Released: May 30th, 2014
Rated: PG
Studio: Disney
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle
Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville
Directed by: Robert Stromberg
Written by: Linda Woolverton
Personal Bias Alert: not
a fan of princess stories, was impressed by the trailer
4 of 10
There
seems to be this cultural myth that all little girls love princesses. I was never that enamored with them, and I
don’t recall any of friends loving them either.
Of course, I liked Disney movies, but I grew up in the ‘90s when our
princesses got to be a little more proactive.
The old school ones, the traditional damsels in distress, were never a
part of my childhood. I was aware of
them, vaguely knew the stories, and always chose “Beauty and the Beast” over
“Snow White.” The recent trend of retelling
these classic tales, from 2012’s “Snow White and the Huntsman” (which I didn’t
like) to television’s “Once Upon a Time” (my personal guilty pleasure), has
made me realize that I don’t actually know these stories. They’re all mixed up in my head, bleeding
together into a jumble of Evil Queens and sleeping spells. Before watching “Once Upon a Time,” I thought
the Evil Queen was a general term applied to all the evil ladies that attached
Disney’s classic princesses. I didn’t
know it was just the one from “Snow White.”
More
pertinent to this movie, I didn’t even remember the name Maleficent. In fact, I don’t recall ever sitting down and
watching “Sleeping Beauty.” I assume I
saw it at some point in my childhood, girls just tend to be shown these things,
but it made no impression on me whatsoever. So I was immune to any nostalgic
charm this movie might have, which I’m hoping makes it better for all of you
who do, because for me, this movie laid there like a slug.
Apparently,
Maleficent is the fairy who put the sleeping curse on Sleeping Beauty aka
Aurora. Side note, what’s up with
everyone calling her Aurora all the sudden?
When I was kid, we just called her Sleeping Beauty. Anyway, “Maleficent” is a semi-retelling of
the story from Maleficent’s perspective, fleshing out her motives and
backstory. And, if you didn’t already
know, it’s a live-action version, with Angelina Jolie as Maleficent and Elle
Fanning as Aurora. Allegedly, many of
the actors won their roles due to their strong resemblance to the characters in
Disney’s animated version. In this case,
they still got a group of quality actors, from Jolie and Fanning to Sharlto
Copley as King Stefan and Sam Riley as the crow Diaval. Even the mostly-animated pixies tasked with
keeping young Aurora safe are portrayed by Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville,
and Juno Temple.
All
the actors look fine, which is good since they were cast for that very reason,
but none of them have anything to do.
You can extrapolate that statement out to the entire film, really. With the exception of a few sequences, the
thing looks good, but it feels like nothing happens. There’s an awkwardly long beginning sequence
in which Maleficent grows up and the reason for her hatred becomes known. Then the second act is basically just
Maleficent watching Aurora frolic around, then Aurora touches the spinning
wheel, falls asleep, and is awoken by true love’s kiss. And then it just ends. There’s never a build to anything
interesting, no tension, no character struggles, no nothing. The whole thing felt like a prelude to some
other, more interesting story.
I think the film’s downfall ultimately stems
from its struggle to tell an interesting, slightly dark story while trying to
make it palpable for young children.
This film has a PG rating, and the edits to get it to that rating are
noticeable, particularly in the battle sequences. They play out with such quick cuts and tight
shots that it’s impossible to tell what’s going on. I don’t know if they intentionally shot
things that way or if it was cut in the MPAA review process, but it really
takes the oomph out of the film. It
makes me wonder why those sequences where put there in the first place. You know you can’t show that stuff in a kid’s
movie, and there are other, far better ways to get across menace. There are moments when it’s done very well in
this film, such as the sequence where Maleficent loses her wings or when she
casts the curse. Those moments are
chilling, for adults and kids alike, and you know that you can make them age appropriate.
This
film is Robert Stromberg’s directorial debut, after winning back-to-back art
direction Oscars for “Avatar” and “Alice in Wonderland.” He’s done numerous other impressive effects
work, including “Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World” and television’s “John Adams” and “Boardwalk
Empire.” He clearly understand the
visuals well, but his grasp on story falters at almost every turn. He had seasoned editors behind him, and apparently
writer/director John Lee Hancock was brought in during reshoots of the opening
scenes. None of this was able to save
the expensive, troubled little movie that “Maleficent” ended up being.
Other Notes:
Ø I
liked the music. It got the fairytale
vibe right.
Ø A
few of the CGI sequences looked really bad.
People looked like they were made of plastic and such, but then again, I’ve
never been impressed by CGI’s capabilities when it comes to making a realistic
human being.
Ø That
trio of fairies was like an annoying version of The Three Stooges.
Ø When
Maleficent made her big entrance at Aurora’s christening, I really wanted
someone to step on her train. It was
asking for it.
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