Director: Jon M. Chu

Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum

Synopsis:

Last year’s global cinematic cultural sensation, which became the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time, now reaches its epic, electrifying, emotional conclusion in Wicked: For Good. Elphaba, now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, lives in exile, hidden within the Ozian forest while continuing her fight for the freedom of Oz’s silenced Animals and desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard. Glinda, meanwhile, has become the glamorous symbol of Goodness for all of Oz, living at the palace in Emerald City and reveling in the perks of fame and popularity. Under the instruction of Madame Morrible, Glinda is deployed to serve as an effervescent comfort to Oz, reassuring the masses that all is well under the rule of The Wizard. As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

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Is Jonathan Bailey too sexy for a PG certificate? Every time he smoulders on screen as the lovelorn Prince Fiyero in Wicked: For Good, far more naughtily lustful than he was in the first film, it’s hard not to think of the unsuspecting mothers of innocent musical fans frantically covering their young daughters’ eyes as Prince Charming gets his kit off for the Wicked Witch of the West.

There’s a lot more passion in this sequel, and a lot more darkness too, making it decisively more grown-up, as we follow Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) into an epic fight between good and evil in the Land of Oz. It’s grander, more ambitious, though not necessarily better than its predecessor. The films were shot at the same time – hence the fast arrival of the second instalment – and supposedly turned into two to avoid cutting character development, although I’m not sure the second’s 137-minute runtime is used quite so much for characterisation as dazzling design.

© The I Paper