I’ve heard it said that movies come into our lives, for a reason bringing something we must learn… And Wicked: For Good is teaching us a point that we might already know – sequels are never as good.
Wicked: For Good follows on seamlessly from the original story – we meet the popular public personas of Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande), and Fiyero Tigelaar (Jonathan Bailey) as they run essentially a PR campaign for the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), while he stamps his yellow brick road across the countryside, leaving destruction in its wake. We also are met with the more grown up version of our heroine Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) – wilder and more outspoken in her protests against the Wizard’s extermination of the speaking animals and overall dictator-esque control of the whole of Oz. We also have the fresh-faced and hopeful teen turned tragic and troubled tyrant of the munchkins Nessarose Thropp (Marissa Bode). Although she is somewhat sidelined in the plot, it is also important to acknowledge the elevated role of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) in this Wicked installation. No longer is she just a slightly suspicious schoolmistress, she’s a fully fledged evil weather witch playing by her own rules.
Compared to the first film, the storyline takes a much darker turn, and deals with many of the issues at the heart of the storyline. We’re thrown right back into the land of Oz and its political intrigue. There’s a nice nuance in the way that Glinda and Fiyero’s fake relationship is played for the camera. Both Grande and Bailey give in-depth performances as seemingly shallow celebs, focused on how they are portrayed and not on the impact their roles have in the Wizard’s deception, only their subtle changes in facial expression and gaze letting the audiences into their real feelings. While in the book their stories span for decades, Glinda is soon cast aside by Fiyero as he reunites with Elphaba and the facade of their public engagement is revealed. What happens next is a twisting series of betrayals and backstabbery that see Elphaba eventually standing, alone, at the precipice of a castle, waiting for the inevitable bucket wielding Dorothy to seal her fate. The beginning and the end of the story seem to sweep by at a blinding rate, but the middle seems to draw down to a doldrum.
Truly the strength of this franchise is the music and this latest installment is no different. It might be ‘Glinda’s film’, but Erivo steals the show in every number. Highlights are The Wicked Witch of the East, As Long As You’re Mine, No Good Deed and For Good. For those in the know, one of the biggest questions that we had was about the ‘new’ songs. Written by original composer Stephen Schwartz, these songs could have been great – but instead they come out oddly strained and don’t fit with the mood of their host scenes.
In all, Wicked: For Good is worth a watch, but you should go into it with some level of trepidation. Given the turn in the storyline it was never going to be as ‘fun’ as the first installment, but the strained and awkward feeling running throughout will leave you ultimately underwhelmed. 6/10
