Wicked: For Good turns the musical’s sobering second half into the most unmissable movie of 2025

18 Nov 2025, 17:00 · TechRadar

TechRadar Verdict

I didn't think the second act could live up to last year's first Wicked release, but Wicked: For Good got straight under my skin. Polished, near-flawless and incredibly emotional, good luck getting through it without tissues.

Pros

+Just as visually exquisite as the first movie
+Cynthia Ervio's 'No Good Deed' is one of the best movie-musical performances of all time
+Lots more emotional range from Ariana Grande
+Clever usage of The Wizard of Oz plot
+Minor storyline changes made for the better
+More Jeff Goldblum

Cons

-Minor pacing issues
-Not the all-singing, all-dancing part of the story (but that's not really the film's fault)

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At the end of my Wicked: For Good screening, when the lights came up, there was hardly any mascara left on everyones' eyelashes. The second half of director Jon M. Chu's Oztastic vision is an emotional rollercoaster in entirely new ways, and for me, it's completely defied expectations (see what I did there?).

The second half of the movie-musical was always going to be the more difficult half to adapt. All of the joyous narrative and dance numbers have been and gone in Wicked, with the storyline turning much darker as Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is officially dubbed The Wicked Witch of the West.

If you've seen the stage show, you'll know what I mean... but if you've read the book, the original Wicked story was even more macabre. With each adaptation, the Wicked ending has become more palatable and optimistic, and Chu's take on Elphaba and Glinda's (Ariana Grande) farewell is the most light-hearted yet (thanks to a few new changes).

For Wicked: For Good, this means packing an emotional punch so strong that you forget green witches and flying monkeys aren't actually real life. Erivo and Grande are completely invested in delivering the best ending to the tale they love so much, and that only adds to the overall polish of the movie's epic scale.

There is no way I thought the second half would be as good as the first, and now I completely stand corrected. It's Erivo's musical performances that take things to the next level the most, and it's clear we're watching a once-in-a-generation star do what she does best

Wicked: For Good packs the emotional punch the first movie skimmed over

Wicked: For Good | Official Trailer - YouTube

Watch On

As we pick up the story in the second half, Madame Morrible's (Michelle Yeoh) PR campaign on creating The Wicked Witch of the West has worked wonders, and the whole of Oz is in fear. Elphaba continues to battle for animals and Ozians to live in peace while being persecuted at every turn.

Meanwhile, Glinda and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) are each secretly trying to help, despite putting on a front of being happy and in love. And the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum)? Well, he's just kicking about, harboring a bunch of talking animal prisoners in the tower.

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