Jeff Goldblum steals the show in Wicked: For Good

Is Jonathan Bailey too sexy for a PG certificate? Every time he smoulders on screen as the lovelorn Prince Fiyero in Wicked: For Good, far more naughtily lustful than he was in the first film, it’s hard not to think of the unsuspecting mothers of innocent musical fans frantically covering their young daughters’ eyes as Prince Charming gets his kit off for the Wicked Witch of the West.

There’s a lot more passion in this sequel, and a lot more darkness too, making it decisively more grown-up, as we follow Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) into an epic fight between good and evil in the Land of Oz. It’s grander, more ambitious, though not necessarily better than its predecessor. The films were shot at the same time – hence the fast arrival of the second instalment – and supposedly turned into two to avoid cutting character development, although I’m not sure the second’s 137-minute runtime is used quite so much for characterisation as dazzling design.

We left green-skinned outcast Elphaba at the end of the last film crushed with disappointment at the trickery of that ersatz “wonderful” wizard (Jeff Goldblum) and his manipulative accomplice Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), who lured her to the Emerald City and have now told all of Oz she is “wicked” when she refused to support the pair in their plan to rule Oz through falsehoods and cruelty.

Elphaba escaped on her broomstick, but her former best friend Glinda is now acting as the wizard’s spokesperson, floating around in her airborne bubble carriage and cosplaying at being a good witch despite the fact that – unlike her erstwhile bestie – she doesn’t really have any powers at all. Meanwhile, Glinda’s fiancé, Fiyero (Bailey), is captain of the wizard’s guard, technically hunting Elphaba but secretly in love with her and hoping to ensure her safety.

Oscar-winning costume and production designers Paul Tazewell and Nathan Crowley have clearly had an absolute ball again with the razzle-dazzle aesthetic. This is a kaleidoscopic adventure land, from the egg-yolk yellow brick road (seen mid-construction in the film’s opening scene) to the extraordinary gold latticed collar dress worn by Morrible.

This bombastic offering is more serious and narratively impatient than its predecessor. Dorothy and Toto arrive in Oz during this second act and trot along the yellow brick road in the background of the main action, unaware of the febrile political climate. The rush to include this Wizard of Oz backstory – we do ultimately discover where the tin man, cowardly lion and scarecrow came from – comes at the expense, sometimes, of emotional authenticity. There was true magic in the first film’s focus on friendship: Glinda and Elphaba’s burgeoning affection for each other fizzed with 90s gal-pal movie energy, punctuated by fantastic physical comedy (from Grande especially) and epic musical showstoppers like “Popular” and “Defying Gravity”.

But the second act of the stage musical was never as strong, its sprawling plot separating the main players and diluting our attention. Director Jon M Chu and screenwriters Winnie Holtzman and Dana Fox haven’t deviated much from the source material, duly presenting us with Glinda in her exquisite Emerald City apartment, replete with Sixties-style sunk banquettes (pink, naturally), and, far away, Elphaba in her surprisingly tasteful forest shack. The pace feels slightly off, with too many under-directed scenes in which we watch someone looking monotonously glum (Sad flying monkeys! Sad talking animal refugees! Sad Elphaba!).

Still, when Erivo and Grande do come together, for the central duet “For Good”, for example, they remain a tour de force, wildly charismatic and tender. And I don’t think awards panels desperate to reward the franchise will be negatively swayed: Part One was nominated for ten Oscars earlier this year, including Best Picture (it won two, for production and costume design). Further Oscar nominations for Grande and Erivo seem all-but guaranteed.

The standout star here is actually Goldblum as the wizard, our comic relief in a gloomy world. Although the wizard is technically perpetuating societal segregation and gross authoritarianism, Goldblum lends him the aura of a slightly pathetic despot who doesn’t quite understand how it’s all got to this and can’t everyone just relax, please. His delightfully obsequious performance of the jazzy ditty “Wonderful”, alongside a naively hopeful Glinda, is a very welcome moment of froth.

It doesn’t quite reach the heights of Part One, but this is still a highly entertaining display of what musical theatre can do on screen with top level performances and a true affection for the world-building. We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore.

In cinemas from 21 November