Watching ‘Wicked For Good’ At The ‘Everyman Cinema’ Crystal Palace; The Movie Review
Despite Being Written Early Last Century. Old Issues Loom Large Letting Us Know ‘Fight or Flight’ Is A Forever Phenomenon For Each Generation
A Fun Magical Fantasy Film That’s More Realistic Than Many May Realise… And Very Apt For Our Current Times
1939
1925
Millions Worldwide, Mainstream or Marginalised, Gay And Straight, Old And Young, Black, White And Brown, Continue “Holding Space” For This Movie Phenomenon.
1978
1925
Inclusion Is An Essential Element of Its Cinematic Success. And It Partly Explains Why It’s Become The Groundbreaking, Record-Breaking, History-Making Billion Dollar Box-Office Hit It Is Today.
1924
1925
With Its November 2024 & November 2025 International Release & Multi-City Premieres ‘Wicked For Good’ Led By Cynthia, Supported By Ariana Flys!
It was amazing to see the rekindling of Glinda and Elphaba’s friendship. This Film Has So Many Layers And Hidden or Not So Hidden Messages.
Even though one may say Elphaba stole Glinda’s man, if we’re being honest – He Actually wasn’t her man in the first place!
She may be called The Wicked Witch of the West but she really has a heart of gold, for, Amongst Other Things, saving Bok and Prince Fierro by turning them into a tin man and A scarecrow. This Was Actually An Act of Love In Very Difficult Circumstances.
There Were Also The Animals That She Freed. They Were Wrongly And Unjustly Yet Knowingly And Deliberately Condemned By The Wicked Wizard, His Henchmen, Henchwomen And A Corrupt System.
Sound Familiar?
The Cowardly Lion Reflects How Elphaba’s Past Compassion Helped Him Act With Courage Later On (Even If His Insecurity Never Fully Disappears).
Colman Domingo @kingof bingo
Toto [The Little Dog] Symbolises Loyalty And The Power of Silent Presence.
Brief, Understated, Not Fully Understood, Sometimes Somehow Someway Unnoticed, Moments Or Relationships Can Effect Personal Change And Alter Lives Permenantly.
For Good!
Film Feedback By Eighteen Year Old 1st Year Greenwich University Psychology Undergraduate.
Even If Witches, Wizardry, And Fantasy Are Not Someone’s Usual Cup of Tea The Film ‘Wicked: For Good’ Is Indeed Actually A Good Film.
The soundtrack Is fabulous As The Voices of Cynthia Erivo And Ariana Grande Work Notably Well Together And each of Them Can Hold A Note On Their Own to Put It Mildy. the Use of colours Throughout the movie Also stand Out As They Are dynamic, They Shine Bright, And The Outstanding Cinematography Really Brings Them To Life.
Because This Second Wicked Film Picks Up Where The First One Left Of, From Beginning To End Wicked; For Good Stirs An Array of emotions & Feelings Including Friendship, Joy, Jealousy, Envy, Rivalry, Loss, Greed, Anger, Love & Hate.
Wicked: For Good Soundtrack
[Click Small Square In Bottom Right Hand Corner To Englarge Video Screen To The Max]
Ultimately ‘friendship’ and ‘love’ Prove To Be The Most Magical elements of all And Win the Day. Albeit In The Most Unexpected Way. For Good!
Film Feedback By Early Sixties, Primary School Assistant, Lay Person Care Home Consultant And Mother of Four Attending With Teenage Daughter, Twenty-One Year Old Son And Fifty- Something Sister.
For Our Everyman Cinema Venue Review See Page 2.
For Our Everyman Cinema Loo Review See Page 3.
TO.P’s Take: The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same. So Some Say. And ‘Wicked: For Good’ Has Alot To Say.
Wicked For Good; Officially Fandangos’ Best First Day Movie Ticket Sales of 2025
At The Start of The Last Century Lyman Frank Baum, A White Supremacist Anti Native-Indian American, Entrepreneur, Newspaper Man And Prolific Writer of Children’s Books, Released ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ (Published 1900).
It Was Accompanied By An Associate Theatre Production To Aid Publicity.
