Movie Review – Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum
Year: 2025
Fine. FINE.
I saw Wicked Part One last year and had. Thoughts. Big production, talented cast, too long, probably didn’t need to be two movies. Standard Hollywood “split the finale” nonsense we’ve been doing since Harry Potter.
Part Two is. Well. It’s the second half of the story. Elphaba goes full wicked. Glinda goes full good witch. They have a falling out. There’s a dramatic confrontation. “For Good” happens and everyone in the theater cries.
Did everyone in the theater cry? Yes.
Did I cry? I’m not telling you.
Cynthia Erivo remains excellent. The woman can SING. When she’s hitting those notes in “No Good Deed” you forget you’re watching a movie and just kind of. Exist in the performance. The technical craft it takes to do what she does while also acting while also being in heavy green makeup — I don’t know how performers do it.
Ariana Grande is. Look. She’s Ariana Grande. She’s fine as Glinda. The ditzy popular girl thing works. “Thank Goodness” is fun. She doesn’t embarrass herself which sounds like faint praise but being in a movie with Cynthia Erivo singing her face off is not easy.
Jonathan Bailey gets more to do as Fiyero and he’s charming. Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard is basically Jeff Goldblum in a costume which is. Fine. It’s fine. He does Jeff Goldblum things.
My problem with these movies — both parts — is that they’re so POLISHED that they lose something. The stage version of Wicked had this raw theatrical energy. Big voices in a dark room. Practical illusions that you knew were illusions but chose to believe in anyway. The movies are slick and expensive and technically perfect and somehow less magical.
Also. Two and a half hours. For Part Two alone. Combined with Part One that’s five hours of Wicked content. The stage show is two hours forty-five. They somehow made it almost twice as long without adding twice as much substance.
But. The ending works. The “For Good” duet is genuinely moving. Erivo and Grande harmonizing together made something happen in my chest that I’m choosing not to analyze. It earned the emotion even if the journey to get there was bloated.
If you liked Part One you’ll like Part Two. If you love the musical you’ve already seen both parts twice. If you don’t care about Wicked specifically I don’t know why you’re reading this review.
It’s fine. It’s FINE.
My rating: ★★★☆☆
Wicked: For Good on IMDb | Wicked: For Good on Rotten Tomatoes
