Wicked: For Good
The fairy tale for grown-ups returns for a heart-wrenching finale.
Becoming wicked: Ariana Grande-Butera and Cynthia Erivo
Photo by Giles Keyte, Courtesy of Universal Pictures.
Of course, Jon M. Chu’s Wicked was only half a musical, and a rather long half at that. However, it now seems to have been a necessary act in order to cement the emotional heft of the musical in its entirety. After all, the show and film are dealing with quite a bunch of themes: elitism, discrimination, narcissism, animal rights, authoritarianism, climate disruption and good versus evil. Mercifully shorter by 23 minutes, Wicked: For Good jumps straight into the action, providing a rousing start to the wildly anticipated finale.
At the kick-off we witness the construction of the Yellow Brick Road, a monumental undertaking where beasts of burden strain under the weight of carts laden with bricks. In effect, these oxen are slaves and immediately recall the subjugated of Ancient Egypt, another alleged Land of Milk and Honey. Then, out of nowhere, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) appears on a broomstick and breaks the shackles of the oxen, liberating them from their torment.
For the Ozian populace, they are living in the Promised Land and believe everything that they are told by the egomaniacal Wizard (Jeff Goldblum), an elusive figure drunk on his own power (and a secret drinker). He asserts his control by deploying his National Guard – an army of flying monkeys – who have been deprived of their right to speak. Being blonde, skinny and pretty, Glinda (Ariana Grande) has been appointed ambassador of the Wizard and has won the hearts of the people. She has also decided to marry the dashing Fiyero Tigelaar in order to complete the Ozian Dream. However, Fiyero (a dashing Jonathan Bailey) is not so easily taken in and is shocked by the gullibility of the masses (“they’re so empty-head, they’ll believe anything”).
Meanwhile, although now branded the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba continues to use her powers to do good, to give the animals a voice and even to magic her sister Nessa (Marissa Bode) out of her wheelchair. But closed minds cannot see beyond the propaganda and the icy sorceress Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) easily turns Elphaba (dubbed the ‘Green Menace’) into a scapegoat, a green-skinned necromancer to be feared and hated.
Essentially a fairy tale for grown-ups, Wicked: For Good now seems horribly relevant, albeit the reimagining of a novel (by L. Frank Baum) written some 125 years ago. There are allusions to the 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz, too, and Colman Domingo turns up as the voice of the Cowardly Lion. Nonetheless, it is very much its own thing and is powered by terrific performances from Erivo, Grande, Bailey and Goldblum. Now in high gear, the Wicked phenomenon is a surprisingly touching and even heart-wrenching experience, often quite funny, and packed with revelations, enough to make one question the PG certificate. And there’s irony to spare, not least when Grande (who is billed here as Ariana Grande-Butera) sings the show-stopper, ‘I Couldn’t Be Happier.’ Suddenly, the success of the Tony-winning Broadway show (now in its 22nd year) makes sense, and with the production design, costumes, awe-inspiring sets and magical effects, is a hugely entertaining cinematic miracle, a morality tale with both topicality and teeth.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, Scarlett Spears, Adam James, Alice Fearn, and the voices of Colman Domingo and Sharon D. Clarke.
Dir Jon M. Chu, Pro Marc Platt and David Stone, Ex Pro Stephen Schwartz, Screenplay Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, from the show with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, Ph Alice Brooks, Pro Des Nathan Crowley, Ed Myron Kerstein, Music John Powell and Stephen Schwartz, Costumes Paul Tazewell, Sound Malte Bieler, John Marquis and Tim Walston, Choreography Christopher Scott, Dialect coach Helen Ashton.
Universal Pictures/Marc Platt Productions-Universal Pictures.
137 mins. USA. 2025. UK and US Rel: 21 November 2025. Cert. PG.
