Universal's WICKED Films - News & Discussion Thread- Page 119

[Soaring29]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 6:48pm

Grande is the best part of the film while Erivo throws the role away.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 7:03pm

Cynthia will not be winning Best Actress if she is nominated. It’s Jesse Buckley’s year.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 7:47pm

https://ew.com/wicked-for-good-director-reveals-secret-note-fiyero-sent-elphaba-explains-surprise-ending-11854279

[east side story]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 9:49pm

TotallyEffed said: "Cynthia will not be winning Best Actress if she is nominated. It’s Jesse Buckley’s year."

Agreed, and deservedly so. Hamnet is excellent.

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 11:18pm

Just got back from seeing the movie. Maybe my expectations were lowered because of the reviews, but I really enjoyed it! I have a couple of nitpicks and think most of the stage show’s flaws carried over, but I thought the same thing about part 1 and still loved it. I think they definitely improved upon the stage show. And both leads knocked it out of the park. Well worth the wait.

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/21/25 at 11:50pm

I'm curious if Fiyero still gets arrested by Dorothy's fallen house, yet gets taken miles away for no reason to become the scarecrow?  When they could have just done it right there on the spot?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 12:13am

We don’t see where it actually happens but maybe my favorite moment in the entire stage show is that image of him being taken away where you first see he’ll be the scarecrow and sadly, that’s lost in the film. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 12:32am

Can the stage show reincorporate the entire Wonderful number and dance? The movie made me miss that moment when The Wizard and Elphaba dance around the Wizard’s head.

[MagicalMusical]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 12:49am

TotallyEffed said: "2) If Glinda can’t perform magic, how did Dorothy get home?"

Elphaba's magic made the silver slippers able to make their wearer float or fly. Dorothy could fly back to Kansas.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 1:28am

I mean, sure.

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 7:34am

Felt about the movie the same way I feel about act 2 - good but full or ballads, so it drags. There was a lot of crying on that screen. There were potentials for bright spots with the new songs, but Schwartz gave us more ballads (guess No Place Like Home is midtempo, but could’ve been way more joyous - like don’t leave because we LOVE it here so much that we’re all gonna have a big, fun dance moment!). Here are the performances in order or who I thought was best:

1) Ariana

2) Ethan

3) Jonathan

4) Michelle

5) Cynthia/Jeff

Questions:

1) Clearly Morrible has powers, so why does she succumb so easily to Glinda?

2) Is “March of the Witch Hunters” not a direct ripoff or “The Mob Song” from Beauty and the Beast? I must’ve realized this before, but it really hit me yesterday.

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 8:46am

DramaTeach said: "Felt about the movie the same way I feel about act 2 - good but full or ballads, so it drags. There was a lot of crying on that screen. There were potentials for bright spots with the new songs, but Schwartz gave us more ballads (guess No Place Like Home is midtempo, but could’ve been way more joyous - like don’t leave because we LOVE it here so much that we’re all gonna have a big, fun dance moment!). Here are the performances in order or who I thought was best:

1) Ariana

2) Ethan

3) Jonathan

4) Michelle

5) Cynthia/Jeff

Questions:

1) Clearly Morrible has powers, so why does she succumb so easily to Glinda?

2) Is “March of the Witch Hunters” not a direct ripoff or “The Mob Song” from Beauty and the Beast? I must’ve realized this before, but it really hit me yesterday."

HOW do you rank Cynthia below Michelle?? Did you not find No Good Deed the highlight of the film?

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 11:07am

bwayobsessed said: "DramaTeach said: "Felt about the movie the same way I feel about act 2 - good but full or ballads, so it drags. There was a lot of crying on that screen. There were potentials for bright spots with the new songs, but Schwartz gave us more ballads (guess No Place Like Home is midtempo, but could’ve been way more joyous - like don’t leave because we LOVE it here so much that we’re all gonna have a big, fun dance moment!). Here are the performances in order or who I thought was best:

1) Ariana

2) Ethan

3) Jonathan

4) Michelle

5) Cynthia/Jeff

Questions:

1) Clearly Morrible has powers, so why does she succumb so easily to Glinda?