With Repeat Mixed Publication Runs Over The Years The Book Persevered And Eventually Became A Success (Despite The Original Publishers Going Bankrupt Along The Way).
It Was Later Surpassed By A Film Release (After Metro Goldwyn Meyer Bought The Book Rights Thirty Nine Years After Its 1900 Publication). Hitler Becoming German Chancellor In 1933, The Emergence of The Savage Nazi Regime, And The Start of The First World War In 1939 Was The International European Backdrop At The Time, To This 1939 Children’s Movie]. Apparently It Didn’t Turn A Profit Until 1949 (Despite Being A Popular Distraction).
Wicked The Musical
Fastforward Virtually Another 40 Years After The Original 1939 Film To The 1978 Version Starring An All Black Cast Led By Motown’s Diana Ross & Her Younger Friend Michael Jackson of The Jackson Five. ‘The Wiz’
The Classic Diana Ross & Michael Jackson Duet ‘Ease On Down The Road’ Went To No.1 With The Late Musical Maestro Quincy Jones Producing With The Soundtrack. youtube.com/@dianaross
Several Critics Were Unkind At The Time, But It Subsequently Become A Bit of A Cult Classic. The Stella Contemporary African-American Cast At The Time May Have Something To Do With That. For Instance Motown Star Diana Ross As Dorothy (From Harlem, Not Kansas City), Soul Music Star Michael Jackson As The Scarecrow, Comedian Richard Pryor As The Wizard, And Pioneering Screen Queen Lena Horne As Glinda.
Travelling Down The Road Virtually Another Forty Years Wicked The Movie (Part One) Was Released In November 2024 And Wicked For Good (Wicked The Movie Part Two) Was Spectacularly Released Just A Year Later In 2025. This Is The Third (And Fourth) Most Significant Film Version of The Book And The Most Successful.
It Follows The Success of ‘Wicked’ The Musical, Launched 2006 At The Apollo Theatre Victoria, Which Is Still Running Today. It Has Had Similar Success Across The Pond Having Launched 2003 In New York, At Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre.
@IdinaMenzel & Kristin Chenoweth @kchenoweth (Respectively Elphaba Thropp And Glinda Upland – The Wicked Witch of The West And The Good Witch) Became Broadway Royalty. They’ve Also Became Part of The Film’s Phenomenal World Premiere Publicity Tours.
Memorable Impromptu Moments Involving Both Fan Engagement & Press Engagement Alike Abound A’Plenty.
The Scheduled Events, Venues And Interviews Have Also Been Outstanding When It Comes To The Promotions Operation.
Cynthia Erivo And Ariana Grande Have Formed A Famous Friendship From Their Film Collaboration On A Level The Acting World Has Never Seen Before. Their Protective Love For Each Other Is Self-Evident And Quite The Sensation As It Involves Seemingly Incessant Touching One Way or Another. Even Literally Holding On By Their Fingertips So As Not To Be Physically Parted.
Their Chemistry Off Screen Reflects Their Chemistry On Screen. They Get Each Other, They Love Each Other, They Protect Each Other. They Sing As One Together, Their Acting Abilities Seemlessly Syncronize With Each Other, They Naturally Command Attention When On Screen Singularly Or With One Another. Both Possess Magical Style, Presence, & Dedication.
Writer @gregorymacuire
Jon M. Chu’s Bold, Brazen, And Visionary Direction Delivers A Conduit For The Chemistry, Whilst Also Controlling The Cinematic Magic @jonm.chu
He’s Built On Gregory Maguire’s Wizard of Oz Prequel Which Reimagined & Revolutionised Baum’s 1930s Book. This Revolution Provides Chu The Foundation To Focus On Resilience, Inclusion, Sacrifice, Reality And Redeemption. Strategic Self-Serving Scapegoating, Demonizing And Lying Are Exposed In The Process, Highlighing How Authoritarian Dictatorships Can Swiftly Come Into Being. To Do So Through The Medium of A Birght Film That Appeals To Both Children And Adults Is Genius!
For Our ‘Holding Space’ Insights & Insta-esque Updates See Our April 2025 Issue Earlier This Year.
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