Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (B or 3/4 stars)
'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' (helmed by Norwegian director Joachim Ronning) is the sequel to Disney's 2014 revisionist Sleeping Beauty, reuniting Angelina Jolie as dark sorceress godmother Maleficent & angelic Elle Fanning as Aurora, now Queen of the Moors; surrounded by fairies, sprites & woodland creatures that adore her. It's taken a while, but Prince Phillip of Ulstead (now Harris Dickinson, not Brenton Thwaites, who had a scheduling conflict and couldn't reprise his role) has finally proposed marriage. Still distrustful of humans, Maleficent initially forbids her adoptive daughter's union but, eventually, agrees to accompany Aurora to a celebratory feast at the palace of King John (Robert Lindsay) & Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer).
Pacifist King John is delighted by the potential to form ties btwn. the 2 kingdoms {humans & Moorfolk). But Queen Ingrith only sees the wedding as a stepping stone to a diabolical scheme. At the palace, and with her shape-shifting raven companion, Diaval (comic relief, Sam Riley) at her side, Maleficent tries forced cordiality with the royals; that is, until Ingrith announces that she'll consider Aurora to be her own daughter - AND - insults both Maleficent & the Moorfolk. This incurs Maleficent's wrath and, in a moment of mayhem, Ingrith frames Maleficent for 'cursing' King John into a deep slumber. As Maleficent flies away in a rage, she is critically wounded by an iron pellet {deadly to all faes} and, she is rescued from a watery grave by one of her own kind, a Dark Fae named Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor); who whisks her away to a secluded cavernous hideout beneath the sea so she can heal.
There, she learns that these goat-horned, vulture-winged creatures have been hiding there from humans for generations. Back in Ulstead, Queen Ingrith prepares for the eradication of all Moorfolk, while Aurora - concerned about her godmother's seeming betrayal - also starts to doubt the sincerity of her mother-in-law to be. While the Dark Fae in their underwater hideout ponder waging war against humans, Maleficent must decide whether to join her fellow race to fight them ... or seek peace with the humans for Aurora's sake. Chaos ensues.
I enjoyed this sequel quite a bit, while also acknowledging that it has some deficiencies {more on those later}. This movie thrives due to its seemingly never-ending cascade of Ellen Mirojnick's FABULOUS medieval-styled costumes, some vibrant, world-building production design, incredible hair/make-up work, Geoff Zanelli's sweeping music, some stunning CGI, & the on-screen duel of 2 Hollywood queens, Angelina Jolie & Michelle Pfeiffer. 'Mistress of Evil' - which, by the way, is an awful title. If anything, Maleficent is less evil than ever - is a fairly dark film & far more PG-violent than its predecessor. To be exact, the manner in which Moorfolk are killed is as chilling as the disturbing moments in War of the Worlds, Avengers: Infinity War, and most importantly, it recalls the gaseous poisonings from WWII. I guess the only way to get these heavy themes across to little kids watching this movie is to bathe it in faerie princess confection.
The scenes in the Moors, with its various creatures, are as utterly enchanting as they were in the '14 film. The romance btwn. Aurora & Phillip is cutesy, but not swoon-worthy. But then, wonderful Elle Fanning had to work overtime to generate chemistry with pretty, but blank-faced Harris Dickinson as Phillip. Dickinson was great in Beach Bums a few yrs. ago, but he looked like a deer in headlights, here. Fanning fared far better with dashing Brenton Thwaites 5 yrs. ago. Michelle Pfeiffer seethes with aplomb as deceitful, detestable, dictatorial Queen Ingrith. That said, it's a one-note 'vengeful' performance. Angelina Jolie was made for the role of Maleficent and, every time she's on-screen, we lean in. She's better when she's angry Maleficent than demure Maleficent. But her mother/daughter chemistry with Fanning is tender and, dammit if they didn't bring a tear or two to my eye by the end.