2) Is “March of the Witch Hunters” not a direct ripoff or “The Mob Song” from Beauty and the Beast? I must’ve realized this before, but it really hit me yesterday."

HOW do you rank Cynthia below Michelle?? Did you not find No Good Deed the highlight of the film?"

I guess I should’ve put Michelle and Cynthia together because while Cynthia’s voice is incredible, the performance was just eh. Michelle can’t sing her way out of a bag, but I believed her fury.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 11:38am

Act 2 is weak but this was a pretty shocking collapse. Alternately pure kitsch, a couple moments that got howls in Brooklyn, and unbelievably tedious. Will always have Part 1. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 1:36pm

Instead of Wicked: For Good they should’ve titled it Wicked: Plot Holes

Updated On: 11/22/25 at 01:36 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 1:42pm

Full disclosure: I am a WICKED stan—my (now-so-cringe-I-just-embrace-it) username and account creation date are proof enough. I’ve always loved the musical; it was essentially my gateway drug into musical theater. For that, I’ll always be grateful, and it will always hold a very special place in my heart. That said, 25 years later, I can freely admit it’s far from perfect. It’s always been lopsided and uneven, but it has stood the test of time for a reason.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way—on to the films.

Part One: I thought it was very, very good. Sometimes even great. Two sensational performances at the center, beautiful production design, smart direction, solid sound and visual effects. But the new characters and added scenes only create bloat (why introduce characters who barely even appear in Part Two?), the lighting is often flat, and the runtime is simply too long. Still, a very solid adaptation overall.

For Good: Unfortunately, it fell victim to most of the missteps I feared. Much of Chu’s directorial spark and innovation from Part One is gone.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Why are we making alterations like cutting two of Act Two's best transitions?! (“I’m Not That Girl Reprise” into “ALAYM” and Glinda’s “Fiyeroooo” into Elphaba’s “Fiyeroooo” at the top of “NGD.&rdquo

All that does is add bloat to an already bloated film. It seems minor, but in Part One Chu managed to mesh the musical’s most beloved beats into something cinematic and new while still feeling inherently theatrical. That instinct is mostly absent in For Good. And “As Long As You’re Mine” is so sanitized and PG-ified you feel zero romantic tension between Elphaba and Fiyero.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

ELECTRIC CHAIR for moments like Michelle Yeoh face-planting into a cake and a laughable, completely unnecessary de-aged Jeff Goldblum.

The two new songs do nothing to advance the plot. Act Two needs two more ballads like a hole in the head. (If Schwartz was set on adding new music, he should have crafted one or two production numbers to help the pace of an already sagging second half—though admittedly I’m not sure where they would’ve fit.)

Even with all of that, I still found quite a lot to enjoy. The two leading ladies remain wonderful—Ariana, in particular, has a path to the Oscar if she plays her cards right. “For Good” is shot with simplicity and sincerity, and I found it genuinely moving. I loved the final shot, too—a beautiful way to close out this whole venture. And I appreciated how boldly (for a family film) For Good leaned into the themes of anti-totalitarianism and pro-diversity. Serious kudos on that front.

But here’s the larger issue: It should have NEVER been two films. This should have been released as one movie with a built-in intermission. It would’ve been tighter, more powerful, more of a cultural touchstone—and honestly, more competitive in above-the-line awards races. The second Chu announced the split, I knew we were in trouble. It's a cash grab, plain and simple.

The flip side of that however, is that even with the flaws, it’s thrilling that a big-screen, big-budget, two-part movie musical has found this level of success and audience love. Manohla Dargis said it best in her NY Times review of For Good: "from its director to its cast, the movie is a testament to diversity (species included) as a common good, as well as to love, friendship, and solidarity. It’s on the side of kindness—which is, in its own way, a balm."

Updated On: 11/22/25 at 01:42 PM

[CJRochester]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 2:20pm

DramaTeach said: "
1) Clearly Morrible has powers, so why does she succumb so easily to Glinda?"

Morrible's powers are limited to controlling the weather. 

 

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 2:39pm

WiCkEDrOcKS said: "

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

ELECTRIC CHAIR for moments like Michelle Yeoh face-planting into a cake and a laughable, completely unnecessary de-aged Jeff Goldblum.

