When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n Credit: Universal<\/p>\n When it was first announced that Wicked, the long-awaited adaptation of the stage musical, would be two movies<\/a> rather than just one, I have to say I was more than a little disappointed. Generally speaking, I\u2019m really not a fan of adaptations that split themselves in half. I didn\u2019t like it when Harry Potter did it, and I\u2019m not even really a fan of Kill Bill as two films<\/a>.<\/p>\n Splitting a story into two films <\/a>always feels more like a studio decision made to double the ticket sales than it does a creative decision to make a better film. That said, I actually really enjoyed Wicked: Part One and thought it worked quite well as a single movie. Unfortunately, the sequel is far less successful.<\/p>\n My major takeaway from Wicked: Part One<\/a> when I saw it, was that I was impressed by how well the movie worked by itself. I called it the best \u201cpart one\u201d movie I had seen at the time. By virtue of the fact that the original musical has a set break between its two acts, and the fact that there\u2019s a time jump between them that\u2019s measured in years, Act One, and by extension movie one, largely has to tell a complete story.<\/p>\n Elphaba has a complete character arc throughout Act One, which makes the first movie satisfying. There isn\u2019t a need for another film to make it feel like a whole story. If only that had been the case with Wicked: For Good.<\/p>\n Knowing how well Wicked: Part One worked on its own, and thinking that, having only seen the movie a year ago, that I remembered everything that happened in it, I decided not to rewatch the first movie before sitting down for For Good. This was a mistake on my part.<\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t entirely wrong. When it came to the major plot beats, the primary cast, I remembered who everybody was, what their relationships were, and where the plot had left each of them. However, there were a lot of smaller details that I could not remember.<\/p>\n Did I recall that Elphaba had a run-in with a lion cub<\/a> in the last movie? Yes. Could I tell you exactly what actually happened between them? No. Elphaba\u2019s friend, who is a bear? No idea. Are we sure that was in the first movie?<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
I Loved How Wicked: Part One Worked As A Singular Movie<\/h2>\n
Wicked: For Good Doesn\u2019t Work Nearly As Well On Its Own<\/h2>\n