I recently watched Sleeping Beauty for the first time, and my main takeaway was that Maleficent was one evil bitch. Vindictive and cruel with a large dose of the theatrical. She made Scar etc look like a bunch of softies. A lot of this came down to viciously cursing a baby due to feeling slightly put out. She’s absolutely the most evil of the Disney villains. Enthused by Angelina Jolie’s amazing likeness, my wife and I agreed only one thing could ruin it.
Making Maleficent sympathetic.
The worst things you can do to an evil character are show too much and explain too much. When Jolie flashes her smile, or casts a malevolent eye over the audience, it’s great. This makes it all the more disappointing that she is the central piece of such an underwhelming, clichéd, obvious and down right boring film.
I couldn’t even tell you what accent Sharlto Copley is attempting as King Steffan, whilst the nondescript boy who shows up as Prince Phillip is a waste of time. Add in a trio of fairies who are more inept than well meaning and….well it’s just rubbish really.
There are some impressive visuals, yet even this is cheapened by the over-abundance of CGI.
Maleficent could have been a true show case for Angelina Jolie’s talent and a stunning film. Instead it’s a tedious Wicked knock off that doesn’t deserve the attention it will no doubt gain.
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