Ariana Grande (left) and Cynthia Erivo in 'Wicked: For Good.' Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment The doubts that surfaced when it was first announced that Jon M. Chu's screen adaptation of Wicked was to be released in two parts are not exactly erased by the two hours-plus of this second installment. But it's safe to assume the millions of fans who have made the blockbuster stage musical a global phenomenon won't be complaining. Sure, all but one of the show's most memorable songs are in the first act, but the investment in character, story and sumptuous design more than compensates in Wicked: For Good, which again shows that casting stellar vocal talents Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande was a masterstroke. Related Stories Movies Glinda and Elphaba Reunite to Confront the Wizard in Early 'Wicked: For Good' Scene Movies Man Who Grabbed Ariana Grande at 'Wicked: For Good' Singapore Premiere Sentenced to Nine Days in Prison Even if the combined two parts totaling almost five hours are a lot, there's a lovely symmetry to the fact that while the opener very much belonged to Erivo's misunderstood, green-skinned Oz outcast Elphaba, the follow-up foregrounds her erstwhile nemesis turned friend Glinda, brought to luminous life by Grande. Wicked: For Good The Bottom Line Wickhards will rejoicify. Release date: Friday, Nov. 21Cast: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Bronwyn James, Sharon D. Clarke, Colman DomingoDirector: Jon M. ChuScreenwriters: Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox Rated PG, 2 hours 18 minutes Make no mistake, Erivo remains a powerhouse, with pipes that shake the heavens and a wellspring of unforced emotional intensity that never runs dry. The paradox is even more apparent that despite Elphaba's infamy as the so-called Wicked Witch of the West, the inherent kindness and fairness in her opposition to cruel injustices and increasingly authoritarian rule end up being her salvation, albeit while she takes the fall as the story's scapegoat. But Grande's conceited blonde bubblehead gains in stature here as Glinda assumes statesmanlike responsibility to spread goodness in Oz, while experiencing crushing romantic disappointment that humbles her and deflates her vanity. Grande has been acting since she was a kid, and her quiet moments of introspection, anxiety or sadness show tender depths, as does her loyalty to Elphaba. She reveals plucky strength and resourcefulness to match Elphaba's unbreakable backbone when she starts seeing through the scheming of Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who emerges as the real despotic power player - not the empty-vessel Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). He's a lightweight and he knows it, especially compared to ruthless Morrible. More than ever, the musical becomes a story of mutually nourishing sisterhood. Glinda's sorcery may be manufactured rather than a natural gift like Elphaba's, but her heart is genuine, often seeming to burst out of her chest in crystalline vocals colored by as much vulnerability as sweetness. When Erivo and Grande, toward the end of For Good, ease into that stirring title song and soar into gorgeous harmonies celebrating the reciprocal rewards of love and support, the young women in the row behind me at a recent press screening started sniffling and sobbing, their tears then flowing on and off through the entire final act. That kind of reaction no doubt connotes intimate familiarity with the material, but the screenplay - by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, based on Holzman's book for the show from the novel by Gregory Maguire - earns its emotions with more sincerity than schmaltz. Working its way back to the first movie's opening, in which Glinda descends on Munchkinland in a pseudo-magical (in fact, motorized) bubble to declare a death, the story picks up as the exiled Elphaba's vilification reaches new heights. Banners painting her as a monster to be feared and loathed hang all over Oz, with Morrible using both witchcraft and plain old propaganda to fuel that narrative. Elphaba has retreated to a hiding place deep in the forest, but she emerges repeatedly, swooping in on her broom with her voluminous black cape flapping behind her to halt the mistreatment of animals being used as forced labor to construct the Yellow Brick Road. The demonization of otherness that has become such a staple of the contemporary political landscape has reached its apotheosis, with animals - formerly an integral and respected part of Oz society - now treated as inferior beings, requiring special permits to travel. Munchkin discrimination is not far behind. Elphaba encounters a large group of animals attempting to flee through the woods to the mysterious "place beyond Oz," even though it's rumore