a missed opportunity. It takes the original, complex themes of the previous film and dilutes them into the worst two and a half hours of my life. The entire production is a mockery of the franchise, feeling incredibly rushed and sloppily put together. It drags on far longer than it needs to, being paced either way too fast or way too slow. The majority of songs in this movie are lackluster and serve as filler in between scenes. Speaking of scenes, the plotline between Boq and Nessarose is a cheap ploy to make Glinda look like the better person. The scene where Fiyero cheats on Glinda with Elphaba felt dull and lifeless, offering an inaccurate and unrealistic representation of the relationship between the three. Overall, the characters feel less unique in this film than in the previous adaptations, which I ultimately attribute to the poor scriptwriting. Of course, the acting is brilliant, but the lines are awkwardly written and unfunny. Glinda calling Elphaba “greenie” makes me think, “Wow, who thought that was a good idea to write in this script?”
I tried really hard to enjoy it, but seeing this movie was a complete disappointment and a waste of time. Seeing this beloved series devolve into something farther than its original meaning breaks my heart. The Wicked franchise feels like the complete opposite of what it once was. Instead of the heartbreaking tale the series once represented, it’s literally just mass-marketed slop at this point. I have never been more disappointed with an Oz franchise story than Wicked: For Good, and I truly hope that they learn from their mistakes with this film.