Wicked: For Good (2025) (4K Ultra HD Review)
DIRECTED BY: Jon M. Chu
STARRING: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum
RATED: PG/Region: O/2:39/2160P/NUMBER OF DISCS 2
AVAILABLE FROM Universal Studios
Wicked: For Good is what happens when a movie is absolutely convinced it’s important, emotional, and awards-worthy… and then politely asks you to admire it for nearly three hours while it figures out what it actually wants to be. It’s glossy, overstuffed, wildly confident, and just messy enough to make you miss the intermission Broadway still has the decency to give you.
Let’s be clear: this thing is gorgeous. The production design looks like Oz was redesigned by a luxury fashion house with unlimited funds and no concept of restraint. Every frame screams, “This cost a fortune,” and honestly, respect—if you’re going to overspend, at least make it sparkle. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande remain the film’s saving grace, doing Olympic-level emotional lifting while surrounded by enough CGI to make your eyes gently glaze over.
Vocally? No notes. Emotionally? Sometimes devastating. Performance-wise? These two are acting like their lives depend on it, which is great, because the movie around them occasionally feels like it’s stalling for time until the next big number. Ariana Grande continues to surprise by committing hard to Glinda’s weaponized perkiness, while Erivo gives Elphaba the kind of aching sincerity that almost convinces you this movie has something urgent to say.
Almost.
The problem is that Wicked: For Good stretches Act II like it’s made of enchanted taffy. The pacing lurches between “soaring emotional climax” and “why is this scene still happening?” Plot threads wander in, look important, then quietly vanish like they missed their cue. Some musical numbers soar; others feel like contractual obligations politely asking for applause.
And boy, does this movie love its own seriousness. It’s very busy being profound—about friendship, sacrifice, systems of power, and what it really means to be misunderstood—but it keeps stopping to admire itself in the mirror. The tone swings from tragic grandeur to Broadway camp without warning, like two different movies fighting over the same emerald spotlight.
By the end, Wicked: For Good delivers the emotional beats it promises… eventually. But it takes the scenic route, with detours through indulgence, bloat, and at least one stretch where you start thinking, “Did this need to be a movie this long, or did it just really want to be?”
Still, for all its excess, it works just enough to be frustrating. When it hits, it hits. When it doesn’t, you’re very aware of how much runtime is left. Fans will cry, sing along, and defend it fiercely. Skeptics will admire the performances and quietly check their watches.
Final verdict:
Wicked: For Good is big, beautiful, overconfident, emotionally sincere, and wildly uneven. It thinks it’s flying… but it’s definitely hovering longer than necessary.
Extras
- Deleted Scenes (5.51) – Four mostly finished scenes are included: “Brick Making”, Glinda Train Tour”, “Friendship Montage”, and “The Wizard is Sentimental”. They are playable individually or via the “Play All” option.
- Making Wicked: For Good’ (51.28) – Director Jon M. Chu, stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Johnathan Bailey, and others discuss the five-year journey of making this film. The segment covers where we find Elphaba at the start of the film, Glinda’s new situation, and the challenge of filming two movies simultaneously rather than consecutively. Erivo’s stunt work and flying scenes are covered, as are costuming changes from one film to the next, choreography, the film’s villains, and the tornado scene. Time is also given to the various elements of the wedding scene, Fiyero’s journey, and Bok’s evolution as well. Grande shares her fondness for the fight scene that occurs on the Yellow Brick Road, and her baton work. Music eventually takes the focus, with particular attention paid to the two new songs, one for each of the main female characters that were written by Stephen Schwartz, who penned the original music. Time is spent on both. Through it all, it’s interesting to see the massive and intricate sets that were constructed, and to hear the actors tirelessly singing on set.
- The True Wizard (5.56) – Rather than being focused on Jeff Goldblum’s character, this segment trains its vision on the work done by Director Jon M. Chu.
- More Than Just a Place (6.26) – This segment provides information on how the actors were able to convincingly interact with animals that inhabit Oz and the filming of “There’s no Place Like Home”.
- The Girl in the Bubble (6.06) – The new song created for Glinda and its performance is in the spotlight here. Grande weighs in on the character’s growth and her moment of transition that is captured in the song.
- Kiamo Ko (608) – The castle in the sky is examined with time given to it’s design, filming, it’s significance to character of the Wicked Witch, and the key scenes filmed there.
- Feature Commentary with Director Jon M. Chu – Chu shares that “twelve tide-turns” have passed since the end of the first film as he covers the constructing of the iconic road, and wasting little time to reveal Elphaba demonstrating her control and scope of her full power. He takes a moment to comment on the 9 million tulips in bloom as she flies over them, and pointing out scenes and moments different from the stage show. Chu’s comments are largely reactions to what he sees on the screen, and his level of knowledge is suitably encyclopedic, covering sets, choreography, props, crew, and the cast with equal ease. Though he’s been working on the two films in the franchise for five years, his enthusiasm and love for them are apparent and undiminished. It’s an informative listen.
- Sing-Along Version – While not found in the “Bonus” menu, it made sense to list it here. Once again, after “Play” is selected from the main menu, viewers will immediately need to select the Theatrical Version or the Sing-Along Version. Please note that the Sing- Along Version is only available in English. Once chosen, lyrics to the film’s many songs appear at the bottom of the screen in a magical, Oz-inspired take on the traditional karaoke style, with the word to be sung increasing in size as magical sparkles dance above it, so even those who don’t know the words by heart can participate with gusto.
