PHOTO BY GILES KEYTE / UNIVERSAL PICTURES

That was certainly a long intermission.

A year ago, the 160-minute film deceptively titled “Wicked” took audiences through one half of Elphaba’s journey, cutting off the action at the moment the famed Broadway show takes a brief intermission. “Wicked: For Good” finally completes the story, delivering a satisfying ending and enough vocal fireworks to elevate this chapter above the mark set by its predecessor.

While director Jon M. Chu does cartwheels to give the back half of the tale an observable beginning, middle and end, “For Good” is not a standalone story. We pick things up with Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) in exile, cast as a convenient villain while the smarmy, nefarious Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) embarks on a series of pet projects: driving Oz’s population of talking animals out of the country, draining coffers to build a sprawling, golden thoroughfare and getting the nation’s various governors to fall in line.

That list of gubernatorial underlings includes Nessa (Marissa Bode), the recently installed governor of Munchkinland and sister to Elphaba. After Elphaba disrupts the wedding of estranged bestie Galinda (Ariana Grande) and threatens to expose the Wizard’s misdeeds, a plan is hatched: A supernaturally occurring cyclone will hit Munchkinland, and when Elphaba rushes to her sister’s side, Oz will apprehend the troublemaking witch.

To everyone’s surprise, a girl from Kansas has also turned up, but — in an artistically intriguing but somewhat unsatisfactory flourish — we’ll never see her face. Spare a thought for actress Bethany Weaver, who dons the gingham dress and slippers in long shots and silhouettes. She’s playing no less a figure than Dorothy Gale and strolls the yellow-brick road in what is sure to be the year’s biggest film — yet if she walked through Times Square tomorrow, she wouldn’t get recognized.

There’s even more plot to be covered, including a love triangle involving a dashing prince (Jonathan Bailey) and the further machinations of the Wizard’s sneering advisor (Michelle Yeoh). But “For Good” does not suffer from the meandering rhythm of its predecessor; there’s enough happening here to justify the runtime. (It also helps that this film is 23 minutes shorter than the first.) Exercises in real-world commentary — those animals in exile are more than a bit reminiscent of current events — are well intentioned, but feel like asides.

The production design occasionally inspires awe, particularly in Elphaba’s forest hideout and the castle where she’ll square off with an angry mob. More vitally, Erivo remains an incandescent presence, bringing Elphaba to the level of an indelible silver-screen presence; with due respect to the great Margaret Hamilton, Erivo’s character is one for all time and the only presence in the “Wicked” duology that can stand toe-to-toe with the icons from 1939.

Grande, too, is better used here, rising to challenges both dramatic and vocal. While it may not be the surefire Oscar bait her many fans demand, her real-life fondness for Erivo gives the characters a connection that seeps into the screen.

No matter what the title card says, “Wicked” has not been changed for good; the bifurcated presentation reduces what might have soared to classic status into two lesser films. Perhaps we’ll one day get a truncated cut of these two films that restores them to a singular experience; mixed though my own reaction to the pictures has been, I’d gladly buy a ticket to see a combined “Wicked.” (Call it “Wicked: Together We’re Unlimited.”) In the meantime, though, “For Good” is an improvement and an enjoyable film.

My Rating: 7/10

“Wicked: For Good” is now playing in theaters.