As November days grew shorter and (somewhat) colder, I became more and more excited. Each day that passed was one day closer to Thanksgiving break. While many fellow students’ Thanksgiving excitement derived from no school, my excitement came from a different place. 

Thanksgiving meant one thing: “Wicked For Good” was coming out. The first “Wicked” had been one of my favorite movies of last year, so the sequel came with high expectations and shoes to fill. For the trip to the movie theater, I debated painting myself green or putting on my mom’s pink prom dress from the eighties, but ultimately decided on dressing normally. I wanted all my focus to be on the movie at hand. 

For concessions, I ordered the special green Icee that came out just for the movie, knowing I would need fuel for the near three hours spent inside the AMC movie theater. There is a famous expression that “3 hours feel like 10 minutes when with the right person.” That was certainly true for this movie. 

Every single minute seemed to stretch for an eternity. I was incredibly disappointed overall with the project John Chu came out with. First, the positives. Cynthia and Ariana were great (obviously), and there were some incredible songs, such as “No One Mourns the Wicked” and “For Good.” In these bright moments, one could see the “Wicked” of last year come through in this movie. 

But, for the rest, it mainly fell flat. Even in play form, I do think the second act is obviously weaker; the filmmakers were forced to work against this from the beginning. There are less iconic moments and songs, and it’s a much darker act than the first. With the play, this is more balanced out because the two acts are performed subsequently. But, for a two-part movie, it just doesn’t flow the same. The balance between light and dark moments in “For Good” is much more fraught than its predecessor. 

I think moviegoers and critics alike agree this sequel fell flat. But this doesn’t seem to be deterring moviegoers. As of today,
“Wicked” has grossed 750 million dollars, a number that will undoubtedly continue to rise. Not bad for a sequel that didn’t live up to the hype.