Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) returns to wreak more righteous mayhem.
Just got back from WICKED: FOR GOOD.
I
was entertained, but I felt it was definitely the weaker of the two
films, with the stakes and characters having been firmly established in
the first installment, while the second film is basically a final act
that's been padded out to 137 minutes. I did not see the Broadway
version, but I'm guessing that show was about three hours max, excluding
intermission, so translating it to the screen in two films totaling
close to five hours was doomed
to feel bloated with filler. I found the second film to be more of a
case of racing to the narrative finish line than actually engrossing the
audience. All of its plot threads wrap up rather abruptly, especially
Glinda's banishment of the Wizard and the imprisonment of Madame
Morrible, which leads me to ask if she could rid Oz of those villains
with such relative ease, what took her so fucking long to get there?
Was
it bad, No. Does it pale in comparison to its livelier and more fun
first half. Absolutely, but it's still worth seeing. I loved the
production design and the performances, plus to say nothing of the
seamless flying sequences, and Cynthia Erivo exuded major presence as
Elphaba. When Glinda slapped her, the entire Bay Ridge audience let out a
collective "Oooooooh..." as if to note how ill-advised it is for a
palm-colored person to strike a black woman, even if said black woman
happens to be green.
Worth
seeing, especially if you can score a discount matinee. Also there are
some theaters that are screening both films back to back. I don't know
how well that will work from the audience's POV, as the falloff from
the first film is considerable, though your mileage may vary. And in my
opinion, when it comes to films ancillary to the classic 1939 THE WIZARD
OF OZ, by far the best of the lot is 1985's RETURN TO OZ, which
remembers in no uncertain terms that the Oz of the novels is a place
that is simultaneously fantastically wondrous, but is also downright
terrifying. Give that one a watch if you never saw it.
Poster for the theatrical release.
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