If you and your friends haven’t booked a ride on the yellow brick road yet – you might just after watching Wicked: For Good. I saw it with a group of friends this past weekend, and honestly, it was an experience to remember.
The story picks up where the first film left off: Elphaba is now demonized as the “Wicked Witch of the West,” living in exile and fighting to free the silenced animals of Oz; while Glinda has embraced the fame, comfort and status in Emerald City. Meanwhile, the arrival of a girl from Kansas threatens to upend everything – forcing old friendships, guilt, and ideals to collide. The emotional and moral stakes are high without ever relying on cheap thrills.
In many ways, Wicked: For Good feels like a darker, more complex cousin to films such as Maleficent – a reimagining of familiar fairy-tale villainy – blended with the grandeur and musical spectacle of something like The Greatest Showman. The relationship between Elphaba and Glinda also echoes the emotional resonance of flawed partnerships seen in movies like Princess and the Frog – powerful, conflicted, and layered with regret and longing.
Musically, the film soars. The soundtrack – composed by Stephen Schwartz along with John Powell – blends the familiar score from the stage musical with film-specific ambition. As fans know, “For Good” remains the emotional heart of the saga; in this movie, it’s joined by two brand-new songs: “No Place Like Home” (sung by Elphaba) and “The Girl in the Bubble” (sung by Glinda), both delivering fresh emotional layers and character growth.
As for actors and directors: leading the cast, Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Glinda) return with the gravitas and vocal fire one expects – Erivo’s haunted intensity complements Grande’s glitzy radiance. The rest of the ensemble, including Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, and Marissa Bode, round out rich, conflicted Oz. The whole is brought to life under the careful hands of Director Jon M. Chu, whose cinematic eye gives the Oz of Wicked: For Good both grandeur and grit.
In the broader landscape of fantasy musicals, Wicked: For Good stands out as one of the few that get –emotionally, morally, and visually messy. It’s less about glittery wish-fulfillment and more about the complicated truths behind what it means to be labeled “wicked,” “good,” or something in between. For fans of reimagined fairy tales, layered with friendships, and sweeping musical epics, this film offers something both familiar and definitely new.
After the curtain falls, you don’t just leave Oz – you carry a piece of it with you in seeing it in your everyday life.