So, yeah. There are a few too many subplots going on; and I said "oh, that's ridiculous" a few times; regarding plot points. Ingrith's hatred of the faeries felt unnecessarily intense. And there's an overall air of 'was this sequel necessary?' about the proceedings. All that said, I've gotten used to the 'Maleficent isn't a villain, just an alienated, misunderstood creature' way of thinking. The cast is up to task. I loved seeing Aurora's devoted pixies again: Knotgrass, Thistlewit & Flittle (Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville). I enjoyed a goblin weapons maker named Lickspittle (Warwick Davis). The film looks absolutely spectacular. And I like that, at its core, this re-imagined story is about the love btwn. unconventional mother & daughter.
Pacifist King John is delighted by the potential to form ties btwn. the 2 kingdoms {humans & Moorfolk). But Queen Ingrith only sees the wedding as a stepping stone to a diabolical scheme. At the palace, and with her shape-shifting raven companion, Diaval (comic relief, Sam Riley) at her side, Maleficent tries forced cordiality with the royals; that is, until Ingrith announces that she'll consider Aurora to be her own daughter - AND - insults both Maleficent & the Moorfolk. This incurs Maleficent's wrath and, in a moment of mayhem, Ingrith frames Maleficent for 'cursing' King John into a deep slumber. As Maleficent flies away in a rage, she is critically wounded by an iron pellet {deadly to all faes} and, she is rescued from a watery grave by one of her own kind, a Dark Fae named Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor); who whisks her away to a secluded cavernous hideout beneath the sea so she can heal.
There, she learns that these goat-horned, vulture-winged creatures have been hiding there from humans for generations. Back in Ulstead, Queen Ingrith prepares for the eradication of all Moorfolk, while Aurora - concerned about her godmother's seeming betrayal - also starts to doubt the sincerity of her mother-in-law to be. While the Dark Fae in their underwater hideout ponder waging war against humans, Maleficent must decide whether to join her fellow race to fight them ... or seek peace with the humans for Aurora's sake. Chaos ensues.
I enjoyed this sequel quite a bit, while also acknowledging that it has some deficiencies {more on those later}. This movie thrives due to its seemingly never-ending cascade of Ellen Mirojnick's FABULOUS medieval-styled costumes, some vibrant, world-building production design, incredible hair/make-up work, Geoff Zanelli's sweeping music, some stunning CGI, & the on-screen duel of 2 Hollywood queens, Angelina Jolie & Michelle Pfeiffer. 'Mistress of Evil' - which, by the way, is an awful title. If anything, Maleficent is less evil than ever - is a fairly dark film & far more PG-violent than its predecessor. To be exact, the manner in which Moorfolk are killed is as chilling as the disturbing moments in War of the Worlds, Avengers: Infinity War, and most importantly, it recalls the gaseous poisonings from WWII. I guess the only way to get these heavy themes across to little kids watching this movie is to bathe it in faerie princess confection.
The scenes in the Moors, with its various creatures, are as utterly enchanting as they were in the '14 film. The romance btwn. Aurora & Phillip is cutesy, but not swoon-worthy. But then, wonderful Elle Fanning had to work overtime to generate chemistry with pretty, but blank-faced Harris Dickinson as Phillip. Dickinson was great in Beach Bums a few yrs. ago, but he looked like a deer in headlights, here. Fanning fared far better with dashing Brenton Thwaites 5 yrs. ago. Michelle Pfeiffer seethes with aplomb as deceitful, detestable, dictatorial Queen Ingrith. That said, it's a one-note 'vengeful' performance. Angelina Jolie was made for the role of Maleficent and, every time she's on-screen, we lean in. She's better when she's angry Maleficent than demure Maleficent. But her mother/daughter chemistry with Fanning is tender and, dammit if they didn't bring a tear or two to my eye by the end.
So, yeah. There are a few too many subplots going on; and I said "oh, that's ridiculous" a few times; regarding plot points. Ingrith's hatred of the faeries felt unnecessarily intense. And there's an overall air of 'was this sequel necessary?' about the proceedings. All that said, I've gotten used to the 'Maleficent isn't a villain, just an alienated, misunderstood creature' way of thinking. The cast is up to task. I loved seeing Aurora's devoted pixies again: Knotgrass, Thistlewit & Flittle (Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville). I enjoyed a goblin weapons maker named Lickspittle (Warwick Davis). The film looks absolutely spectacular. And I like that, at its core, this re-imagined story is about the love btwn. unconventional mother & daughter.