Nice re-interpretation of the sleeping beauty children's tale. Angelina Jolie has some really good moments in which a simple smile from her can make you shit your pants, although the interpretation is, in some parts, irregular. Elle Fanning is not a good option as "the Beauty" in the same way Kristen Stewart wasn't for Snow White. Angelina eats completely her role as Charlize Theron eat Stewart's. Sharito Copley has a great performance, as always, and the FX are really decent.
DoryDarko
Today, June 4, I went to see Maleficent on the birthday of its star, Angelina Jolie. In itself, nothing more than a funny coincidence, although when you think about it, it is customary for someone who is celebrating their birthday, to hand out treats. And boy, this was the best treat ever.
Three reasons why I was completely stoked to see Maleficent after hearing about it for the first time about a year and a half ago: 1) I love Angelina. 2) I love Sleeping Beauty. 3) Maleficent is my favourite fairy tale villain of all time. On the other hand, I was also a little wary of the way they had apparently altered the story. See, if there is one thing I hate in films, it's when they explain and justify the motives and reasons why a certain character is "bad". I for one believe that some people are just plain evil and that's the way it is. And going into this persons' childhood and explaining how bad everything was (or something to that effect) only works to weaken that characters' force. Now, I don't know why a somewhat clichéd story about the love and betrayal of a young Maleficent (who apparently used to be good and pure-hearted), worked here, but somehow it just did. It completely surprised me, to be honest. I'm usually allergic to this kind of fluff, but it worked! Maleficents' back-story actually intrigued me, moved me even. And it succeeded at what it was supposed to do in the first place: it made Maleficent human.
In the end though, they could have written any kind of story about what is undoubtedly Disney's most beloved villainess, it never would have been raised to an above-par level without its most crucial element: Angelina Jolie. I might sound biased because I'm such a fan, but I am perfectly able to look at her performances in a critical way, and I can only say this about her performance as Maleficent: she was in one word, perfect. I honestly can't imagine any other actress who could have approached this role with the same flawless combination of properties (short of maybe Charlize Theron): she is beautiful and very charismatic, yet at the same time undeniably cruel and cold. She was everything I had hoped this real life characterization of Maleficent would be, and then some.
Compliments also go out to the three other main actors in this film. First to Elle Fanning, for being very convincing as the young princess Aurora. She is sweet, lovely and kind and she has the right personality to play this famous princess just the way she should be. Second, to Sam Riley, who was a pleasant surprise as Maleficents' pet raven Diaval in human form. I was thus far unfamiliar with his work, but he was very well suited to his role and I enjoyed watching him. Last, but certainly not least, Sharlto Copley, who has already thrilled me with his performances in District 9 and Elysium, and who has now definitely made a fan out of me. His range is awesome and he was totally terrifying as Stefan.
OK, there are some things you have to look past. My first, and most blatant, issue with this film is: if young Maleficent was a good, pure- hearted girl, then why did she, as an innocent 10-year-old, already have evil-looking horns, devilish wings and is she called "Maleficent"? Right… Secondly, I found the three pixies to be very unconvincing and even somewhat annoying CGI-wise. Overall the special effects are well done but the pixies were definitely an eyesore. The dragon in the end also looked a bit unreal.
That being said, Maleficents' costumes and make-up were absolutely stunning. I just couldn't get enough of gazing at her intricate headdresses and beautiful gowns. The costume and styling department really deserve top credit and I truly hope there will be some awards for them in the near future. The music was also great, with flawless scoring by James Newton Howard and a terrific rendition of "Once upon a dream" by Lana Del Rey over the end credits. Also, awesome battle scenes and action sequences galore!
Going into this film, I thought it would be nothing more than a so-so, kind of fun summer flick. A 6.5/7 maybe. Sometimes, I love it when I'm wrong. Out of the three films that I've seen at the cinema over the last week (the other two being X-Men and Godzilla, both disappointments…) I can tell you, Maleficent was by far the most gratifying. Perhaps because I had relatively low expectations, perhaps because it was simply that good.
One serious warning for the rough, rugged men out there: this film features pixies, fairies, sparkly thingies and magical fluff out the wazoo. If you're going to see this, do it for Angelina. If not, treat this film like kryptonite. You will thank me later.
To everyone else: go see this film. It will rock your socks off. Maleficent is magnificent.
_(June 2014)_
Kamurai
Good watch, would watch again, and can recommend.
