Directed by:
Robert StrombergScreenplay:
Linda WoolvertonCinematography:
Dean SemlerComposer:
James Newton HowardCast:
Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Brenton Thwaites, Kenneth Cranham, Ella Purnell (more)VOD (3)
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"Maleficent" explores the untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the classic "Sleeping Beauty" and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone. Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the moors over which she presides, Maleficent cruelly places an irrevocable curse upon the human king's newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Aurora is caught in the middle of the seething conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom that holds her legacy. Maleficent realizes that Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced to take drastic actions that will change both worlds forever. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
A very atypical 180 million-dollar budget affair that is shorter and more concise than it may seem at first glance. It is surprising how Robert Stromberg builds it from scratch, going straight to the point, without beating around the bush and letting Angelina Jolie fool around with horns and mischievously giggle to add to it all. Unfortunately, the story suffers quite a bit, so if you manage to catch onto the hackneyed plot and see it through the barrage of visual effects and camera flyovers and zooms like in Avatar, you will see that it is very generic and visually polished – maybe even excessively so. Some of the visual effects are aweful, and there’s also the madman Sharlto Copley.
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A classical fairytale story spiced up with an opulent production design and at times very raw adult undertones. It's beautiful to look at, Angelina's performance is great and the the world captivates with the visual sophistication of itself and its characters, but unlike, for example, the more story-driven and narrative Snow White and the Huntsman, this film looks like a mess that tries to embrace several genres too superficially to satisfy the widest possible audience. Nice adventure for the whole family, but nothing surprising from the Americans. 70%
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Avatar style. Maleficent really looks like she is off to fight Pandora, and in modern Snow White style, she tries to persuade us that she was right to be mad at the king. And it works. Angelina’s acting is excellent and so I found the rather lackluster Sharlto Copley disappointing (although in truth he didn’t have much of a part to play). I don’t know if incessant updating will work with all fairytales, but so far it seems to be going well.
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Maleficent is another in a series of new adaptations fairytale classics that haven't aged with time, and as a lover of Disney films, I couldn't pass up such a feat. And I have to say that this film is beautifully stylized, they really took care not only on the production design, but also on the look of the characters, both human and mythical. I’ve never been a fan of Angelina Jolie, I was quite put off by her Lara Croft, but this role really suited her perfectly and won my sympathy. As has been mentioned in other reviews here, I also liked the development of the relationship between Aurora and Maleficent, which for me was the centre of the whole story and was handled brilliantly. Who really is the villain in this story? Not everything is as it seems! Finally, I must not forget to mention the magical song "Once Upon a Dream" by Lana Del Rey. All in all, a very well made film which, like all fairy tales, offers a clash between good and evil, alongside a nice audio-visual experience and a likeable cast.
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I’ve been looking forward to Maleficent for a long time. Even my girlfriend told me that she would love to see it at the cinema. That was a proof to me that we simply have to go see it and so we did. The result turned out very well. Although it is a digital parade, everything is so honest and beautiful that it can be easily forgiven. Angelina Jolie couldn’t be better. Her character has wonderful mood swings and I enjoyed her feelings like never before. But I also enjoyed the locations to which the Americans put great care. It is an absolutely amazing fantasy world, where it is immediately clear who belongs to whom and what the map of it would probably look like if you decided to draw it. This movie is just like that. It seeks strength in simplicity and I simply enjoyed it. I wouldn’t be angry at all if there were more such fairytales.
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