By Glenn Kay
For the Sun
Rating: ++
out of ++++
Running Time: 137 minutes
This film from Universal Pictures opens exclusively at theaters and on IMAX screens on Friday, Nov. 21.
While it’s rare to hear the term “critic-proof” these days, this week marks the release of one such example. Last year, Wicked, the film adaptation of the Wizard of Oz-inspired Broadway musical, was a massive smash grossing roughly $760 million dollars worldwide. It also didn’t have a proper finale, which means that all those who admired the first picture will feel compelled to see the end of the story.
As Wicked: For Good begins, Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Enrivo) has discovered that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) isn’t such a nice guy. Instead, he’s a rather fearful, power-hungry leader planning to exert control over all the land.
He and sorceress Madame Morrible (Michele Yeoh) label Elphaba the “Wicked Witch of the West” to the public as she goes into hiding. Ex-roommate and estranged friend Glinda (Ariana Grande) is caught between the two battling parties, but takes solace in announcing her imminent wedding to very surprised prince Fiyero Tigelarr (Jonathan Bailey), who actually has feelings for Elphaba. The characters are all eventually reunited as they come into conflict, and decide who and what they stand for.
Much like the first film, the performances and technical specs are top-notch. Stars Enrivo and Grande are obviously wonderful singing talents and belt out their tunes with ease. The numbers with supporting cast members are a bit over-the-top and grandiose, but that is to be expected in a giant production. And they both play well off of each other, seemingly on opposite sides and conflicted about going toe-to-toe with each other. It does result in an entertaining showdown at one point in the story, with the pair also flexing comedic chops during the sequence. Goldblum also gets a chance to perform, although his best moments come from a few sly comments.
The movie looks spectacular once again, with brightly lit environments wowing. The colorful Wizard’s main chamber almost pops off of the screen at certain points. Most of the sets and vistas all across the fantasy world are spectacular to behold, especially on the big screen. And, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, when there is action, it is impressively put together.
Still, if you did feel like things were stretched out the first time around, you’ll likely have the same experience here. Despite this follow-up’s shorter running time, it suffers from noticeable pacing issues. This is particularly true during the first hour. There are a few important events. Most notably, animals are freed, including flying monkeys who join Elphaba, and we see the protagonist’s sister Nessarose (Marissa Bride) deal with personal drama.
But otherwise, much of the first section of the film features Glinda trying to mend fences between Elphaba and the Wizard of Oz. They even meet and come to an understanding before everyone’s real intentions (which are the same as revealed during the climax of the first movie) reignite the conflicts. It feels like the picture is backtracking and repeating itself, leading to a very odd and slow first hour. In fact, one could honestly have lost about 45 minutes of this and not missed an important beat.
The story doesn’t find its footage or gain momentum until a tornado occurs. From this point onward, it improves significantly, directly addressing the conflicts set up previously and dealing with the fates of characters (sometimes making direct references to The Wizard of Oz source material). But even the finale, while generally satisfying, feels stretched out to the point where one might start rising from their seat before realizing they have to sit back down for another scene or two.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether I enjoyed or hated this film, as so many people saw the previous entry and they will want closure. And most will be satisfied, although they will have to sit through a lot of extraneous material to get there. Wicked: For Good is just that… a decent blockbuster, but one that doesn’t ultimately hit the heights that it could have.
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