Maleficent
Directed by: Robert Stromberg
Written by: Linda Woolverton & Charles Perrault (based from the story La Belle au bois dormant); based on the story "Little Briar Rose" by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm; based on the motion picture "Sleeping Beauty" story adaptation by Erdman Penner
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham, Isobelle Molloy, Michael Higgins, Ella Purnell, Jackson Bews, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Eleanor Worthington-Cox
Action/Adventure/Family/Fantasy/Romance - 97 min
Written by: Linda Woolverton & Charles Perrault (based from the story La Belle au bois dormant); based on the story "Little Briar Rose" by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm; based on the motion picture "Sleeping Beauty" story adaptation by Erdman Penner
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham, Isobelle Molloy, Michael Higgins, Ella Purnell, Jackson Bews, Vivienne Jolie-Pitt, Eleanor Worthington-Cox
Action/Adventure/Family/Fantasy/Romance - 97 min
Adapting well-known fairy tales and presenting them from another character’s point of view is not a new trend on the stage and screen (e.g. Wicked, Snow White and the Huntsman). After Maleficent, I hope the trend reaches the other side of the hill and moves closer to its fade out. Villains are frequently more interesting than their corresponding heroes, case in point with Maleficent, but that does not automatically equate to a compelling feature film. Dark and somber Maleficent covers themes including betrayal and power; a Disney film without a ready-made audience.
I do not know who Maleficent is for. I would not take my kid to see it until six or seven years old and kids older than 13 will roll their eyes at all the fairy tale stuff. That leaves a narrow market unusual for a mega-budget live-action Disney blockbuster. I clearly heard a three or four year old a few rows in front of me loudly declare, “Mommy, I don’t like this.” You and I both kid. While Maleficent the character is well written and Angelina Jolie gives an effective performance, everything surrounding her is second-rate, forgettable, and even worse, dull.
I do not know who Maleficent is for. I would not take my kid to see it until six or seven years old and kids older than 13 will roll their eyes at all the fairy tale stuff. That leaves a narrow market unusual for a mega-budget live-action Disney blockbuster. I clearly heard a three or four year old a few rows in front of me loudly declare, “Mommy, I don’t like this.” You and I both kid. While Maleficent the character is well written and Angelina Jolie gives an effective performance, everything surrounding her is second-rate, forgettable, and even worse, dull.
Aesthetically, adult Maleficent mirrors the 1959 animated villainess including the horns growing out of her head, the flowing black cloak, and the cheekbones that would easily slice through a stick of butter. The only reason to pay the surcharge for Maleficent in 3D are those cheekbones; otherwise, this film is merely the latest vehicle gouging ticket-purchasers offering a worthless third dimension in favor of its box office gross. When Maleficent is off screen, we get creepy, CGI-not quite right fairies, a vacant and ill-defined castle, and muddled colors intended to visually impress the audience which reminds us all of these tricks were done better four years ago in Avatar and even Alice in Wonderland.
Both Maleficent’s director and lead writer worked on Alice in Wonderland; Robert Stromberg was the production designer and Linda Woolverton wrote that superior Tim Burton classic story update. Stromberg, directing for the first time here, was hired for his design expertise, for live-action must visually impress the audience more than anything else since most of us know the fairy tale inside and out. Unfortunately, not only are the visual effects and production design a tier beneath films released half a decade ago, but the story fails to deliver as well.
Both Maleficent’s director and lead writer worked on Alice in Wonderland; Robert Stromberg was the production designer and Linda Woolverton wrote that superior Tim Burton classic story update. Stromberg, directing for the first time here, was hired for his design expertise, for live-action must visually impress the audience more than anything else since most of us know the fairy tale inside and out. Unfortunately, not only are the visual effects and production design a tier beneath films released half a decade ago, but the story fails to deliver as well.
Young Maleficent meets a young Stefan as they grow up together in a Romeo and Juliet fashion; he a boy from the greedy and corrupt human lands and she the most powerful fairy and protector of the moors aka where all the fairies, trolls, and sentient trees reside. To fulfill his seething ambition to become king, Stefan (Sharlto Copley, 2013's Oldboy) perpetrates a truly evil act upon Maleficent providing the catalyst for her descent from a luminous, carefree spirit into the dark, terrifying wretch she transforms into.
The story mostly returns to its familiar tracks at this point including verbatim dialogue when Aurora (Elle Fanning, 2011's Super 8) is born. The three fairies charged with bringing her up, almost main characters in the animated original, are merely distracted, off-putting, and visually ugly characters here. Maleficent’s interaction with adolescent Aurora is new and a mostly welcome respite to the slow beginning and downright perplexing ending. Without exposing anything, Maleficent is noticeably orders of magnitude more powerful than any other being in this entire realm; she could rule the land as a God if she so chose. The final battle borders on ridiculous in order to attempt to give the audience a nail-biting climax.
The story mostly returns to its familiar tracks at this point including verbatim dialogue when Aurora (Elle Fanning, 2011's Super 8) is born. The three fairies charged with bringing her up, almost main characters in the animated original, are merely distracted, off-putting, and visually ugly characters here. Maleficent’s interaction with adolescent Aurora is new and a mostly welcome respite to the slow beginning and downright perplexing ending. Without exposing anything, Maleficent is noticeably orders of magnitude more powerful than any other being in this entire realm; she could rule the land as a God if she so chose. The final battle borders on ridiculous in order to attempt to give the audience a nail-biting climax.
Maleficent will be challenging for Disney to impress upon their young demographic usually eager to spend money on repeat viewings and toy tie-ins. I do not see youngsters latching on to a steely-eyed, horned fairy anywhere close as they did to pick a character from Frozen. No matter what Maleficent’s original intentions and motivations, she will scare the younger siblings while the older ones find it tough to root for a jilted and revenge-focused rogue. Disney should slow down on the alternate-version fairy tales for a while; I am not ready to see Cinderella from the step-sisters’ vantage point.
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