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It's been quite the journey for "Wicked" fans. The long-awaited film adaptation finally found its way into theaters last November, leaving diehard fans anticipating a sequel one year later. There's really been no rest for the "Wicked" enterprise, because the first film collected numerous nominations across award season (winning two Oscars for its costume and production design) and stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande have stayed ever-present. Somehow, a year has passed and "Wicked: For Good" is ready to bring the masses back to theaters (at a time when movie theaters really could use the masses).

Depending on one's personal relationship with "Wicked," the endless parade of green and pink could be exhausting or exciting. Despite a brief breath post-2024 award season, it seems like "Wicked" has dominated the cultural conversation for a year straight. The enthusiasm around the first film's release was fueled by pure anticipation so, by comparison, the release of "Wicked: For Good" feels a bit dulled when put up against the first movie. It's also a much less successful film.

Last year's "Wicked" was a pleasant-enough confection, a poppy and upbeat bubblegum-coated tale of two mis-matched friends. It had the good fortune of ending on the high note of Erivo's Elphaba singing "Defying Gravity" as she boarded her broomstick and took to the skies. Whether the entire 160-minute movie worked or not, it was hard to not leave the theater in a euphoric haze. "Wicked: For Good" strikes a darker tone and has the Herculean task of incorporating "The Wizard of Oz" into the storyline, which the movie handles entirely poorly.

The heartbeat of the story remains in the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda (Grande), two people who couldn't be more different and live with the expectations that they should never be friends. As Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda because the bubbly-faced representative for Oz, their friendship grows trickier, despite knowing how much they truly care for each other.

Outside Erivo and Grande, Michelled Yeoh returns as Madam Morrible, Marissa Bode returns as Elphaba's sister Nessarose, Jonathan Bailey is wasted this time around as Prince Fiyero, and Jeff Goldblum plays a larger role as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Goldblum and Yeoh - for better or for worse - get upgrades this time around, but everyone else in the cast feels like background noise. The love triangle between Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero feels like one of the many perfunctory sideplots in "Wicked: For Good."

There is plenty of superficial razzle dazzle that will keep the most ardent fans engaged, but "Wicked: For Good" will ring hollow for casual viewers in the audience. The first movie ran two hours and 40 minutes, which is almost the entire duration of the Broadway show. "Wicked: For Good" is a 137-minute slog that feels passionless compared to the first movie. There was always going to be two movies made out of this property, but "Wicked: For Good" feels like an entirely tacked-on production. But, studio heads knew there would be a reason to make two "Wicked" films, and the moviegoing public gave them plenty of reasons - seven hundred million different reasons.