MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL:
AVERAGE SEQUEL TO AN AVERAGE MOVIE, NOT QUITE CURSED!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
DISNEY
Angelina Jolie is back as Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
The “not so” wicked fairy who once made a princess prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep-like death…but ultimately saved her and lifted the curse in the end, is back in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, the follow-up to Disney’s 2014 box-office success, Maleficent loosely based on their animated film adaptation of Sleeping Beauty. While not technically a live-action remake of Sleeping Beauty, it is at times categorized as such, when the first film was announced I was honestly into the idea of a prequel to Sleeping Beauty through Maleficent’s point of view and showing how she became one of the greatest Disney villains of all time with Angelina Jolie (Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Kung Fu Panda trilogy, Wanted) portraying the elegant villainess, it’s almost Glenn Close Cruella DeVil perfect when it came to casting her.
I was excited for the first movie when it was coming out and came out of it thinking…that was okay, could have been a lot better but it’s decent. The first half of Maleficent I dug and delivered what I wanted, an origin story for Maleficent, until it becomes a last-minute live-action remake of Sleeping Beauty at the halfway point which is where it loses its momentum and doesn’t quite stand as tall as the earlier half.
Still, despite earning mixed reviews though Jolie’s performance was widely praised, the first film was a hit at the box-office so much like 2016’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, it was time to give this Disney “Anti-Heroine?” a sequel. That’s where Maleficent: Mistress of Evil comes in with Jolie, Elle Fanning (Super 8, We Bought a Zoo, Teen Spirit), and Sam Riley (Control, On the Road, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) reprising their roles as Maleficent, Princess Aurora, and Diaval the Raven while Joachim Rønning (Max Manus: Man of War, Kon-Tiki, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) taking over directing duties from Robert Stromberg.
After seeing Disney’s other live-action cinematic classics this year like Aladdin (2019) and The Lion King(2019) I can say with much enthusiasm that…I don’t hate Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Like its predecessor Mistress of Evil is undeniably flawed and it doesn’t quite live up to its full potential, but the film is well-acted, visually impressive, and offers an interesting perspective on one of Disney’s most famous villains.
Set four years after the events of the last film, the film follows Aurora, who has now become queen of the Moors with her godmother Maleficent as their watchful protector. However, when Maleficent learns that Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson-Beach Rats, The King’s Man, Matthias & Maxime) has asked Aurora to marry him in hopes to bring peace between humans and Moors, Maleficent warns Aurora that love doesn’t always work out.
Aurora ensures Maleficent has nothing to worry about and invites her to dinner to meet Phillip’s parents, King John (Robert Lindsay-Citizen Smith, Hornblower, My Family) and Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer-The Witches of Eastwick, Batman Returns, Stardust)…it goes about as well as you think. Maleficent and Aurora are pulled apart once again on opposing sides After being pushed to her limits by King John and especially Queen Ingrith, Maleficent has reverted back to her former self and it’s up to Aurora to snap some sense back into her as Queen Ingrith has big plans…not to unite the two kingdoms but to plunge them both into a war.
The film also stars Imelda Staunton (Chicken Run, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Downton Abbey) as Knotgrass, Juno Temple (Atonement, The Dark Knight Rises, Black Mass) as Thistlewit, Leslie Manville (All or Nothing, Another Year, Phantom Thread) as Flittle, Warwick Davis (Willow, Leprechaun franchise, Harry Potterfranchise) as Lickspittle, Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Doctor Strange, The Lion King (2019)) as Conall, Ed Skrein (The Transporter: Refueled, Deadpool, Alita: Battle Angel) as Borra, Jenn Murray (Dorothy Mills, Brooklyn,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) as Gerda, David Gyasi (Cloud Atlas, Interstellar, Containment) as Percival, Judi Shekoni (Ali G Indahouse, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2) as Shrike, and Miyavi (Unbroken, Kong: Skull Island, Bleach (2018)) as Udo.
Overall, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil may not be the edgy movie where you root for the villain, but it’s still an entertaining fantasy adventure that unlike its predecessor doesn’t need to shoehorn in the plot of the original film. This movie explores more of Maleficent’s past and shows that she is not the last of her kind as there exists a whole new world of fairies unbeknownst to Maleficent and now, she has to choose between fighting for the survival of her people or saving Aurora.
Jolie still knocks it out of the park as Maleficent and just like the first movie is the highlight of the entire film. She still has that mysterious elegance and also a dark sense of humor that makes her more fun and charming to watch whenever she’s on-screen.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil isn’t exactly flawless, the dialogue isn’t the best written and also the story is a bit rehashed from other movies and shows (Sleeping Beauty mixed with Game of Thrones, I’m not kidding!), not quite to the point of ruining the movie but it is a little noticeable. However, the film does lead up to one of the most epic and surprisingly intense final battles you will ever see in a Disney film, it has such a heavy body-count it makes Pirates of the Caribbean look like Frozen.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a flawed but fun fantasy adventure and a worthy installment of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty franchise. Well, well another decent Disney live-action film for the entire family.
