I went to Wicked For Good and this is why you should see it

Okay, okay, not everyone loves musicals. You either love it or you hate it, but Wicked? This musical film is amazing if you ask me. Maybe I'm a bit biased, because I already cried during the intro scene of the previous part of No One Mourns the Wicked. So yes, when part two came out, I almost ran to the cinema. I had been looking forward to this all year and in my eyes, it was really worth it. Why you should see this film? Well, it might surprise you, but this is really a film about friendship with a touch of politics. Because yes: Wicked For Good is really a politically charged film and it's exactly what we need.

I am changed for good, because if you thought this was a simple ‘silly’ film about two witches, you are very mistaken. It's about our moral compass and how we humans so clearly believe everything when it's presented to us. And not only that: we see what true friendship is. How you can hurt each other, forgive, and bring out the best in each other, because that friendship is really central. This film is a portrait of the feelings that the musical has evoked in fans around the world for over twenty years.

Just a recap: this is what Wicked For Good is about

It's been a year since part one came out, so if you've forgotten, let me refresh your memory. In the first part, we saw how Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), an outcast because of her green skin, is admitted to Oz's magical school. Through her powers, she gets the chance to meet The Wizard, yes, the one from Oz (Jeff Goldblum). Here she discovers that he is not a wizard at all and does all sorts of tricks to lie to everyone. Besides that deception, he also ensures that all talking animals are oppressed. At the last moment in the first film, she decides to work against the wizard. She and her best friend Glinda, formerly Galinda (Ariana Grande), part ways as they both choose the ’other side‘.

In part two, we continue (wow, Laudonne, how logical) where part one left off. Just like in the musical, we see how Glinda is now ‘Glinda the Good’ and the showpiece of the wizard and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh). She has to be the positive point in Oz to keep all the attention away from Elphaba. She and her friend Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) have to show that Elphaba is really ‘wicked’, while they are actually standing behind her. This part is the big showpiece of the musical: Elphaba trying to defeat the wizard, Glinda trying to make everything right and save her best friend, and Fiyero, who is actually in love with Elphaba and wants to help her at all costs.

Okay, but why is part two so good then?

In my eyes, this is when shit gets real. We're no longer in school: a war has broken out. Or better said: a witch hunt. There's no time to go to the Ozdust Ballroom and spend time with friends. Elphaba is on the run while trying to overthrow a corrupt government. That's exactly what I find so good about this film: it's a political statement. Now I know for sure that there are those guys with a men's podcast rolling their eyes, but let me speak and tell the truth. Wicked For Good is an anti-fascism film. The wizard of Oz is a fascist: he has a political ideology (anti-animal) and does everything to flaunt his power. With armies, with the flying monkeys he uses as spies, and I haven't even mentioned the animals he uses as slaves to pave the yellow brick road. He puts his own interests and those of ‘Oz’ above individuals.

Just look at Nessarose (Marissa Bode, Elphaba's sister), who with just one look ensures that Munchkins cannot travel without a permit. She abuses her power as the new governor for her own benefit: Boq must stay with her. There is censorship and propaganda everywhere in Oz: just listen to One Short Day. That says it all. Elphaba fights against this system. We see how easily we humans actually fall for the simplest lies. Everyone assumed that the wizard was really ‘the wizard of the prophecy’, and he just went along with it. It teaches us that you too are seduced into a web of false lies and promises, time and again. How innocent people get blamed and the real heroes are turned into villains, so that the real bad people remain in a good light. The wizard himself admits this in the song Wonderful: “A man is called a traitor or liberator. A rich man is a thief or a philanthropist. Is someone an intruder or a noble crusader? It all depends on which label sticks. There are very few people who feel comfortable with those moral dilemmas, so we pretend they don't exist.”

Besides the fact that this film gives us, just like the book 1984, some good values, this film is the symbolization of female friendship. That may sound sappy, but there is a reason why so many people love this musical – and now also the films. No one is just bad and everyone deserves love and friendship. We see that so strongly. Where Glinda and Elphaba could drink each other's blood at first, they become very good friends. They are those people who are completely different, but really see each other. Glinda always put on a mask to be as ‘popular as possible’. And Elphaba? It's obvious that she is seen by everyone as a monster or something dirty. The two friends learn to love and support each other.

In part two, that friendship is torn apart when they both decide to take a different path. Although their opinions differ on how to change the system, they continue to love each other. And you see that love so strongly. You really see Glinda struggling with whether to go for her image or follow her heart. And that heart leads to Elphaba. Their friendship, that love story, is the most beautiful of all. So don't be surprised when people around you suddenly burst into tears during the song For Good. Because, no spoilers, but... that breaks you.

The film is so well put together

The story is good, but besides that, so much has been done to the set design, the costumes, and the storytelling. Although there is criticism that this film is less spectacular, has fewer good songs, and is darker – that is precisely the intention. This film is not meant as a stand-alone, but as a sequel that is darker. For example, they have given Glinda a more complex development than in the original musical. Additionally, the story feels so real because hardly any CGI has been used. The vast majority of the sets are all real. Yes, even the big tulip field, Elphaba's forest house, and Oz. You can just feel it: that the world is so tangible, rich, and vibrant. And Ariana's and Cynthia's acting skills complete it. And even if you're normally not a musical fan, this part works so well because of the tension, the political charge, and the visual world-building that it feels more like an epic fantasy drama than a traditional musical.

I could go on for hours, so I'll just stop. If you ask me: yes, you absolutely have to see this. Even if it's just to hear Ariana The Girl in the Bubble and Cynthia No Good Deed Goes Unpunished sing in IMAX. Because these performances are truly life-changing. Grab your tissues and Elphaba popcorn hat, because you're going to need them.