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Maleficent (2014)
A different take on the tale but still enjoyable
I agree with what others say - this is not Maleficent we've seen in Sleeping Beauty. But that doesn't mean the film itself is bad or one cannot enjoy watching it. And that's coming from someone who watched Sleeping Beauty countless times as a kid and still has it on a VHS tape.
I believe the main problem here is the different perception of good and evil between fairy tales and reality. In fairy tales there is good and evil with strict boundaries. Good folk are always good and do good, whereas evil folk is the exact opposite. Maleficent we've seen in Sleeping Beauty was evil. I mean, we're talking about someone who put a death curse on a baby because she didn't get an invitation to the christening.
In reality, however, there is no good and evil as we've seen in fairy tales and epic stories countless times. Our world is not just black and white and that's the idea behind this film. Here we see a completely different character - a female who has become bitter and angry after she had been betrayed by a loved one. She is not evil at all, because that backstory completely humanized her. Well yes, she curses the baby, but then changes its terms after Stefan begs her. Yes, she watches over Aurora to make sure she reaches the age of 16 and falls victim to the curse, but then her heart softens in time and she grows fond of her. A pure evil being is not capable of doing such things.
So it's safe to say that Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent was black whereas Angelina Jolie's Maleficent is grey and I believe this significant difference is the main reason of the most negative feedback. I can't say I'm complaining, because good versus evil is a problematic concept that needs to be revised.
As for the film itself, I actually did enjoy watching it. I absolutely loved Jolie's Maleficent, The Moors was amazing and Aurora was so sweet I couldn't help but love her smile as Maleficent did. Diaval was a great addition to the story and the interactions between him and Maleficent were brilliant.
There were also certain things that truly bothered me. Writing could have been better. The romance between Maleficent and Stefan was rushed. Prince Phillip looked too young and his hairstyle was too modern. But my biggest complain was, by far, Stefan. First, I don't get how a peasant can be a king some day. Second, this story created another meaningless villain while humanizing Maleficent, because Stefan's actions and motivations don't really make sense. Third, casting was terrible. I can tolerate the young actor, but the other one was a terrible choice. As an actor he's no match for Jolie, as Stefan he's no match for Maleficent. And his accent... oh my, it was so annoying. It was a total distraction that kept me from focusing on his scenes.
On a side note, it's clear that Disney loved this "true love doesn't have to come from a man" formula they first used in Frozen and it looks like they will keep using it. Again I'm not complaining, because "happily ever after with Prince Charming" is just another problematic concept that we should get rid of.