Maleficent, Movie Review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I blame Once Upon a Time for this movie.

I do.

I really, really do.

Is this a bad thing?

Nah.

But there seems to be a trend amongst our culture in seeing the good in evil.  Maybe we just love a good redemption story.  We've all got a little evil in us.  We've all got the potential to be wicked.  Didn't Luke Skywalker see himself in Darth Vader on Dagobah?  (Okay, I'm really getting deep here.)

We're still in the throes of Super Hero popularity.  Zombie's and Steampunk are popular, but more amongst cult followers.  Vampires are finally dieing out!  Didn't think that was possible, did ya?  Heh, both the fandom and the species. * Irish Jig. * Maybe I shouldn't be too hopeful . . .

And then there's Fairy Tales.  Albert Einstein said:

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

So fairy tales are making their rounds.  We've got Once Upon a Time and multiple versions of Snow White.  Jack and the Giant Slayer.  Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.  The musical Wicked, which I count as an American fairy tale, based on the witches of Oz.  And a beautiful, fun re-imagining of the Sleeping Beauty ballet by choreographer Matthew Bourne, which can still be viewed  online on the PBS website.

Which brings me to Maleficent.  The evil sorcerer from Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  The latest live action film from Disney, following the popular 2010 Alice in Wonderland.  Next year we get Cinderella.  This is Maleficent's origin story.

This isn't Maleficent from 1959, the classic animation that made us all fear spindles and dragons.  This Maleficent is soft in comparison.  Where the animated Maleficent was callous, this new Maleficent was just having a . . . spoilers.  Don't want to give anything away.

The Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) we are introduced to is a spirited figure, a child fairy of the Moors, full of laughter and innocence.  She loves her land of magic, and with her wings she flies above, watching and protecting, guarding the land from selfish humans.  One morning it's brought to her attention that a human boy snuck in and stole something (foreshadowing his character by chance?), and she goes to confront, love's quickly born in good ol' Disney fashion.  It's this relationship that forms her character and defines her motives.

When Maleficent does not get an invitation to the celebration of Princess Aurora's (Elle Fanning) birth, she feels more then simply left out.  There's more sting.  More anger.  More hatred.  More loss.  I must state that I was a little nervous about Jolie playing such an iconic character, but the cursing scene, in which baby Aurora is cursed to fall into an endless sleep by her 16th birthday, is absolutely brilliant.  Jolie looked like she was having fun.

There are flaws in this new take on Sleeping Beauty.  I don't like Prince Phillip at all.  He's a pretty boy wimp.  The 1959 Prince Phillip did something!  He was a hero!  This Prince Phillip just stands/floats around.  And the three fairies Flittle, Knotgrass, and Thistletwit are annoying.  They're tasked at protecting Aurora, but seem to do nothing right.  They're dumber then a scarecrow without a brain.  This adds comedy for the little folk, but I wish there was more substance then silly slapstick.

After all this criticism why did I give Maleficent a solid 4 stars?  I'm a sucker for pretty.  I love the look of the film.  The depiction of the Moors is beautiful in fairy like wonder.  And I love a movie that can suck me in.  Do I feel this movie is cliche?  Yes.  Do I like the nature in which Maleficent lost her wings?  Not I all.  Predictable and incredibly uncomfortable.  But I still enjoyed this movie and had a good time.  There's value in that.  And I recommend Maleficent.

Though Maleficent isn't the ruthless sorcerer from 1959, I still find this Maleficent interesting.  And overall this is a sweet story I can see again and again.

MPAA: Rated PG for sequences of fantasy action and violence, including frightening images.

This is honestly the most violent PG movie I've ever seen.  The violence is on par with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which received a PG-13 rating.  For most kids the Fantasy violence should be okay, but young children may get scared.