Angelina Jolie gives an outstanding performance as adult Maleficent; ditto for Isobelle Molloy as young Maleficent and Ella Purnell as teen Maleficent, a fairy with the body of a cute young fairy girl who matures into a beautiful woman with large, plain, but VERY powerful brown-feathered wings and twisted ram's horns. At an early age, Maleficent makes the mistake of befriending a human boy from the neighboring quasi-English realm who ultimately hurts and betrays her. From there, the story, with many clever deviations and without seven dwarfs, follows some of the rough pattern of the fairy tale popularized by the Grimm Bros/Charles Perrault and the earlier Disney movies. Elle Fanning also gives an impressive performance as Aurora ("Snow White").
MALEFICENT strikes just the right balance of fantasy and reality, humor and horror, meaningful storyline and simple entertainment. There are all sorts of reasons to enjoy this film: The unique version of the story itself, the visuals, the character study of the protagonist, you name it. For me, the single best thing about MALEFICENT is its vivid portrayal of the Fairyland Moors, complete with pixies, elves, dryads, naiads, dragons, talking toads, Bokwus-like tree giants, and a host of others, including a were-crow.
This is a film without absolutes: No one is completely evil or noble, and no one, no matter how powerful, is invincible. MALEFICENT goes much deeper than the original tale of the handsome prince randomly falling in love at first sight with Sleeping Beauty and awakening her with a kiss from the evil swoon imposed by her horrible wicked fairy godmother. There are all sorts of big themes here: Good versus evil (and there are intermixtures of both in all the major characters), love versus lust, deception, greed, and so on. Many historical parallels can also be seen, the British Empire and American expansion to name just a couple. Yet, all the film's allusions will not get in the way of anyone who just wants to watch it for the rich and surprising ride it gives.
Some violent (and entertaining) battle scenes and disturbing images, but no serious gore. There's probably nothing here the average 8-year-old can't handle. Still, MALEFICENT is primarily a fairy tale for adults. Younger children may be confused by who they're supposed to root for, who's supposed to be "good" and who's supposed to be "bad." "Good" characters, after all, generally do not have horns. All the same, it provides a fine illustration of the complexities of human and other natures.
While the script and soundtrack could have been a little better in places, the whole quality of the acting, filming, and everything else is superb. Great use of Anglo-Celtic accents. Last but far from least, a beautifully fulfilling and well-earned ending.
MALEFICENT strikes just the right balance of fantasy and reality, humor and horror, meaningful storyline and simple entertainment. There are all sorts of reasons to enjoy this film: The unique version of the story itself, the visuals, the character study of the protagonist, you name it. For me, the single best thing about MALEFICENT is its vivid portrayal of the Fairyland Moors, complete with pixies, elves, dryads, naiads, dragons, talking toads, Bokwus-like tree giants, and a host of others, including a were-crow.
This is a film without absolutes: No one is completely evil or noble, and no one, no matter how powerful, is invincible. MALEFICENT goes much deeper than the original tale of the handsome prince randomly falling in love at first sight with Sleeping Beauty and awakening her with a kiss from the evil swoon imposed by her horrible wicked fairy godmother. There are all sorts of big themes here: Good versus evil (and there are intermixtures of both in all the major characters), love versus lust, deception, greed, and so on. Many historical parallels can also be seen, the British Empire and American expansion to name just a couple. Yet, all the film's allusions will not get in the way of anyone who just wants to watch it for the rich and surprising ride it gives.
Some violent (and entertaining) battle scenes and disturbing images, but no serious gore. There's probably nothing here the average 8-year-old can't handle. Still, MALEFICENT is primarily a fairy tale for adults. Younger children may be confused by who they're supposed to root for, who's supposed to be "good" and who's supposed to be "bad." "Good" characters, after all, generally do not have horns. All the same, it provides a fine illustration of the complexities of human and other natures.
While the script and soundtrack could have been a little better in places, the whole quality of the acting, filming, and everything else is superb. Great use of Anglo-Celtic accents. Last but far from least, a beautifully fulfilling and well-earned ending.