Wicked: For Good also sees Jeff Goldblum return as the Wizard, alongside Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.
The i paper’s Francesca Steele said:, external “It doesn’t quite reach the heights of Part One, but this is still a highly entertaining display of what musical theatre can do on screen with top level performances and a true affection for the world-building.”
Many critics were less enthusiastic. “There’s no magic in this aimless slog of a sequel,” said the Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey, external in a two-star review.
“If your complaint about last year’s Wicked was that it was so oddly lit that you could barely see what was going on, then fear not – in Wicked: For Good, you won’t mind so much, because there’s so little to look at.”
In a one-star review, the Telegraph’s Robbie Collin said:, external “It doesn’t amount to two hours of story – the stage show clips through the same plot in around half the time – and the padding is as obvious as it is exhausting.”
He suggested the central pair’s friendship “rings false”, adding: “What should be piercing, impassioned moments are by turns frivolous and sappy.”
However, Kevin Maher of the Times was, external much more positive, awarding the film four stars.
“They’ve only gone and done it,” he said. “The makers of this musical sequel have delivered a film that surpasses last year’s box-office smash in verve, ambition and emotional ache.”
Both movies have been directed by Jon M Chu, who was also behind Crazy Rich Asians, In The Heights and Now You See Me 2.
Chu is also set to direct a new big-screen adaptation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, pencilled in for release in 2027.
