Review by LaurenHicks

I couldn’t have said it better than the person sitting next to me at the theater: “I can’t believe that two hours from now, I will have watched this movie.” “Wicked: For Good” isn’t just a movie, but an experience, emphasizing the importance of staying true to yourself and sacrificing for those you love.

If the incredible music and visuals don’t appeal to you, it will be the storytelling. Following the events of the first film, Oz is on a witch-hunt to find Elphaba Thropp, who is hiding in the woods, perfecting her plan to reveal the Wizard’s lies. Meanwhile, everything in Glinda Upland’s life seems to be going perfectly. She is a beloved public figure, has a handsome fiancé and all of her dreams are coming true. However, when the yellow bricks were finished being placed, a new wind seemed to pick up in Munchkinland. As a pair of stolen slippers follow the road leading to the Wizard, things forever change for Elphaba and Glinda.

“Wicked: For Good” is directed by Jon M. Chu and has a runtime of 2 hours and 17 minutes. The movie premiered in theaters on Friday, Nov. 21. In its opening weekend, it made $226 million globally, surpassing the first film, which made $164 million globally. It is currently only showing in theaters, and it costs $11-15 to purchase a ticket. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who reprised their roles from “Wicked.”

Erivo and Grande truly shine in this movie. You can tell watching how much these roles mean to them and how this wasn’t just another role to play. Their co-stars, Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Ethan Slater (Boq) and Marissa Bode (Nessa), also excel in displaying their characters’ complexities and how they ‘change’ over the course of the movie. Erivo and Bailey have incredible chemistry, which came out during their duet “As Long As You’re Mine,” second only to Erivo and Grande’s dynamic that clearly exists in their real lives as well.

The songs and score of this movie really stood out to me. Nearly every time that Elphaba is introduced, an instrumental version of “No One Mourns the Wicked” plays, reminding viewers of the true meaning of this movie. “Wonderful,” a song featuring Elphaba, Glinda and the Wizard, is one of my favorites from the soundtrack. As a fellow “corn-fedded hick[s]” (as the Wizard put it) from Omaha, I find the tone switch of this song to be very representative of Elphaba’s mindset at this point of the movie, and love how it represents how your mind can be persuaded by the ones you love so easily.

As someone who has seen over 100 movies this year (not kidding, check my Letterboxd), “Wicked: For Good” has one of my favorite endings of all time. The movie concludes right where the first one started, with Glinda singing “No One Mourns the Wicked.” After finishing this film, it means so much more.  

If you have free time and are looking for excellent movies to watch, I would 100% recommend a triple feature of “Wicked,” “Wicked: For Good” and “The Wizard of Oz.” You will be changed for good after watching all three.