"There is an evil in this world, and I cannot keep you from it"
Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) grew up to take her place as Queen of the Moors. But as a girl, she became close friends with a young man named Stefan. As the years passed, the two grew apart, until one day, the human kingdom came to conquer the Moors. Thanks to the help of an army of tree soldiers, Maleficent wins the round. However, the dying King offers his throne to anyone who vanquishes her. Stefan goes, and at first warns his friend, but takes the opportunity necessary to steal Maleficent's wings. The next morning, realizing her wings are gone, Maleficent's heart slowly hardens as she realizes the betrayal her once close friend did. A few years later, the now-King Stefan (Sharlto Copley) is married and has a daughter, which leads to the famous curse issued by Maleficent at the childs christening. Oh, dear!
The story does seem more than twisted, doesn't it? Well, at first, it was a little difficult to digest, but once I was able to nail it all down in my head, the twists here are very clever. Its not a page-by-page retelling of the Disney classic, but a complete reinvention. To tell it from a villain's perspective is a very clever move. Linda Woolverton, who wrote the screenplay for Beauty and the Beast back in the late 1980's, does a terrific job with the script here. Some scenes that have very little dialogue work extremely well with the emotion portrayed, as do some of the more dialogue-filled moments. The live-action redo of the christening scene is terrific.
The acting is mostly great. Angelina Jolie is fantastic. When I heard of her casting, I was very excited to see that Disney was enlisting an A-level star to play a classic character. But, I also feared whether or not it would be difficult to compare her with Eleanor Audley (a voice actress that not only was the original Maleficent, but Stepmother for Cinderella as well). And, while I admit not to have seen the original Sleeping Beauty in its entirety (I have seen the christening scene), Jolie fills in those shoes with expertise and knocks the role out of the park. The emotion she shows in certain scenes is so realistic and breathtaking it elevates the intensity of her performance higher than that of James Franco in Oz and Johnny Depp in Alice in Wonderland. You can tell that she was really into the character and the result is certainly good enough for a possible Golden Globe nomination (NOTE: Depp was nominated for Best Actor for Alice).
Elle Fanning plays Princess Aurora, and I was also fairly impressed with her. She brings a convincing level of emotion and nails the joy and overall brightness of Aurora. Sam Riley was fine as Diaval, bringing some solid heart to Maleficent's sidekick. I also enjoyed Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, and Lesley Manville as the three fairies, who brought a solid sense of humor. On the weak side, for some reason, Sharlto Copley, while nailing the overall selfishness and somewhat sinister tones of Stefan, his Scottish/African accent doesn't seem to work here. It's a very odd tone, and makes me wonder whether or not he should have had vocal training to sound more British (like the rest of the characters). Yes, the dwarves of Erebor had somewhat different Scottish/English/weird voices each. But, his accent just isn't spot-on for the film here.
The visual effects, production design, and camerawork are all superb. The best scene in the whole film for me was when Maleficent tried to revoke the curse, turning her into a golden suited-monster with lots of magic-streaming special effects (add to that the emotion Angelina showed and my eyes were huge). The aerial shots of Maleficent flying were also terrific. One refreshing aspect of the film was incorporating some real scenery to mix with the special effects. Unlike the fantastic Oz The Great and Powerful, this movie successfully finds a balance between visual greatness and the real beauty of the English countryside. The costume design and facial features all make this movie seem like a feminine-infused Hobbit. Even Maleficent's costume was terrifically realistically brought to life.
James Newton Howard does a great job with the score, and a major improvement on his work in After Earth. Lana Del Ray's "Once Upon a Dream" cover is fantastic, as I listened to it for a few months prior to the movie. The action scenes are exciting and extremely well-done, with just the right amount of intensity and the right level of edginess to not let it creep into very scary territory.
