WICKED: FOR GOOD (2025) review
written by: Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox (screenplay), Stephen Schwartz (musical), and Gregory Maguire (novel)
produced by: Mark Platt and David Stone
directed by: John M. Chu
rated: PG (for action/violence, some suggestive material and thematic material)
runtime: 137 min.
U.S. release date: November 21, 2025
“Wicked: Part 1” was a massive hit in theaters this time last year. The charming movie adaptation of the immensely “Popular” 2003 stage musical mostly satisfied existing fans while enchanting some new ones as well. Director John M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians”) delivered an event-cinema experience featuring big musical numbers, along with Oscar-winning costumes and production design. I went in cold and wound up enjoying the colorful iteration of Oz and its exploration of the friendship and tension between its two main characters, Elphaba and Galinda, but its ending left me wanting more. This turned the “Part 1” into something more like a threat than a promise. Nevertheless, since both parts were filmed all at once, we now have “Wicked: For Good”, which is an inevitably darker side of the fantasy tale with a promise of a dramatic payoff.
Considering two-thirds of this continuation feels like drawn-out filler more interested in retro-fitting the story to align with the legendary 1939 classic, “For Good” winds up confirming that this should’ve easily been one long movie. They could’ve even included a 10-15 minute intermission, as the stage production does, to make it feel like an event, rather than the second part feeling forced and, unfortunately, like a slog.
When we left Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), she was belting out “Defying Gravity” as she flew off into the technicolor sky. The year-long pause picks up, well, a year later, with the green-skinned woman determined to bring down the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum), for the charlatan’s treatment of animals and manipulation of the people who inhabit the land. She’s been hiding out in the forest, supposedly working on spells from the enchanted Gremmerie book, and becoming something of a legend.
Thanks to propaganda spun by master manipulator Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), Ozians are now convinced that Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West, just as they are being groomed to believe that the magic-less Glinda (Ariana Grande) is now in a position of benevolence for their own good. Morrible thrusts a public wedding announcement, proclaiming that Glinda is to wed Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), the Captain of Wizard’s Gale Force (a nod to Dorothy Gale), which comes as a surprise for both characters. Two emotional ties prevent Elphaba from seeing her plan for justice through. One is the estranged friendship she has with Glinda, the only friend she’s ever had, and the other is Fiyero, the only man who’s ever shown her interest. These emotional ties complicate matters for Elphaba, knowing that she is the only hope for the oppressed animals of Oz. Meanwhile, Morrible is in the background, cooking up a plan involving a farm girl from Kansas that will once and for all destroy the Wicked Witch.
It appears that too many things have happened either in between the two movies or off-screen in “For Good”. Apparently, there’s been an ongoing hunt to bring down the Wicked Witch, with Morrible secretly spearheading a charge to kill Elphaba, yet we never really see an intense pursuit. Sure, there’s some chases through the sky, but no real close calls or jeopardizing situations. Somehow, it is discovered that water is a powerful weapon capable of permanently eliminating her. We, the audience, know that due to the classic death of the Wicked Witch in “The Wizard of Oz”, but how do they find that out here? Is all water bad for Elphaba? Can she drink water or swim? None of that is explained. Instead, it just seems like one of many ways in which Chu and his screenwriters are concerned with hastily connecting the dots to the 1939 movie most of us know by heart. There are many problems with that, but the biggest one is how we’re not presented with anything new or different here.
Those who are more familiar with Gregory Maguire’s Wicked book and Stephen Schwartz’s stage musical will know that the source material isn’t family-friendly. Yet Universal has been banking on these movies appealing to all ages, rather than just the built-in fan base.
Just like the last movie, the best moments in “For Good” occur when Erivo and Grande are on screen together. Whether they are sharing a swing amid pink and green lights or throwing down on the yellow brick road, there’s a history to their interactions, indicating what heartbreak, tears, and laughter have been shared between them. They each have their own stakes, which inevitably widen the wedge between them. Glinda realizes Morrible and the Wizard are using her, but she also doesn’t want to change her popular status among the people throughout all the lands of Oz. Elphaba is motivated to live up to her wickedness by the death of her sister, Nessaroe (Marissa Bode), the current mayor of Munchkinland, who is killed when a flying house lands on her.
Yet Elphaba’s so-called destructive path never makes her the evil Wicked Witch we know from “The Wizard of Oz”. That’s a huge problem considering much of what occurs in “For Good” takes place during and around the events of that nostalgic film. One of the many questions after “Wicked” was: How will Erivo’s Elphaba wind up as evil as the deliciously scenery-chewing Margaret Hamilton from “The Wizard of Oz?” The screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox shows no interest in such synchronicity for the Wicked Witch. So, we should see that the demeanor that Erivo’s Elphaba conveys is aligned with Hamilton’s Wicked Witch, but that’s just not happening here. Considering how we’ve known that character for the last 86 years, and the way in which “For Good” ends, there’s definitely a degree of dissatisfaction here.
We also see two characters caught in the magical uproar who will inadvertently be transformed into the Tin Man and Scarecrow we know so well. What we see is meant to serve as a backstory explanation for the two familiar characters, but what transpires is too brief, leaving the implied connections vague and confusing. Coleman Domingo has a wasted role that’s easy to miss, voicing the Cowardly Lion.
But what of the songs? It’s a musical, after all, and we should walk away with hummable tunes and memorable sequences that stand out. Sadly, there’s not a one here. That could be because there’s nothing really to celebrate in this darker half of the story. That’s not to say any of the numbers are bad; there’s “Wonderful,” which is sung once Elphaba returns to the Wizard, and the two, along with Glinda, sing the song, which is essentially about perception, manipulation, and how easily a truth can be an agreed-upon collective. During the song, the Wizard and Glinda try to convince Elphaba to join them, offering her a path to be perceived as “wonderful” like they are. It’s a pivotal moment early on, and it also speaks to how easy it is to get swept up in your own popularity and the need to perpetuate lies and maintain an influential hold on your followers. It all sounds too familiar.
One thing that’s easy to determine in “For Good” is who sings better and whose singing is merely tolerable. Yeoh’s singing ability definitely wasn’t memorable in the last movie, and, during the brief moments she sings here, she sounds out of tune. Goldblum has inherent musical talent, so his singing is quite aligned with his jazzy style. But obviously, the most impressive vocals are coming from Erivo and Grande, especially on the titular song, “For Good.” However, the duo spends most of the movie apart, exploring subplots for their own characters, such as the strained intimacy between Elphaba and Fiyero and Glinda’s realization that the real wicked witch is Morrible.
“For Good” feels padded and predictable, partly due to all the nostalgic dot-connecting it feels compelled to do. Chu doesn’t have the same energy as in the last movie, resulting in a storyline that feels drawn-out and repetitive. Ultimately, it all comes down to how Chu and the producers took a wrong turn by splitting this story into two movies. Sure, Universal wants to reap the financial gains from two features, but they forget that this story can be a one-and-done viewing experience. It worked on Broadway, but no one trusts that movie audiences can handle the full “Wicked” story in one sitting.
RATING: **
