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Movie Review of WICKED: For Good

This Part 2 Movie (and its Part 1 predecessor) is based on the 1995 dark fantasy novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. It is a cynical, adult-oriented revision of the characters of Frank Baum’s original children’s novel written in 1900. The darkness is ramped up in this Part 2 of the story. It somehow manages to achieve a PG rating despite skating very close to the edges. It has been cleverly made digestible for Classification authorities rather than its intended audience.

It is not for young children as M-rated themes permeate the production. These adult themes are strongly implied if not implicitly shown, in order to escape a harsher classification. Such ruthless marketing is harmful to children. Such scenes include the strong visual implication of a one-night sexual encounter between Elphaba and Fiyero and the successfully planned murder of Elphaba’s half-sister Nessarose.

Some girls would like the idea of the strength of a love between girlfriends rising above even truth and goodness, and some boys would like the special effects. Other than that, most children will find it morally baffling if not disturbing. There are no noble heroes. Images of a beautiful wedding being destroyed and the intended marriage being broken up could be traumatising for some young children.

The fact that Elphaba and Glinda are trying to be ‘good’ fails to be anchored in anything. This random objective is removed from any objective morality or tangible body of truth. Indeed, truth has no place in this movie, and goodness is whatever you want it to be.

A lot of bad things happen without any justice prevailing, like Fiyero being ‘killed’ by an angry mob of soldiers. He is ultimately brought back to life by Elphaba, yet he is seriously disfigured. The fact that he is seen dying on a cross for trying to save Elphaba is profane.

The film is riddled with unresolved injustice. Pride and self-centredness are everyone’s underlying driver. Glinda, full of pride and envy (and from a privileged background), is complicit in animal cruelty, lies and murder. She eventually crowns herself the new leader of OZ without any accountability or consequences. The fact that she is trying to learn how to be good seems to be the only self-redemption needed. Welcoming the animals back into community is presented as the redeeming high point of the movie. The deceitful Wizard is allowed to escape with Dorothy to Kansas. The sole real authority figure in the whole movie, Madame Morrible, is the only person to receive any consequential punishment (by order of Glinda) and is caged for her crimes. She alone seems required to carry any blame. There are no Judges, courts or higher authority in OZ.

The Wicked Witch of the West is the anti-superhero of the movie. She is clearly portrayed as the one deserving sympathy. She comes from an unloving home and has coloured skin. Her bad circumstances sometimes force her to do some bad things. She seems to care more about animals than others (which makes her a better person than everybody else) and seeks to call out injustice by using her dark magical superpowers. Just when we think Dorothy has killed her (as in the original story), she comes out of hiding and goes to live in some self-imposed strange ‘other world’ purgatory-like, desert land with Fiyero (forever?).

The closing scenes are confusing and jumbled to say the least. They seem to be an attempt to suggest that everything has or will turn out all right. But it has not. The silly ending is unsatisfying for adults, let alone children.

One assumes that the purpose of the makers of the movie is found in the title – Wicked: For Good. In other words, flip it on its head. It is evil that is really for the good, or good can learn from evil, or evil is not as bad as made out. Take your pick. This movie is a Woke attempt to preach Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It fails at that and it fails to entertain, while discombobulating morality for children. The original Wizard of OZ was fun. There is no fun in this. It is dark moral mush. There should be a Classification ‘F’, for a Frustrating Waste of Time.

– Wayne Richards