Movie Review - Universal's Wicked: For Good

You will be changed.

Wicked: For Good is a 2025 epic musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, produced by Universal Pictures and Marc Platt Productions, and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is based off of the Broadway musical, Wicked, which, in turn, is based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. It stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. This is the second film in the Wicked franchise. It acts as a sequel to Wicked and a prequel/alternate version of The Wizard of Oz.

"Haven't you heard? I'm the Wicked Witch of the West." - Elphaba Thropp

Plot

After the Wizard of Oz frames her as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba Thropp continues her rebellion against the Emerald City to save the animals and clear her name. While she is hunted by Fiyero, the Wizard appoints Glinda as the "good witch" in opposition to Elphaba, leading for the two witches to cross paths once again.

The Sweet

Wicked: For Good was an overwhelming experience.

I have been waiting my entire life for a film adaptation of Wicked, because I absolutely adore the musical. Last year, Wicked was my most anticipated movie of the year, and it just completely blew me away. So, with Wicked being one of my favorite movies of the 2020s, I was very, very excited to see how they adapted the conclusion of this story.

One of the things that makes Wicked: For Good stand out is how different it is from the first part of this story. For Good is a darker, less "fun", more emotional experience, and Jon M. Chu understands that. He focuses in on these characters and these relationships, creating a more serious-feeling tone throughout. It tones down the humor and really makes sure to emphasize those moments that just make your stomach drop. You know how this story ends for the Wicked Witch of the West, so For Good appropriately builds to that conclusion.

Everything that was great about Wicked is also still great in For Good. To be honest, some aspects are better. To be honest, I found Ariana Grande's performance in For Good to be even better than hers in Wicked. In the first one, she was really good at nailing Glinda's humor and naivety. Here, she has to lean much more into the emotional side of the character, and she absolutely kills it. And, of course, Cynthia Erivo is still fantastic. Elphaba is much angrier and more firm in her identity in this movie, so that gives Erivo a chance to really let a different, more wicked side of this character come out.

It goes without saying that the music is still fantastic, but almost all of the numbers feels more restrained, and I think that's a good thing. As I've said, For Good is a darker, more emotional film than Wicked. The music reflects that. Songs like As Long As You're Mine, No Good Deed, and For Good are all more emotional and personal. These numbers aren't choreographed with big dance numbers. Instead, they are shot constantly in closeup and slow camera movements. This lets the actors really harness their characters and dig deep into the emotions of the story. And that is something that you cannot achieve on stage. Shooting these songs with softer, more reserved camera movements and closeups seems like it eliminates the power of a cinematic musical, but for this film, it really works because it lets you sit in the emotion of the characters and the story.

Since Jon M. Chu did not got nominated for Wicked, the Academy has a chance to redeem themselves with For Good. This guy just has an iron grip on how to bring a modern Oz to life. He knows the direction that this story requires to make it hit as hard as it should. Portraying this part of the story ia darker and more mature requires a strong director, and Chu is more than prepared for that challenge. Do I think his direction is as good as Wicked? No, but it's still great.

And, of course, Wicked: For Good comes to an incredibly emotional conclusion. When I opened this review by saying it was an overwhelming experience, this is mainly what I was referring to. The final twenty minutes of this film hits you like a speeding bullet train. As soon as For Good started playing, the tears started coming and did not stop until the film ended. The movie actually expands on the ending of the musical and adds more moments of emotion and payoff that just make everything hit a little bit harder.

So why does this film hit so hard? Well, it all comes down to Wicked having great characters. Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero are just such compelling people, and the way this story wraps up is incredibly emotional for all of them. And, as much as I do think Fiyero is a great character, the most emotional parts are when it focuses on Elphaba and Glinda. There are a few shots in the final twenty minutes that will just crush your soul with how beautifully they capture the tragedy of this story. Elphaba and Glinda are the core of this story, and the end of this movie understands that, so it just locks in on that and rips your heart out with the way it wraps up their relationship.

Finally, I think a lot of the stuff that was added from the musical works. There are two new songs, and I thought both were solid. They aren't anywhere close to some of the best songs in Wicked, but they were good additions. The most important thing that this movie adds, however, is the expansion of Glinda's character. Glinda is great in the musical, but she can be very frustrating with some of her actions in the second act especially. This movie adds more layers to her character and makes her more sympathetic, so every action she takes feels like it has more meaning. It also gives Ariana Grande more time to shine, so I will never complain about that.

The Sour

To be honest, I never thought For Good was going to be as good as Wicked. And i was correct.