I'm not a big Angelina Jolie ("Lara Croft: Tomb Raider") fan, but she definitely nailed the part, and I felt for her when those things happened, so I'm definitely not going to say she's not a good actor.
Elle Fanning ("The Great") is great, mostly an annoyingly happy little thing while she's awake, alongside wonderful supporting cast and gorgeous (and sometimes goofy) CG animated creatures.
Disney definitely poured money into this to make it look great. They also spent quite the effort to revitalize the story. After rewatching "Sleeping Beauty" and some other variations (I did fail to reread the original story), I am definitely a fan of the direction they took. The original story was just so weak and empty, and this does one of my favorite things and humanizes a villain into an adversery into of an evil monster.
I'm not a fan of how or why the 3 faeries get involved, but it makes some sense. And I'm very happy with how they handled the resolution of the curse.
They created this awesome world which adds to the movie in a very special way.
r96sk
Not as dark or deep as I was expecting/wanting, but it is cool to see a different telling of 'Sleeping Beauty'.
Angelina Jolie fits as the titular character, bringing with her a good performance. Elle Fanning (Aurora), Sharlto Copley (Stefan) and Sam Riley (Diaval) play their respective roles well enough, but neither come close to matching Jolie - as you'd probably expect.
I found the special effects a bit iffy. It's not that it looks anything close to bad, I just thought it could've looked better. The score isn't all that memorable, either. I did enjoy how the plot unfolds though, mainly thanks to the lead admittedly.
Intrigued to see what the sequel to 'Maleficent' has to offer.
BiGuy
_TL:DR
An enchanting retelling of a classic story which really holds it's own with the changes in it's story-line. If you love magical worlds, definitely give this one a watch! (7/10 on the Dragon-Scale for including two very badass dragons!)_
I truly appreciate the modern trend of humanizing the "villains" in a story, real life is rarely as simple as: 'This person is just evil.' and it allows for so much more depth and emotional investment in both protagonists and antagonists.
Hats off to the visual effects team for making the Moors feel truly enchanted, with many magical critters and beautifully strange fauna all pining for your attention. Everything feels like it has it's own personality through their movement and design, making the whole movie a feast for the eyes. (And I of-course cannot forget the raven-like aspects in all of Diaval's forms. Raven dragon? Yes please!)
As for the story, it takes great inspiration from the original but brings it's own charms to the table. Opting to take the 'Parental Love' definition of true love, rather than Romantic Love. Which is a decision I personally can get behind. (Even _if_ Maleficent is not Aurora's birth-mother, she has certainly been more of a mother to her than her biological mother. Which is another great message to send!)
Lastly, what did I get out of the story? When we're young, we tend to be young, naïve and have an optimistic colorful view of the world. And something will inevitably happen to change our views and jade us. (Making our outlook darker and thornier. _Wink wink nudge nudge._)
This new outlook will usually stay for years, if not for life, but sometimes we find something or someone who revives (part of) the child we all have inside of us that we wish dearly to protect. (The Moors going from colorful to dark and back to colorful again.) And I can certainly find myself in that.
CinemaSerf
Perrault's "Sleeping Beauty" is easily my favourite Walt Disney adaptation and this film takes up on by far the best character from that delightful animation - the wicked witch "Maleficent". It tells us how this true epitome of wickedness was actually quite a good-natured elf until an evil king duped her and stole her wings. Now that had to hurt - not to mention get her a touch irked, so she set out on a vengeful existence culminating in a curse on the young Princess "Aurora". As per the novel, the three good fairies take the princess to hide in the forest but the crafty witch tracks them down almost immediately and has some fun manipulating them all as the baby grows to womanhood, at which point this story takes an unexpected turn (from the book too!). The cast are really good in this: Angelina Jolie - in the title role - could have been a bit more menacing, but she is still on good form, as is Sam Riley as her rather kindly sidekick "Diaval" whom she changes into whatever she needs to do her bidding. Elle Fanning is just a little bit too "nice" (for me, anyway) as "Aurora" and Sharlto Copley as the rapidly losing the plot "King Stefan" just a bit too hammy but cutie Brenton Thwaites does a half decent English accent as Prince "Philip" and the three fairies inject some light-hearted comedy into the proceedings too. The whole thing, though just a wee bit cheesy, is still a really well produced watch with some superb visual effects. Though it looks great, I didn't like the ending, much - but then I always wanted "Darth Vader" to win, too...
