Maleficent

Disney villains typically don’t get much spotlight so this movie was an interesting idea. It gives a different take on the Sleeping Beauty story from Maleficent’s point of view, and you’ll find that they did a very good job in setting up her background and developing her character.

In the beginning you learn about Maleficent’s beginnings as a powerful fairy and her reasons to turn “villainous.” Her quest for revenge is well justified so you’ll never really view her as evil. The result is you wanting to side with Maleficent as a protagonist without ruining the character of Maleficent that we normally know as an antagonist. The story focuses on the empowerment of women and the wickedness of men, and leaves a very powerful and positive message.

I was not a fan of the CG magical fauna. Though not horrendous, it’s something that should’ve been avoided anyway. Angelina Jolie does a great job portraying Maleficent and her style of her acting portrayed the wickedness of her character very well, and it was not awkward like I thought it would have been. They actually managed to make everything work and overall made the movie very engaging. Though it strays away from the original story (and these sort of things I don’t really like), they successfully pulled together an otherwise difficult storyline into a great movie that should have garnered more viewers.

Rating: 4/5