On the downside, there were a couple of problems. One, kinda like how Frozen had a minor pacing issue towards the end of the movie, Maleficent's pace starts out a little too fast at the beginning. A lot of it is handled through narration, and we really don't see much of Stefan and Maleficent doing things together as children/teenagers. Up until where Diaval the crow is introduced, the pacing is a little too quick. Before we know it, Maleficent's anger and reactions from that incident are only somewhat brief. The backstory is interesting and good enough, I just wish they had a bit more story in that portion. Thankfully, the pace settles down once we reach the christening.
The other problem I had was the narrator. For the dark nature of the film, it was kind of unnecessary. I don't remember Oz, Alice or Frozen ever having a narration. It was fine in the beginning, but continuing throughout the film, I think it would have been fine without it.
Disney is having another renaissance, not just with animated hits (Frozen and Tangled), but live-action hits (Alice in Wonderland, Enchanted and Oz The Great and Powerful). So, by the time Maleficent rolls around the corner, it's presence now seems not as surprising. But, being huge fans of the films mentioned above, plus the stunning teaser trailer, I was extremely interested to see what would be offered here.
So, can Disney keep their strong streak up? The answer is mostly yes. Maleficent has all of the thrills, spills, chills, and brilliant visual imagery of the previous Disney live-action fairy tales, and boasts an excellent casting choice in Angelina Jolie. The screenplay is well-written. Some of the characters (such as Diaval and the fairies) are as witty and memorable as others such as Cheshire Cat, Gollum, Finley and China Doll among others. The visual feel here seems like a combination of Alice, The Hobbit and Jack the Giant Slayer (only without the giants, orcs and weird-looking queens), while being respectful to the original dark (for its time) style of the original Sleeping Beauty.
What is especially even more interesting here are the risky twists the film takes, and that some of them involve some very moral points. Yes, Brave and Frozen carried (but entirely by coincidence) similar twists in the usual fairy tale ending. And for some, Maleficent's twist on true love may feel like an idea already used up. But, the villain's redemption here makes it even more surprising than what at least Brave carried. I know people who saw this movie groaned at the fact they had to root for someone who calls on the "powers of h---" to aid her. But, the message here is that despite corruption, negative deeds and bad choices, redemption is always possible through love, and that definitely holds true today.
The fact that Maleficent serves as an adoptive mother figure here for Aurora kinda combines both Brave and Frozen's strongest moral points, but again twists it in unexpected directions. On top of that strong message on what "true love" is, we see strong examples of bravery and self-sacrifice, as well as warnings of the consequences of bad choices, hatred, revenge, as well as the dangers of selfishness, greed, and empty promises.
But, is Maleficent the best fairy tale Disney has ever brought to the screen? No. There are a few minor, head-scratching problems to navigate around. Some genuinely original, wow-worthy things found here later turn into things that feel just a tad generic for a big-budget fantasy. And the reshoots that were done to shorten the film's opening may not have been necessary. However, most of these problems are overpowered by the many positives I pointed out. (Oz, though a couple notches more enjoyable in my opinion, did have a minor problem in not incorporating a lot of reality, a problem Maleficent solves).
Considering my high expectations, Maleficent did not disappoint. It is yet another dazzling, terrifically well-done fairy tale from Disney, with perhaps one of the most interesting twists I have ever seen on a classic story. Comparing it to other recent Disney movies, this is more in line with Enchanted and Alice in Wonderland, and a just a few points short of the delirious heights of Tangled, Frozen, Oz, and The Muppets.
Score: 8.4/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of
Language: None.
Adult Content: A couple of kisses.
Violence: A few scenes depict fast-paced, though intense battles that do push the PG rating a little. There isn't any visible blood or gore and only two characters die. Still, some scary creatures involved may cause nightmares for younger ones. Things aren't pushed to extremely dark territory, however. Maleficent loses her wings in an emotional outcome that may bring to mind abuse for sensitive viewers. (we don't see the act being committed, but only the after-effects).
Drugs/Alcohol: Maleficent is (unknowingly) given a sedative.
Other: The after-effects of Maleficent losing her wings may be a little much for some to handle. Magic and mild sorcery may require discussion. Though its rebuked later, Maleficent clearly says "I hate you" to a baby.
