Wicked: For Good is a reasonably enjoyable film that brings the curtain down on the cinematic adaptation directed by John M. Chu. Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox are the scriptwriters, which is ultimately inspired by Gregory Maguire’s novel. The stage play was written by Holzman and Steven Schwartz.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo continue to do well in carrying as the lead roles of Glinda and Elphaba, who are more familiar in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. Jeff Goldblum gives his usual distinctive, offbeat performance as the Wizard himself. Michele Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, and Marissa Bode are also included in this extravagant cinematic feast for the senses.

This piece of the story picks up a year after Elphaba has defied the Wizard and fights for the rights of the animals of Oz. The famous Yellow Brick Road is about to open. Glinda is about to be married. A lot is going on as Glinda and Elphie’s friendship is tested to its limits. Meanwhile, a young girl has crashed into the mystical land when a storm brings a house hurling through the sky. This young girl and her little dog become unwitting key figures in the tumultuous destiny of Oz.

So, I finally saw this conclusion to this latest attempt at an epic cinematic experience. It does fall short of being a mind-blowing theatrical experience, but there are quite a few bright spots that keep me from regret.

Erivo and Grande do have a pretty distinct chemistry. Ariana herself seems to have surprisingly astute comedic instincts. I was also impressed with Erivo’s singing during her musical moments. Goldblum remains to be an interesting presence whenever he appears. There is no shortage of real talent in this cast.

The artistry in the sets, which makes heavy use of CGI, is also quite visually appealing. I am not sure how much was actually physically built, but I think I would have loved to hang out on the set if I were a part of this project.

The performances were pretty good on the whole. The writing was not great but not outrageously bad either when compared to much of what Hollywood has been peddling lately.

The film still felt a little too padded at times with scenes that droned on longer than needed. I am not sure that talking animals really needed to represent the oppressed populations when one could come up with the notion of using a group of people.

The idea of making traditionally villainous characters as being merely misunderstood is getting a little stale.

The film still left me with the sense of it lacking in real originality in many ways. I saw it and had my curiosity satisfied, and now I can shrug it off and go on to the next one…after I complete this blog of course.

I will grant it with one admission though. I am now a bit more intrigued enough to read the book by Gregory Maguire at some point and may actually follow through on that.

Wicked was something I enjoyed more than I expected because fantasy musicals aren’t my usual bag when it comes to my cinematic indulgences. It’s probably not the greatest film I have seen, but there were some great displays of talent and spectacle here. It does the job of being pretty entertaining and interesting.

It’s based on a play, which was in turn based on a novel written by Gregory Maguire. Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox wrote the script with John M. Chu as director.

Cynthia Erivo is in the lead role as the green-skinned Elphaba Thropp, who is to become the legendary, evil Wicked Witch of the West. Ariana Grande is Glinda the Good Witch. Other cast members of note include Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, and Marissa Bode.

This is obviously a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reveals the histories of Glinda and the Wicked Witch, who is apparently named Elphaba. They come across at a place called Shiz University where one of the courses offered is sorcery. Elphaba reveals that she has a powerful telekinetic ability which she cannot always control. She is convinced to enroll alongside her sister. Elphaba and Glinda have an amusingly rocky start to their friendship. There is some movement against talking animals, and Elphaba decides to rebel against the authorities and rescue a lion cub. This prompts an invitation from the Wizard so she can come visit him. Of course, there are darker motivations behind the generosity. Elphaba begins her journey down a dark path that causes denizens of Oz to fear her.

The visual effects are stunning. The musical numbers were pretty good, although a couple of them dragged on a bit longer than I would have preferred.

I was somewhat surprised by Ariana Grande’s comedic timing at times. She really seemed to be a perfect casting choice for the self-absorbed, sycophantic Glinda. Her character arc was handled pretty well. It was hard to really dislike Glinda in spite of some of her antics, but I rather think that was the point of her character.

Erivo handled her role quite well. I was impressed with her when I saw her in Harriet, so I was less surprised by her performance.

The sets were lavish and beautifully constructed. There is a lot of visual stimulation, but I was more impressed by the imagination and craftmanship than anything.

There were times that I felt the musical numbers got in the way of the story. That’s my only real criticism of this film.

Apparently, there is a second part to this story to be released, and I am hooked enough to see it.