Last year, the sensational Wicked came out, and it rocked the entertainment industry, with products coming out left and right. Yesterday, part 2 of it came out, and today I saw it—so, does it live up to the first one?
Firstly, I loved the first one and—being the impatient person I am—I was so upset I couldn’t immediately watch the second one. Wicked: For Good is 2 hours and 17 minutes long, and it continues the story from Wicked, so it’d be too long to put the two movies into one.
The movie begins with Elphaba’s return and immediately transitions into action. While I do not want to spoil the whole plot if you want to see it, I will say that it is far more action-packed than the first movie. The second movie really prompts the viewer to think more about the theme of the musical, namely that good and bad are relative to perspective and that sometimes people don’t want the truth. While the first movie had a more lighthearted feel, the second one played more into the entire message of the musical. You see Glinda struggle with her internal feelings of having her dream or doing what she knows in her heart is right, and eventually justice is properly served.
Now, for whether the movie lives up to the first one, I say it does. As previously mentioned, it definitely has a different feel than the first movie, but it really creates a full-circle moment towards the end. You can see the money and effort that went into this film, and it is truly a cinematic masterpiece. Obviously, if you’re not into musicals, I’d sit this one out, but for those who do enjoy musicals, this movie is fantastic. But it’s also more than just an enjoyable experience; it makes the viewer think about the parallels to the current state of the world, and even reflect on the past.
What I really enjoyed was how it tied in The Wizard of Oz storyline and used it to progress the movie further. Reviews online share that, “It tied together all three oz movies together brilliantly”, and “Full circle! Couldn’t have wished it to turn out better!”. Naturally, some people aren’t fans of it, saying it was “Very, very bad” or that “it could have just been one movie”, but overall the reviews are positive.
I do think reading or seeing the actual musical first before diving into the movies would be a good idea, as someone who has not seen the original Broadway musical. I think it would’ve given me more insight into what to expect, and would make me more qualified to compare the two and see any discrepancies.
One criticism I had isn’t regarding the movie, but the amount of merchandise being produced due to its success. As, in some ways, it goes against the message of the whole musical and book. However, besides that, the movie was beautiful.
My warning is that it is far more emotional than the first one, as it isn’t as light-hearted, and I did end up crying a couple of times. The movie, however, does end on a good note that I expect most people to be satisfied with. The songs are as good as the first one; however, I did prefer some of the original songs better. The songs do truly fit in with the movie, and help progress the storyline instead of just feeling thrown in there.
Overall, I’d recommend the movie for anyone who enjoyed the original musical or likes musicals in general. For parents who want to take their kids, I think it is a kid-friendly movie as it is advertised, there is just one kissing scene that seemed a bit intimate, other than that it’s perfectly fine for kids. I personally saw it in 3D, which was truly amazing, but I saw the first one without 3D and I enjoyed it just the same! 10/10.
