A disappointing sequel to the beloved musical

THE kooky fraud played by Jeff Gold-blum in Wicked: For Good |

- NAVEEN KUMAR

MICHELLE Yeoh and Ariana Grande in a scene from Wicked: For Good.

(THE WASHINGTON POST)

has a ditty explaining how he maintains his wizardly dominance: once people believe in something, he shrugs, they'll keep on believing no matter what.Given its already record-breaking box office, the same appears likely to hold true for the less marvelous second half of director Jon M Chu’s behemoth adaptation of the Broadway musical. Even after a yearlong intermission, anyone whose jaw hung open during the final moments of Wicked: Part 1, as Cynthia Erivo obliterates “Defying Gravity” while tearing through the night sky, would have to be insane (or dead) not to return.

Unfortunately, the laws of physics are back in effect and the second film is a letdown. How could it not be? The kids are grown up and the fun and games are over. There are only a couple of bangers left in Stephen Schwartz's original score by the musical’s second act, which races to connect the narrative dots to The Wizard of Oz.

With some additional material by screenwriters Dana Fox and Winnie Holzman (the latter also wrote the stage musical’s script), and a relatively fleet run time of 2 hours and 18 minutes (20-ish minutes less than the first), somehow For Good feels like it’s scrambling between plot points and vamping to justify its existence.

First, an obvious warning: This is nota standalone movie. Don't go in (or worse, bring your kids) thinking you'll all understand what's going on if you haven't seen the 2024 fin and, perhaps more important,