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- Wicked: For Good review – A conclusion of the Oz saga to surely satisfy its extensive army of devotees
Wicked: For Good review – A conclusion of the Oz saga to surely satisfy its extensive army of devotees
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return in top, lung-busting form for another wondrous, multi-colour extravaganza.
Universal
- James Mottram
★★★★☆
Wicked: For Good is in cinemas from 21 November. Add it to your watchlist
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After last year’s Wicked: Part I, we’re back for some more Ozploitation. Jon M Chu’s two-part adaptation has already been a wild ride, tapping into the perennial enthusiasm for the long-running stage show by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, which itself came inspired both by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel and, of course, Hollywood Golden Age musical The Wizard of Oz. Part I conjured a healthy $756 million global box office, followed by ten Oscar nominations and two wins.
There’s no reason to think Wicked: For Good won’t perform the same trick, or better it, with Chu bringing events to a rousing close. While he infuses enthusiasm into every frame, the same can be said for his leading ladies. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are back in top, lung-busting form as, respectively, the pink-hued Glinda the Good and Elphaba, the green-skinned witch who has been cast out of Oz, thanks to the machinations of the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum, wickedly charming as ever), the ultimately carney-man.
Ariana Grande is Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in Wicked: For Good. Universal
Now in exile, the demonised Elphaba’s name has been stained by the Wizard, in league with her one-time tutor, the former Dean of Sorcery at Shiz University, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh, still wearing that delicious Mr. Whippy ice-cream hair-do). The slightly vapid Glinda, meanwhile, thinks they need to be trademarking the word "good", while she’s also caught up in preparations for her impending wedding to Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey), who has been charged with capturing Elphaba.
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in Wicked: For Good. Universal
Early on, we see her deftly flying her broomstick and causing disruption as workers build the famed Yellow Brick Road – and that won’t be the only reference to The Wizard of Oz. Wicked: For Good weaves around events of the 1939 movie, as a certain house from Kansas comes tumbling from the sky. Chu, wisely, never makes this about Dorothy, Toto and the others, but rather places them in the backdrop – a move that respectfully doesn’t trample on the memory of the iconic star of the original, Judy Garland.
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There are new songs penned by Schwartz – No Place Like Home and The Girl In The Bubble. But you’d be hard pressed to claim these lift the show into a new stratosphere. And in truth, whether or not splicing the stage show in two was a cash grab, you’re always left wondering what a one-movie approach would’ve been like. Try as he might, Chu doesn’t quite generate the same emotional heft as the previous film, but that’s always likely when the audience has been made to pause halfway through the story.
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in Wicked: For Good. Universal
Despite some cool visual treats (flying monkeys!), there’s also some questionable CGI/makeup effects involving both Goldblum and Bailey, in a meme-worthy transformation, and a lot less of Bowen Yang, as Pfannee, which is a shame. But gripes aside, it hardly matters when you’ve got Erivo and Grande hitting the highest of notes. Both Oscar nominees last time out, in the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories respectively, it’d be no shock if Academy voters were keeping their powder dry to award these divas this time around. In both cases, it’d be richly deserved.
Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba and Ariana Grande is Glinda in Wicked: For Good Universal
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There are some lovely interactions – including one hilarious fight – as Glinda confronts her feelings about Elphaba, whose quest to save the animals, banned from Oz along with the Munchkin people, has led her to this life on the outside. Once again, Nathan Crowley’s production design is wondrous, a multi-colour extravaganza that truly brings Oz to life. Simply spending time there – with its fields of tulips and fireworks in the sky – is one of the great pleasures of this movie. A film that will surely satisfy Wicked’s extensive army of devotees.
Authors
James Mottram
James Mottram is a London-based film critic, journalist, and author.
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