The primary reason that I didn't think For Good would be as good or better than the first film was simple: act two of Wicked is just not as good as act one. Act one works beautifully as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, with a truly emotional story that gives layers to the Wicked Witch of the West and the entire country of Oz in general. Act two is still great, but it's a messier and feels less like it's own thing. For Good inevitably has all of the problems of the second act of Wicked.

The main thing that frustrates me about this film is the awkward inclusion of The Wizard of Oz. The first half of this film continues the story of Wicked, but about halfway through, Dorothy arrives. So the second half of this movie takes place during The Wizard of Oz. And the way that it incorporates Dorothy and Wizard of Oz is just awkward. Dorothy's face is never shown. We don't actually see any events that take place during Wizard of Oz. Instead, we often pick up right after something in that movie happens. So instead of seeing Glinda meets Dorothy and watching her head off on the yellow brick road, we see Glinda waving goodbye to Dorothy and then continuing on with her story. If they did show the scenes from The Wizard of Oz, it would also be awkward. Wicked does not align perfectly with The Wizard of Oz, so you just have to interpret it as an alternate version of the story. The Elphaba we know would never treat Dorothy the way that the Wicked Witch treats her. In Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch interacts with Glinda in a way that would never happen if Wicked was the true prequel. You just have to suspend disbelief for Wicked to fully work and ignore The Wizard of Oz as exact canon.

Because of the awkward inclusion of The Wizard of Oz, the pace of For Good just feels a bit strange. It's a slower movie than Wicked, which can just make it feel weird. Because it's a darker, more character-based story, it does not have the fast-paced, exciting musical numbers or sequences. The first film had What Is This Feeling?, Dancing Through Life, One Short Day, and, of course, Defying Gravity. Those are some epic musical numbers that have huge, exciting dance sequences or powerful moments. The songs in this film, as I previously stated, are quieter and more restrained. But, because of that, it just does not hit as hard as Wicked did. Sure, it's more emotional, but the entire movie just does not feel as impactful.

Whereas Wicked did not feel like it was dragging out the musical's content, For Good kind of does. The second act of Wicked is, depending on the performance, about an hour long. That's short. For Good feels like it adds a lot more than Wicked did, and you can kind of feel that. The first half hour is mostly made up of new scenes and extensions of songs, and it just makes the pace feel even more awkward. The new content, regardless of whether it's good or not, feels a little bit more forced than it did in Wicked.

I also was not a fan of Michelle Yeoh's Madame Morrible in this film. Look, she's not a major enough character for it to really distract from my enjoyment of the film, but she just feels so one-note and evil for no real reason. Yeoh is good at being intimidating, but I just got annoyed whenever she was doing so, because her being so evil just felt unearned and forced.

Finally, this movie inherently does not feel as epic and awe-inspiring as Wicked. The first movie had the novelty of being the introduction to this world. It was our first glimpse at what Wicked could look like in cinematic form. For Good was never going to have that element, so it already started a bit behind it's predecessor. And, because it's a slower, more character-focused film, there isn't as much epic, grandiose spectacle as there was in the first movie. The film just feels a bit soft because it does not focus on the world of Oz as much as I would've liked. I love these characters and their relationships, but it would've been nice to see a bit more of the world turning on and hunting down Elphaba.

Final Thoughts and Score

I am still somewhat processing how I feel about For Good. On the one hand, it's definitely not as good as Wicked. On the other, it was a cathartic experience to watch this story that I've loved for my entire life come to an end perfectly on the big screen.

For now, I am going Savory. Age range is 12+.

SWEET N' SOUR SCALE

Sweet (Great) Savory (Good) Sour (Bad) Moldy (Terrible)

"Wicked: For Good"

Fun Factor: 8.5/10

Acting: 9.5/10

Story: 7.5/10

Characters: 9/10

Quality: 8.5/10

Directed by Jon M. Chu

Rated PG for moderate violence and action, frightening themes and images, suggestive material, thematic elements

Released on November 21, 2025

2 hours and 17 minutes

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp / The Wicked Witch of the West

Ariana Grande as Glinda Upland / Glinda the Good Witch

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar

Jeff Goldblum as Oscar Diggs / The Wizard of Oz

Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible

Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp / The Wicked Witch of the East

Ethan Slater as Boq Woodsman

Sharon D. Clarke as Dulcibear

Bowen Yang as Pfannee

Bronwyn James as ShenShen

Colman Domingo as Brrr the Cowardly Lion

Bethany Weaver as Dorothy Gale