Wicked: For Good had to have been one of the most anticipated movies in the musical theater sphere; the trailer alone amassed excitement among even the newest fans of the Wicked franchise. It goes without saying that the expectations were extremely high, Everyone waited for the story of Glinda (Ariana Grande, Don’t Look Up) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo, Harriet)—begin in last year’s first part—to come to completion.
If you are familiar with the Broadway production, you would be familiar with the misformed structure of Act 2, which is the act that this film follows. There are a lot of holes in the closure of the story, but for the most part it is still an enjoyable experience because of the medium of the production. Unfortunately, the holes are exacerbated by its film adaptation.
Wicked: For Good attempts to expand upon the second half of the story of the Wicked Witch of the West with its two-hour runtime. The pace of the film isn’t slow, per se, but the viewer is left with the feeling that Elphaba has not actually accomplished much. A lot, maybe too much, rides on the apparent emotional journey that Glinda and Elphaba take as they grow into their roles as hero and villain of Oz.
The performances continue to be amazing; the chemistry between the actors on screen is undeniable. It is unfortunately muddied by the lackadaisical plot progression and lazy resolution. The direction of some of the most important scenes in the film falls flat as well, leaving the viewer reeling for more, and not in a good way. To surmise, without the musical-theater flavor, the film is a little boring. It focuses a little too much on Glinda and Elphaba being best friends and too little on Elphaba’s journey to truly becoming the Wicked Witch of the West.
Treasure McCorkle
Treasure McCorkle is an award-winning screenwriter and producer from Baltimore, Maryland. She has worked on many different projects in many roles, ranging from directing and producing to assisting art departments and providing casting direction, including the feature film Stealing Cars and her college-thesis film, AVA. In addition to this, Treasure has written many other acclaimed short films, ranging from family drama to psychological horror. Treasure is currently working on many different projects, including the development of audio drama series Valleyfell. You can see examples of her film work at treasuremccorkle.com .