”


My exact thoughts during that moment were… 

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

“don’t show a de-aged Jeff Goldblum, don’t show a de-aged Jeff Goldblum— goddammit!”

 

 

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 2:46pm

CJRochester said: "Morrible's powers are limited to controlling the weather."

If you have control of your powers to the point where you can summon a house from another dimension to land on a specific person (a ridiculously forced connection to Wizard of Oz), Morrible for sure could figure out how to kill Glinda.

[blaxx]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 10:17pm

Scarywarhol said: "Act 2 is weak but this was a pretty shocking collapse. Alternately pure kitsch, a couple moments that got howls in Brooklyn,and unbelievably tedious. Will always have Part 1."

I do think they were very conscious that this was a purely financial decision from the beginning. They wanted profit at any cost, and they got it.

[Rentaholic2]

Posted: 11/22/25 at 10:39pm

WiCkEDrOcKS said: "Full disclosure: I am a WICKED stan—my (now-so-cringe-I-just-embrace-it) username and account creation date are proof enough."

Cringe usernames were apparently all the rage in 2004.  I've learned to embrace mine as well.  Though I have to say, the (mostly) alternating uppercase/lowercase letters in yours really gives it flare. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/23/25 at 11:05am

Wicked 2 Box Office: For Good Sets Record for Broadway Adaptation

https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/wicked-for-good-box-office-opening-weekend-record-1236590025/

[MezzA101]

Posted: 11/23/25 at 4:46pm

Obsessed With ‘Wicked’? Try 9 More Songs From Beloved Musicals.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/arts/music/amplifier-newsletter-wicked-musical-songs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.3U8.MCqK.X8Kua97RFpoC&smid=nytcore-android-share

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 11/23/25 at 9:59pm

Wicked: For Good sometimes feels like three different movies competing for your attention. There's the dark, postmodern take on The Wizard of Oz, the political analogy, and then the heartfelt story of a lost friendship that may become whole again. I've never seen Wicked on stage so I can't speak to how the story was expanded and adapted, but there are definitely some moments that underline how this is the second act of a show stretched out to feature length (the scattered opening reminding us of where everyone stands, reprises of songs that only appeared in the first movie, etc.)

That said, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Mainly because the chemistry and performances from Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo continue to be incredibly strong. Grande has the juicier role this time around, and it's fascinating to watch her because she's so good at hiding what her character is really thinking. She's not exactly a cypher, more like someone who is trying to figure themselves out in real time. Jonathan Bailey is also really good, bringing out more of Fiyero's heart. Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater do good work with their limited screentime, but I would have liked to see their characters fleshed out a bit more - their respective endings especially felt quite perfunctory. You're making a two-and-a-half hour movie, you can't find time to give these wonderful performers more to do? Jeff Goldblum has his moments, but I also get the sense that Jon M. Chu was so happy to be able to cast him that he let Goldblum do basically whatever he wanted, which ends up being a little grating at times. Chu does give some great images - "Wonderful" especially looks glorious. He also inserts some action sequences that are exciting in the moment but, as I mentioned before, feel like they come from an entirely different movie.

This one, unlike the first, feels like more of a director's showcase than an actor's, but the performances still give it a lot of heart. It's probably most telling that as flashy as he can be elsewhere in the movie, when Chu shoots "For Good" all he does it take his camera and point it at Erivo and Grande. That's all he needs. The two of them are so good, and together they're dynamite.

So yeah, I liked it. It's not as good as the first (in hindsight, it probably makes the first look even better in comparison) but still an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. Now when the national tour comes though the Twin Cities a few months from now I'll finally be able to see the show as it was originally intended and have a better idea of what the adaptational process was.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/24/25 at 12:12am

Overall, I enjoyed the film. I liked its darker tone.

My opinion on the weakest link is Yeoh. She wasn’t menacing enough for me. Not terrifying in her split personality. Many Morribles terrified me with their end of Act One proclamation. I think a Glenn Close or a Toni Collette would have been way better. 
 

Also one thing I can’t get past. If Elphaba can levitate with Fiyero, couldn’t she have taken him with when she escaped the guards?!? Makes no sense.