My daughter invited me to go see the new
movie Maleficent, Disney’s new take on the evil fairy from the Sleeping Beauty
Tale. I said yes because I love Angelina Jolie and I heard this movie would be different than the earlier Disney version. Holy spells was it ever!
At first my grandsons Nathan and Joshua
weren’t interested. “We don’t want to see any girly Disney movies!”
“But Angelina Jolie is in the title
role,” I countered, receiving blank stares. “There is lots of fighting and
bloodshed,” I added.
I’m not going to tell my readers the plot. We’ve
all read the books and seen the original animated movie. What I wanted to talk
about was Angelina’s portrayal of one of the most frightening Disney characters
ever. Who could ever forget the original animated version when Disney Studio has the evil fairy turn into
a dragon? I bet there were a lot of children having nightmares over that scene
Maleficent 2014
Maleficent 2014
Maleficent was directed by Robert
Stromberg who in my opinion did one hell of a fine job getting both Maleficent’s
anger and then subsequent change of heart across to the people in the theatre.
The actor who played Stefan (Sharlto Copley) was an excellent villain.
Maleficent’s familiar, Diaval (Sam Riley), a crow, who is bewitched into
serving Maleficent, added to the humorous and tender moments in the film. The
three bumbling pixies, played by Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley
Manville, often failed in their caring of the infant Aurora, but they were so
comical to watch; we easily overlooked their goofiness. Phillip (Brenton
Thwaites) is the handsome charming prince that is charged with releasing Aurora
from the spell, but…..
It is Maleficent’s tale of true love
betrayed and Aurora’s learning that sometimes an enemy is more than she seems
that made the movie so worth seeing. Elle Fanning’s portrayal of Aurora is
mostly the same as in the fairy tales, but with one big difference. She knows
her enemy. I love watching Miss Fanning on the screen and she did not
disappoint me in Maleficent.
If Angelina Jolie does not receive an Academy
Award for her portrayal of Maleficent, then the judges need to be retired and quick.
I don’t want to spoil the film and tell you too much, but I will say this, I
don’t ever want to piss off Angelina Jolie.
So how good was the main star, you ask?
Damn Good!!! Angelina was able to make
the audience hate her and pity her at the same time. Even stranger…was the
cheering and clapping when Maleficent got her point across via magic. I
especially loved the scene where the toddler Aurora, Angelina’s real life daughter Vivienne
Jolie-Pitt, interacts with the person who cursed her. Priceless!!
Go see the movie! I’m giving it a 4 star
review and for all the little girls out there and even us big girls...sometimes we need to remember just how powerful we are.
I can't wait to watch this movie. It's been on my to-watch list for a long time and I'm really excited about it, too!
ReplyDeleteJack, you will not be disappointed. I'm going to see it again with my sister.
DeleteYou can only do so much with your film when all it does is rely on beautiful visuals, and doesn't have much else to show for them. Good review Marie.
ReplyDelete