The musical event of the year has landed in theaters with Wicked: For Good, the hotly anticipated follow-up to Wicked, released one year ago. Starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, two witches whose paths cross in the Land of Oz, For Good picks up right where the previous film left off with a narrative that eventually runs concurrent to the 1939 classic which looms over the story.
Following the massive success of Wicked and stepping into the more overt Wizard of Oz tie-ins, returning director Jon M. Chu had a unique challenge ahead. Despite strong performances and a handful of great songs, For Good fails to defy expectations that splitting the iconic stage musical in half was a questionable choice.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Deliver Praiseworthy Performances
If there can be only one positive takeaway from For Good, it is that extra time spent with Erivo and Grande on screen together will make the entire experience worthwhile for many fans. Erivo is a force to be reckoned with, not only as a musical talent but as a performer who holds the film together even in its quietest moments. Grande is as hilarious as she was in the first part, and the complete arc of her character shows greater range. Their dynamic is what saves For Good from complete failure.
Jonathan Bailey’s charm is apparent as Fiyero, even when For Good gives him little to do– let the man sing more, he’s good at it! Bringing Jeff Goldblum in as the Wizard was a stroke of genius in the first film, and it works just as well here. Goldblum is a whimsical and bizarre presence; delightful for every second. The cast does splendid work even when the story cannot justify itself and the direction falls flat.
‘Wicked’ Should Have Been One Movie
The split seemed doomed to fail considering that Wicked ends with what is universally considered the highlight of the musical. The showstopping “Defying Gravity” number plays phenomenally well as the end of the first movie. Act two being its own movie amounts to two hours of falling action; the climax happened a year ago in a different movie.
There’s one good reason to split Wicked into two parts. Turning it into a nearly 5-hour cinematic experience allows more time spent blending The Wizard of Oz story elements into the plot organically. For Good does not make use of the extra time. In a stage show, there are different rules and expectations that audiences understand. Here, you get whiplash as the story suddenly proclaims The Wizard of Oz is happening concurrent to For Good.
Characters disappear on a whim to accompany this abrupt shift, and major reveals play out in such a way that feels less like loving homage and more like a movie irritated that it must work around a story set in stone over 85 years ago. It is clumsily handled, demanding the viewer has The Wizard of Oz fresh in their minds to not fall completely flat.
For Good is all downhill from the beginning, and Chu never overcomes that hurdle. He makes it even more burdensome, because For Good drags through some parts and rushes through others. The dull directorial style only further emphasizes the film’s story problems.
Oz Has Never Felt Less Lively Than in ‘Wicked: For Good’
For Good is never better than when Erivo, Grande, and Goldblum are working their magic around the mechanical wonders of the Wizard’s creation. The sets are dynamic and colorful in these moments. It’s when we go outside that the movie looks completely undeserving of its setting in the Land of Oz.
Chu insists on capturing Oz in a decidedly uncinematic way. The lighting washes everything out of frame, the colors are drained out, and the camera has no sense of where to go. One fight scene between two major characters around the middle of the film is one of the worst staged sequence of the year, with awkward camera movements and no sense of rhythm.
Rhythm is key to musicality, and this film scarcely has it. The musical numbers grind the momentum to a halt as actors statically deliver these songs. Erivo and Grande are singing their hearts out, but you aren’t missing anything by merely listening to the soundtrack recording.
Fully rendered environments that do not look convincing in the slightest nearly ruin numbers like “No Good Deed,” where CGI smoke fills every corner of the frame. Even the group numbers have frustratingly little dancing. The titular song is the only one that fully lands because it is built around the chemistry of two talented performers who are the heart and soul of this story.
Grande and Erivo make this experience worthwhile, but the film does not deliver on the overconfident promise that splitting this story in two was the right move. For Good only defies gravity for a few brief moments, the rest is a nasty fall from grace.
4 out of 10
Wicked: For Good is now playing in theaters.
This article appears in Nov. 1-30, 2025.