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Wicked: For Good Review: Does Part 2 Deliver a Worthwhile Finale?

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande give Wicked: For Good an affecting emotional center, but the sequel’s expanded second act and 137-minute length make its pacing uneven.
Opened Runtime4 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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Wicked: For Good is a worthwhile, if uneven, conclusion to Elphaba and Glinda’s story. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande give the friendship its emotional center, and the film makes the characters’ final choices matter. But the stage musical’s compact second act has been expanded into a 137-minute feature, and not every added stretch earns its place: the grand set pieces sometimes crowd out the quieter acting that makes the leads compelling.

What Part 2 is about

The story picks up with Elphaba and Glinda estranged and living with the consequences of their choices. Elphaba is demonized as the Wicked Witch of the West and continues her fight to expose the Wizard. Glinda, now a glamorous public symbol of Goodness, works alongside him while hoping for reconciliation. Their paths converge again as Oz’s future comes into question. Universal’s film synopsis and Netflix Tudum’s plot outline supply that context without giving away the ending.

The film stars returning leads Erivo and Grande and is directed by Jon M. Chu. It adapts the second part of the stage musical Wicked, whose book is by Winnie Holzman and whose music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz. The musical, in turn, is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel; the film is not a direct adaptation of that novel. Universal’s film page identifies the screen adaptation and its credits.

Do Erivo and Grande make the friendship convincing?

Yes. The film’s strongest reason to watch is the contrast between its leads: Erivo plays Elphaba with a guarded resolve shaped by exile, while Grande gives Glinda’s polished public persona flashes of uncertainty and private feeling. Their scenes together make the split between them feel personal rather than merely political. The story’s larger questions—who gets to define Goodness, and what it costs to resist power—land most clearly when they are filtered through this friendship.

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#1 Best Overall

That strength is also a useful measure of the film’s weaker passages. When the action pauses long enough for a look, a choice, or a difficult exchange to register, the characters feel present. When the staging pushes toward maximum scale, their emotional work can recede behind the production.

Does the expanded second act sustain a feature-length film?

Only unevenly. The stage musical’s second act is roughly an hour long; the film runs 137 minutes, according to the Associated Press review. TIME’s spoiler-marked analysis notes that the movie expands the material with flashbacks, a wedding scene, two new songs, and a changed final twist. Those additions give the film more room to build its world and revisit the relationship, but they also make the movement between intimate drama and large-scale spectacle feel less consistently paced. TIME’s ending analysis discusses those adaptation choices in detail.

AP critic Jake Coyle calls the result “more like a Production than a movie,” a judgment about the film’s set-piece-driven approach rather than an objective consensus. He also writes, “All the momentum that ‘Wicked: For Good’ does gather is owed significantly to its stars.” That mixed assessment captures the trade-off: the scale is part of the appeal, but the leads do much of the work of keeping the long feature emotionally grounded.

How do the music and spectacle fare?

The film delivers the visual and musical scale expected of a screen version of a major stage musical, with the friendship remaining the most effective through-line. Its new songs broaden the characters’ material, but they do not all transform the film’s momentum in the same way. “No Place Like Home,” performed by Erivo, and “The Girl In The Bubble,” performed by Grande, are the two original songs. The soundtrack also includes “The Wicked Witch of the East,” previously unreleased on the stage recording. Universal Music Canada’s soundtrack announcement lists the songs and formats.

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Rank #3

The darker political and thematic material gives the sequel more edge than a simple curtain-call reprise. Elphaba’s resistance and defense of sentient Animals sharpen the stakes, while Glinda’s public role complicates any easy division between virtue and complicity. The movie is most persuasive when it connects those ideas to the cost of the characters’ choices; its emphatic scale can make the same material feel less nuanced when spectacle takes over.

Is Wicked: For Good faithful to the musical?

It follows the musical’s characters and broad dramatic destination, but it is an expanded screen adaptation, not a filmed stage production. The added scenes and songs give the second act more breathing room and alter some details, including the final twist. Viewers who know the stage show should expect adaptation choices rather than a note-for-note transfer. Those unfamiliar with it can follow the central conflict through Elphaba and Glinda’s relationship, though the sequel assumes the first film’s setup.

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Is Wicked: For Good worth watching?

For viewers invested in the first film, the answer is yes: the returning leads bring real feeling to a conclusion built around their friendship, and the larger production has moments of genuine musical-theater spectacle. The qualification is length. At 137 minutes, the film’s expanded second act can feel overextended, and its busiest sequences sometimes leave too little room for the acting that gives the story its heart. It is a satisfying return to Oz for the performances and emotional payoff, not a uniformly well-paced one.

The Associated Press reports a PG rating for action and violence, some suggestive material, and thematic material. The film opened theatrically on November 21, 2025, according to Universal. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment announced digital purchase and rental from December 30, 2025, and 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD from January 20, 2026; it also describes a feature-length sing-along edition and bonus content, with some extras varying by retailer or format. Check Universal’s home-video announcement for edition details. Netflix Tudum currently lists the film as streaming on Netflix, though availability may vary by territory and date; check the local listing.

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