I have been a fan of “Wicked” since the first time I saw it on Broadway in 2022. So you already know how excited I was to watch director Jon Chu deliver the final act in “Wicked: For Good.”

And all I can say is wow.

From the opening scene to the end credits, I was thoroughly impressed with Chu’s cinematic storytelling, which brought the final part of “Wicked’s” story to life. 

ACTING

Taking a look at the acting, of course, it was going to be incredible across the board. I mean, look at the lineup: singer-songwriters and actresses Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo and actors Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum and Ethan Slater. 

Despite the online slander Grande and Erivo get, you have to give them credit; they are both incredibly talented actresses, and it really shows in their roles as Glinda and Elphaba respectively in “Wicked: For Good.” 

Their ability to become one with the character they are portraying and the raw emotion they bring to their roles is incredible. It really shows how dedicated they are and how honored they feel to play these well-known characters. 

Slater, as Boq, who becomes the Tin Man, had a lot to deliver in the final part of the “Wicked” story. And let’s just say, he delivered. Despite the little screen time he received, Slater managed to make the Tin Man a very frightening character. 

In the song “March of the Witch Hunters,” Boq has his solo part, saying “And this is more than just a service to the Wizard/ I have a personal score to settle with El/ With The Witch!/ It’s due to her I’m made of tin/ Her spell made this occur/ So for once, I’m glad I’m heartless/ I’ll be heartless killing her!” 

The song is evil and filled with anger, with Slater giving just that in his performance. While the film did not include as much singing from the Tin Man as the Broadway version does, his angry, bold delivery embodied everything the character is meant to exemplify towards Elphaba. 

Even the death-stare glance he gave up to Glinda, despite being in love with her, sent chills down my spine. 

SOUNDTRACK

I am a sucker for musical numbers, so of course I was excited to see how Grande, Erivo, Bailey, Goldblum and Slater delivered in the film. 

The film featured two original songs, one of them being “The Girl in the Bubble,” sung by Glinda. While I love Grande’s vocals and feel her execution of the song was very good, the song’s placement is what stuck out to me most.

The song was placed in the middle of the musical number for “March of the Witch Hunters,” as the scene cuts from the outside chaos to Glinda inside her room. While the songs’ placement might have made more sense if they evoked similar vibes, the two definitely do not. 

“March of the Witch Hunters” is about the Tin Man, Ozians’ and the Cowardly Lion’s desire to kill and defeat Elphaba once and for all. The song has a dark undertone, representing the anger built up in all the citizens of Oz. On the contrary, “The Girl in the Bubble” focuses on Glinda’s emotions and is sung slowly, evoking empathy from the audience for Glinda.

The second original song featured in the movie was “No Place Like Home,” sung by Elphaba. This song is a blatant nod to the signature line “there’s no place like home,” from the “The Wizard of Oz.” Out of the two original songs for the movie, I enjoyed this one more, especially because Elphaba, the wickedest in all of Oz, performs it.

When taking a look at all the songs from the original Broadway show, they were all beautifully performed, in large part due to the actors’ live singing.

Bailey and Erivo’s vocals in “As Long as You’re Mine” truly did it for me, their voices blended perfectly during that scene. While the on-screen chemistry was hit or miss, depending on who you ask online, the harmony in their vocals added an immense amount of raw emotion to the scene.

Similarly, I just can’t get enough of Erivo’s vocals, like in “No Good Deed.” Her vocal performance is always breathtaking and the live recording of songs truly displays her incredible ability to perform live.

Yet, as someone who is a fan of the soundtrack from the Broadway production, I was a little disappointed that the transition from Glinda’s “Fiyero” to Elphaba’s was not only missing in the film, but also on the soundtrack entirely. 

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Honestly, just coming from “Wicked,” everyone knew the cinematography in “Wicked: For Good” was going to be top-notch. 

When Glinda is walking down the aisle of her wedding, while Elphaba is walking down the aisle of the Wizard’s chamber of caged animals, the juxtaposition of the two scenes is insanely well put together. 

Everything about the two shots is identical, even down to Glinda and Elphaba’s walking pace, as the two shots are switched back and forth during the scene. 

The shot with Glinda has sunlight pouring in, beautiful flowers and a lively atmosphere, signifying that this moment is the highlight of her life. 

On the contrary, Elphaba is filmed in a dark environment, dimly lit, with her ascending down stairs to the darkest moment in her life, after the Wizard lied directly to her face. 

Even Alice Brooks, a cinematographer on the film, confirmed this idea, according to Variety, saying, “Glinda and Elphaba are descending stairs ‘to what becomes the consequence of their life.’”

Additionally, towards the end of the film, the opening scene from “Wicked” plays, featuring Glinda in Munchkinland and the musical number “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Yet, instead of the scene transitioning to the flashback of when Glinda and Elphaba first arrive at Shiz University and ultimately meet one another, the camera pans back to Glinda. The scene continues on with Glinda telling the Munchkins how she wishes to bring goodness to all Ozians, human or animal, and bring everyone together. 

When I first saw this scene, I’m not going to lie, I thought I may have accidentally bought tickets to the double feature. When I saw the way that the crew was able to blend the scene from the first movie into the additional scenes for the second, and I was amazed. 

It really adds so much more to the film, showing how the two acts blend into the same storyline. 

Even how the transformation scenes were shot brought out so much emotion and storytelling to the overall plot. While I would have liked to see more of Fiyero’s transformation and just the Scarecrow on screen in general, what was shown of both transformations was beautifully filmed. 

The musical numbers all had great cinematography as well, but none of them compared to “No Good Deed.” Seeing Elphaba in the dimly lit environment with only the sunset on the horizon, surrounded by the flying monkeys with fire, was masterful.

I mean, the symbolism in the film is simply everywhere, even when you least expect it, like the ending shot, meant to represent the cover of the Broadway playbill.

The film is insanely well-crafted, bringing out so much emotion and I, for sure,  cried leaving the theater. 

Like most films, it has its highs and its lows, but if you haven’t seen it already, what are you doing? 

Let’s just hope it doesn’t get snubbed at the Oscars this year.