Maleficent is a somewhat frustrating movie because it had huge potential, got a lot of things pleasingly right - but had enough annoying flaws to fall short of greatness.
Maleficent, we find, is the name of a fairy living in a utopian anarchy of fairy creatures, which borders a kingdom run by corrupt and dishonorable kings. One day, she meets an orphan boy who tried to steal a jewel. They become friends. His dreams are all about power and wealth. Hers are... actually, she does not seem to have any. Perhaps she dreams of true love, or something, but it's not exactly clear.
Needless to say, betrayals and vengeance are on the horizon, and then the tale turns.
Much can be applauded about the film. The first shots of Maleficent are great, the scenes re-enacted from Sleeping Beauty are awesome, and the actors do great work.
Unfortunately, there are also spanners in the works. The fairy land is too bustling, too sweet, too colourful, far too cartoonish to have any reality at all. Hundreds of CGI creatures and little subtlety - a movie about a fairy with capability for darkness deserved a faerie world that isn't dipped in sugar and populated exclusively by sidekicks and a few tree-people. I'm not saying it should get all Guillermo del Toro, but on the other hand, it really deserved better than latter-day George Lucas style. Also, Maleficent flying is best when we glimpse her zooming into, through or out of shot. Seeing her glide around the clouds may seem dramatic to the film-makers, but feels phony and looks naff. So: the visuals deserved a lot more style and class than the film delivered. Instead of going for a clear aesthetic, the movie throws far too much at the screen, and some of it is really corny and naff.
The bigger problem is in the story - and especially the resolution. The ending, quite frankly, sucks. The movie could have done with a longer segment of sinister & evil Maleficent, and it really needed to lose its very, very incoherent messages about people with power (Rulers are bad! Getting power is a betrayal! Grabbing power is bad! Only the bad get power! Oh, actually, never mind!). It's all the more frustrating as Maleficent largely succeeded at retelling Sleeping Beauty and at creating a credible anti-heroine. With a bulkier angry-Maleficent section, fewer big battles, and a less incoherent (& recycled) ending, the film could have been fantastic.
It's not a bad movie - quite entertaining, and briefly awesome. Unfortunately, it is marred by annoying flaws.
Maleficent, we find, is the name of a fairy living in a utopian anarchy of fairy creatures, which borders a kingdom run by corrupt and dishonorable kings. One day, she meets an orphan boy who tried to steal a jewel. They become friends. His dreams are all about power and wealth. Hers are... actually, she does not seem to have any. Perhaps she dreams of true love, or something, but it's not exactly clear.
Needless to say, betrayals and vengeance are on the horizon, and then the tale turns.
Much can be applauded about the film. The first shots of Maleficent are great, the scenes re-enacted from Sleeping Beauty are awesome, and the actors do great work.
Unfortunately, there are also spanners in the works. The fairy land is too bustling, too sweet, too colourful, far too cartoonish to have any reality at all. Hundreds of CGI creatures and little subtlety - a movie about a fairy with capability for darkness deserved a faerie world that isn't dipped in sugar and populated exclusively by sidekicks and a few tree-people. I'm not saying it should get all Guillermo del Toro, but on the other hand, it really deserved better than latter-day George Lucas style. Also, Maleficent flying is best when we glimpse her zooming into, through or out of shot. Seeing her glide around the clouds may seem dramatic to the film-makers, but feels phony and looks naff. So: the visuals deserved a lot more style and class than the film delivered. Instead of going for a clear aesthetic, the movie throws far too much at the screen, and some of it is really corny and naff.
The bigger problem is in the story - and especially the resolution. The ending, quite frankly, sucks. The movie could have done with a longer segment of sinister & evil Maleficent, and it really needed to lose its very, very incoherent messages about people with power (Rulers are bad! Getting power is a betrayal! Grabbing power is bad! Only the bad get power! Oh, actually, never mind!). It's all the more frustrating as Maleficent largely succeeded at retelling Sleeping Beauty and at creating a credible anti-heroine. With a bulkier angry-Maleficent section, fewer big battles, and a less incoherent (& recycled) ending, the film could have been fantastic.
It's not a bad movie - quite entertaining, and briefly awesome. Unfortunately, it is marred by annoying flaws.