Maleficent (2014)

My friend Kayla just got back from a deployment.  She was gone for most of the year so she missed a good number of movies.  Fortunately, between Christy and myself, I was able to present a huge array of choices.  She decided on Maleficent, which was good because I hadn't seen it since the theatrical release and I wanted to know if it stood up to a second watch.  Holy shit, this is a gorgeous movie.  It looked spectacular.  If you are a fan of visual effects and digital artistry at all, you owe it to yourself to check this out.  I really hope the other upcoming live-action films are as good as this one.  Original post:  6/7/14  You knew I was going to see this.  Don't lie.  It's practically my biography.

Once upon a time, the kingdom of Man and the kingdom of Faerie bordered each other.  Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy) is just a little faerie when she meets a human boy named Stefan (Michael Higgins). Despite their differences, the two bond but Stefan's ambition to become king eventually overcomes their friendship.  Angered and embittered, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) curses Stefan's daughter to fall into a deathlike sleep on her sixteenth birthday.  The child is taken to the woods to be raised by three pixies (Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville, and Juno Temple) who are woefully unprepared for the task.  Maleficent begins watching over the girl just to make sure she makes it to her curse, with the help of her raven, Diavol (Sam Riley).  Meanwhile, King Stefan (Sharlto Copley) grows more and more paranoid about her evil scheme.

The one adjective I keep coming back to when people ask me what I thought of the movie is "pretty".    The animated landscapes and faery creatures are beautifully rendered, in fact, everything in this movie is lovely to look at.  As far as plot and character development go...well, it's no Wicked.  Don't expect an in-depth look into Maleficent's psyche or some deep theme about lost love or betrayal.  This isn't that movie.  This is a fun story about a faery and a princess and a curse.  It makes a nice bookend for the original Disney Sleeping Beauty and was an enjoyable outing to the theater.

If that sounds like I'm damning it with faint praise, it's not intentional.  I just want people to manage their expectations.  It's not some grand sweeping epic, although it does have several nice action pieces.  I found that the best moments are the smaller humorous interactions between the characters.  Angelina Jolie is perfect in this role, imbuing a dark humor into Maleficent's expressions. This could easily have been campy but Jolie emotes so well you'll believe she was actually turned into Maleficent.

Yes, of course, I'm going to buy it when it comes out.  This is my favorite Disney villain of all time.  I've actually been restraining myself from buying all the tie-in merchandise because I am an adult, dammit, and I do not need an entire line of MAC makeup just because it has Maleficent on it.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a completely unrelated Amazon order to place.