Review: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Five years ago, we were shown a new side to the story of Aurora and Maleficent.  It was not a story of a evil fairy ensuring the demise of a naive princess with a curse of a spinning wheel pinprick. It was a surprisingly beautiful origin story that gave the Disney animated legend more depth and layers of character. What began as a prideful revenge became a deep and fascinating story of love, betrayal, and what truly is powerful.  In 2014, Maleficent  became an instant classic and topped the list of best live action adaptations  so far.

 

There was a lot of disbelief  when news of sequel came out. What could continue on? Especially with this tagline:

“She Gives Evil a Good Name”

 

Honestly, one of the most mis-leading taglines attached to a mis-leading trailer. The trailer showed a Maleficent in fierce fresh from the runway couture ready for battle. It seemed that she had indeed lived up to “evil” history. Everything wholesome from the first movie seemed to vanish. It was the trailer that deterred me from watching the movie in the  theater. After a few years of disappointing live adaptation, why slug through traffic to another? Alas, after watching this copy, I greatly regret not watching this in theaters. This deserved big screen display. It hit every requirement that makes a movie worth going to the theater: the story was wonderful, the characters were charismatic, the costuming design took breaths away and it was pure fantasy entertainment.

 

Despite having a different  director on board, the visual glory of the first movie carried on to the second. It even extended to bringing in other bio-domes of creatures and styles in terms of the Fey. As teased in the trailer, Maleficent is not the only one of her kind. The introduction of the Fey added a new layer to her origin story but also helped fuel her decision later in the movie. As her bonds are tested, she has to weigh in her various loyalties and in the end, it is her compassionate heart that gives her strength. The extras on the DVD/Blu-ray feature some interesting behind the scenes on the flying and bio-dome design that was just fantastically clever.

 

The sequel carries five years later after Maleficent has crowned Aurora as Queen of the Moors. We find a more mature Aurora with her hands full handling the duties of the Moors until she is proposed to by Prince Phillip! Maleficent is less than enthusiastic of the news but for her love for Aurora, she agrees to honor the engagement and to meet Prince Philip’s family. Here we meet the villain of the story: meeting the in-laws. A normally stressful connection for most. Except in this case, the in-law has festered a decades grudge against your kind and is hell-bent on killing you. Most of us don’t have to experience that thankfully.

 

It is indeed Prince Phillip’s mother, Queen Ingrith (played by Michelle Pfeifer) that is the villain.  There is no question about it. The innocent seeming invitation to dinner escalates into a declaration of war. Through an elaborate plan in framing Maleficent, Queen Ingrith is able to pit the kingdom against the magic folks. Aurora is stuck right in the middle

Queen Ingrith’s grudge of the ineptness of those in power from her past has festered into deep hatred of the Other, those within the Moors or just different. Using her royal marriage connections, she is prime player in manipulating others through politics with her royal looks of respectability as a weapon.

 

 

Ellen Mirojnick, Costume Designer, really played up the costuming designs in terms of expressing power and dominance. As Queen Ingrith becomes even more overbearing in the war, she is laden with piles of pearls and heavy baubles. The weight of the jewlery and fabric also seems to reflect the weight of the grudge that she carries. Even though Aurora is human, Queen Ingrith’s animosity even extends to Aurora with her manipulation of guiding her through society and  even using clothing as a weapon as she forces Aurora into wearing wardrobe into heavier garb. Her antics have created misery for the princess as she confesses to the prince of her suffocation.

Just like the first movie, Maleficent is just stunning her wildly fierce attire. Everything she wears is just a solid declaration that she is a Queen. Her gown to the in-law dinner was adorned with gold dipped skulls and bones. I don’t know what else can scream out  absolute confidence and power.

There was a little hedgehog and a Mushroom cap character that seemed to be created as the cute factor in the movie. Both do not add anything terribly into the movie unless you wanna see a hedgehog fairy and a fairy character that seemed to be designed by Precious Moments. Otherwise, we see the same forest characters making their return.

The Fey introduction may seem like a turn to left field but it was still a great addition. The aesthetic of the Fey were an added level of “nature” that those like Queen Ingrith seem intent to destroy or exploit.  It also seemed like another level of power-up that Maleficent had to obtain to make it to the final boss fight.

 

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil  delivered in a great movie. It was an absolute surprise to how much fun it was to watch and comes with the highest recommendation to collect. It is definitely worth re-watching in being immersed in this re-telling and just to see the costumes over and over again.Those who purchase Maleficent: Mistress of Evil on Digital will gain access to an exclusive extra in which Warwick Davis divulges the backstory for his character, Lickspittle.

 

Fans who purchase “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” on Digital will gain access to an exclusive extra in which fantasy-film veteran Warwick Davis divulges the backstory for his character, Lickspittle.

 

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