Where Evil: Part One has become a rapidly developing phenomenon, winning hearts and collecting trophies from all over the world, its continuation, Evil: For goodUnfortunately, it stumbles and stalls. Jobs for men tries to bolster the admittedly weaker second act story with exciting blockbusters, but the director GI Joe: Retaliation inadvertently proves that it takes skillful hands to truly defy gravity.
The only thing Chu did right was the casting. Cynthia Erivo And Ariana Grande like Elphaba and Glinda respectively. Both actors gave amazing performances in Part one and will continue their sublime work in the sequel. This time Grande is especially triumphant: she absolutely owns For goodshowcasing a fuller range of her acting abilities than we saw in the first film as she takes Glinda to darker places.
For good tells a more mature story than its predecessor, moving forward five years from when Elphaba was considered the Wicked Witch of the West. Now the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh) are advancing their plans to maintain power and control over the land of Oz. Through clever manipulation and aggressive political rhetoric, Morrible lauds Glinda as the “Good Witch” in order to maintain the public's approval and stoke their fear of the Wicked Witch. Meanwhile Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) now serves as a guard captain tasked with tracking down and killing Elphaba, despite the feelings he still has for her.
The time jump becomes most apparent in Elphaba, whose years of living alone have changed her, both for the better and for the worse. Undoubtedly stronger this time, having honed her magic, she demonstrates a fiercer determination to save the Animals and expose the Wizard and his lies. At the same time, however, there is a sadness to her story as she, isolated by Glinda and her sister Nessarose (Marissa Bode), descends into the Wicked Witch we see in The Wizard of Oz. Erivo's performance in this regard, especially in “No Good Deed”, is a joy to watch. Moreover, rather than choosing the campy and pure evil route, she chooses nuance and vulnerability, showing that we all must confront the worst in ourselves in our darkest moments. Her turn puts a satisfying punctuation mark on the broader questions about what it means to be “good” and “evil” that began in Part one.
Costume designer Paul Tazewell (who earlier this year won a historic Oscar for Best Costume Design for Part onebecoming the first black man to do so) also continues his excellent work for good. Unfortunately for some of the actors – like Yeoh, who is clearly miscast, and the under-resourced Bailey – Tazewell's projects do a lot of the heavy lifting. However, he masterfully uses color, shape, and texture to convey the new circumstances of each character and enhance the aesthetics of this new version of Oz.
Between specific performances, specific design elements, and specific songs, original composer Stephen Schwartz wrote two new songs (“There's No Place Like Home” and “Girl in the Bubble”) that fit seamlessly into the film— Evil: For good Works best when you value the parts rather than the whole. The often upbeat script, dissonant tone, clunky editing and clunky performances serve as roadblocks to “For Good,” perhaps the film's biggest musical highlight. However, once it gets to this point – a tender and honest exchange between two people who love each other, away from the noise and chaos – it becomes nothing short of magical.
