Wicked: For Good - Review 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

THE decision to split the Wicked movies into two parts always seemed like a curious one given the musical stage show on which it is based did a brilliant job of telling its story in just the one sitting.

But the success of Wicked: Part One dispelled many of the doubts for the way in which it gleefully maintained the bombast of the stage version with a deeper look at the principal players and themes populating the story (which, in itself, is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West).

The sequel, Wicked: For Good, largely maintains that momentum, adds a couple of songs and includes a longer final act, remaining enjoyable and keeping the emotional grip it established in the first film.

But it also feels the weaker movie of the two, perhaps because of the fact that in spite of the extra time afforded to director Jon M Chu, there are still some frustratingly unresolved elements surrounding certain characters and a tamer look at some of the more notable issues it raises.

Where Part One really spoke to the feelings around being an outsider, as well as discrimination and racism, and the rise of right wing ideology, For Good furthers the story without really digging any deeper I nto the themes.

Instead, it prioritises character arc and, in particular, the love triangles that exist between Glinda (Ariana Grande), Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), as well as - to a lesser extent - Elphaba’s disabled sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode) and Boq (Ethan Slater).

There’s also the continuation of Elphaba’s attempts to expose The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) as a fraud (which has led to her exile and vilification as The Wicked Witch of the West) and return the animals to their rightful place among Ozian society.

And, somewhat inevitably, there’s the arrival of Dorothy and Toto, whose background presence provides the catalyst for the last act to really kick into gear.

On stage, Wicked dazzled with the way in which it managed to combine so many elements and retain a sense of wonder, intelligence and visual flair befitting a big West End/Broadway production.

In film form, Chu works hard to ensure the film delivers big on the visuals, even adding a grand wedding scene that feels suitably excessive and in keeping with the Glinda character.

He also manages to keep you caring for the central characters, with the relationship between Glinda and Elphaba still defined by its love-hate elements and emotional peaks and troughs.

But where Part One hit some genuinely high notes, there’s nothing in For Good that lands quite as memorably as the silent dance sequence that had me in tears midway through the first film, or lines that hit as deep as Elphaba’s dismissal of Glinda’s initial attempts to change her (“offering to help someone that you don't know with skills that you don't have, I'm sure everyone is duly impressed“), or Goldblum’s deliciously delivered villain line ("the best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy").

There are nods to things like the abuse of power and the strain of celebrity, with Grande and Erivo still delivering commanding performances, which are mired in the conflict each must face.

Grande’s Glinda is much less assured this time around as she gradually becomes aware of how she has become manipulated by those around her at the cost of her one true friendship, and one of two new songs - The Girl In The Bubble - affords her the chance to finally realise her place in Oz with both sadness and confidence. It’s a more subtle, less self deprecating performance this time.

Erivo, meanwhile, continues to maintain the strength and dignity of her outsider, while also becoming all too aware of the pain her actions often inadvertently bring to those she loves - whether the animals she is trying to protect, her sister, Glinda or even Fiyero. Again, this is a performance that is defined by its melancholy undertow - a knowing sense of sacrifice and personal cost.

As with the stage version, all actions have consequences and there are some nice surprises along the way for Wizard of Oz fans who don’t mind seeing a different interpretation of some beloved characters: most notably the decision to give some of Dorothy’s travelling companions some back story.

Goldblum also remains a joy whenever he is on-screen, revelling in a role of pure manipulation and villainy, while Bailey cuts a suitably dashing and often conflicted Fiyero, delivering chemistry with both leading ladies and shining during his own big musical number.

The action in the sequel arrives thicker and faster as the stakes are raised and, as mentioned, there is a suitably emotional climax that rounds most story strands off nicely, albeit a little bittersweet.

But those strands that are left dangling (the fate of The Tin Man, for instance) and the things that don’t necessarily add up from The Wizard of Oz (such as the inference that Dorothy’s experience was a dream) are likely to leave some frustrated.

Likewise, the padded length with one of the new songs - No Place Like Home - feeling overlong and unnecessary.

But primarily, Wicked is a love letter to fans that even manages to end with a clever visual reference to the original stage version’s poster - a touch of magic, like so many before, that is sure to bring joy.

Hence, while it may not be as good - or contain as much substance - as its predecessor, Wicked: For Good is still good enough to justify the two movie split, while bringing things to a suitably satisfying end.