Wicked: For Good

Who ever thought that when L. Frank Baum first wrote the story of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" back in 1899 and was published in 1900, and subsequently became a motion picture in 1939 would become the phenomena today. Many incarnations of "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939 have been produced. And then a Tony Award winning musical play was created, and then its subsequent film "Wicked" in 2024. Now we have the continuation of "Wicked" appropriately titled "Wicked: For Good". 

After challenging the Wizard's (Jeff Goldblum) totalitarian regime in Oz, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) must grapple with her identity as the 'Wicked Witch of the West'. Meanwhile, the Wizard has given Glinda (Ariana Grande) the title 'Glinda the Good' and a public status as the nation's defender against Elphaba. The two witches must make decisions that seal their fates implementing Captain Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) in this second, part 2 musical installment. 

Others to round out the cast are Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessa, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Colman Domingo as the Cowardly Lion, Bronwyn James as Shenshen, Aaron T. Guan Ti as Avaric, Keala Settle as Miss. Coddle, Bethany Weaver as Dorothy and Sharon D. Clarke as Dulcibear. 

As with the first part of "Wicked", this too was directed with passion, whimsy and heart by Jon M. Chu ("Step Up 2 the Streets" '08, "The LXD: The Uprising Begins" '10, "Step Up 3D" '10,,, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" '11, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" '13, "Justib Bieber's Believe" '13, "Jem and the Holograms" '15, "Now You See Me 2" '16, "Crazy Rich Asians" '18, "Triage" (TV movie) '20, "In the Heights" '21, "Wicked" '24) plus other films, TV, shorts, and music videos. Like with other directors, this filmmaker is like a chameleon in that he works with many genres or topics, This, like part 1, was sequenced well, cohesive and flowed well from one part to the other. This director is seasoned and I really enjoy his work. It was effectively well written by Winnie Holzman ("'Til There Was You" '97, "Wicked" '24) plus TV and a short and Dana Fox ("The Wedding Date" '05, "What Happens in Vegas" '08, "Couples Retreat" '09, "How to Be Single" '16, "Isn't It Romantic" '19, "Cruella" '21, "The Lost City" '22, "Wicked" '24) plus TV, based on the musical stage play with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, that is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, which is all based on the characters created by L. Frank Baum. The interesting part of this part of the story is that this film includes the moment of time when Dorothy lands in Oz. "Wicked" is a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz", so this part led into the arrival of Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and Toto too. And this gives us a little background of these 'Wizard of Oz' characters to see how they are worked into the 'Wicked' story line. The only aspect of this that was a bit strained was that as the story was developing, it was a bit slow and needed to pick up the pace, but once it did pick up, it absolutely soared! The visual effects predominantly designed by ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and Framestore were amazing and enhanced the film as it progressed. And the production values--costumes, production design, editing and photography was captivating. 

If you're a "Wicked" fan--play or film, or even a "Wizard of Oz" fan, this will be the film for you. Even though this is the conclusion, will there be a part 3? Probably not--it leaves the story fairly well closed. The musical numbers, choreography and the grandiose of it all has to be seen on the large screen. In fact, it's presented on an IMAX format if that's a thrill for you. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                      Rated: PG                                           137mins'