Wicked for Good review: Cynthia Erivo-Ariana’s film is gorgeous but emotionally flat
Wicked: For Good comes to a visually stunning but emotionally uneven finale. The film’s heavy tone and slow pace challenges audience engagement despite strong performances. Read our review.
‘Wicked: For Good’ arrives as the grand finale of the stage adaptation that many have been waiting for for years. Yet the film struggles to transform that scale into something entertaining or even emotional. The Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo-starrer musical is presented with extraordinary craft, but all the glitter and grandeur ends up being a flat experience.
The film’s biggest hindrance is its dull, almost loose script. The first half feels so long that it tests your patience more than building momentum. The scenes and songs keep going long after they’ve made their point, giving you enough time to admire the visuals and also wonder if the plot is planning to move forward any time soon. And when the second act finally picks up pace and tension, the spark had already dimmed, and some people in the theater walked out.
The heaviness is accompanied by an unexpectedly sharp tonal change. This chapter focuses almost without restraint on politics, manipulation, propaganda, and systemic violence. For a world that many associate with playfulness, friendship, and bright pink-green rebellion, this final installment settles into a grim situation. And while the darkness isn’t the problem, since ‘Rogue’ has grappled with moral dilemmas before, there is an imbalance. There’s barely any lightness or humor in it. As for kids, they’re clearly not the target audience this time around, as adults had a hard time enjoying it.
Thankfully, the performance keeps things afloat. Cynthia Erivo is the film’s emotional anchor – fiery, painful, and deeply honest. She brings so much rawness to Elphaba that even when the writing gives her limited room to develop, she still has moments of weakness that hit harder than anything the script outlined. And of course, the vocals – she doesn’t just sing; She explodes with emotions. Meanwhile, Ariana Grande is back, playing Glinda with soft, glowing fragility. She shines in the quieter tunes, where her expressions do more than the dialogue, and she elevates every musical moment she has.
The supporting cast is enthusiastic and fully committed, but the script rarely gives them any real emotion. Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard is delightfully slippery, Michelle Yeoh brings elegance to Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey (yes, the sexiest man alive) adds warmth as Fiyero, and Ethan Slater and Marisa Bode spark sparks in their brief moments. But none of them are given the emotional space to really make an impact.
What works brilliantly is the visual world-building, as the film is absolutely gorgeous. The production design is gorgeous, the costumes are layered to perfection, and Oz looks more impressive than ever on screen. The IMAX 3D experience really elevates the film, whether it’s color, depth, scale, or small details you don’t see on a regular screen. There are moments when you sit back and let the spectacle wash over you. But there is only so much visual enjoyment it can provide. When the emotional core isn’t fully captured, even the most stunning frames lose steam.
Musically the film hits highs but lands inconsistently. Erivo’s solos are easily the strongest, but many of the new numbers and reprises feel like they’ve been placed there to patch narrative gaps rather than deepen them. ‘Wicked’ has always been about music that gets into your heart, but here, some of it barely hits.
The final act attempts to tie everything together with a mix of visual and emotion. But parts of it feel rushed, while others feel unnecessarily exaggerated. It’s as if director Jon M. Chu suddenly realized that two decades of fans’ expectations were riding on the film. The solution wraps up the thread, but the emotional payoff doesn’t sit as deep as it should.
‘Wicked: For Good’ is a film of extraordinary ambition but uneven execution. It’s gorgeous to look at, honest in intent, sometimes moving but often heavy, slow and emotionally distant. As a finale, it checks the boxes but doesn’t quite ignite the spirit that once made Oz such a magical place to visit again. To be honest, it’s not the huge goodbye we expected.