SYNOPSIS: A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces a battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well. – via IMDB
I must say, I was not particularly interested in this movie because it isn’t my cup of tea, but I was interested to see what Angelina Jolie would do with the role.I know that a lot of people are not her biggest fans, but I like her, and really don’t mind watching her movies. Also, even with the crazy cheekbones, she is still a beautiful woman. The effects were actually quite good for what this movie was, and I think Jolie did wonderful work with her portrayal of Maleficent. Also, Sam Riley as Diaval cracked me up immensely. That crow was just absolutely classic! This was certainly a different telling of the classic tale of Sleeping Beauty, and it didn’t really bug me. Those tree protectors were cool, and looked like the ents and the balrogs had kidlets. Here’s another role of Sharlto Copley that I was not a fan of, and again, it comes down to accent. Gosh, it was terrible! Plus things didn’t improve when he started shouting, the little semblance of accent was completely ruined then, and I actually cringed a few times. Why dude, why?! Nope, I really didn’t like that. I also felt that he was extremely miscast here. The relationship between Maleficent and Diavan was also something I enjoyed, and Maleficent calling Aurora “Beastie” all the way through was actually pretty endearing. The three pixie/fairy things irritated the absolute crap out of me, I just cannot stand things like that. Overall, I expected to hate this, but I actually thought it wasn’t half bad. Not necessarily something I will be adding my collection or rushing out to see again, but definitely more than I had hoped for, and even if just to see Jolie and the effects.
Angelina Jolie was quite good here, though I think the writing could have given her more to work with, including all the good stuff Maleficent had going on for her in Sleeping Beauty.
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She was good, and it definitely could have done with a tighter script, but it wasn’t half as bad as I expected.
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Bestie
Great write up, as always!
I liked this, and agree with you that those fairies were stupid.
Kidney
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Kidney,
Glad to see we agree on this one. Ugh, they annoyed me!
Bkushi
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Great post, may see this as I do like Angelina Jolie.
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But… I thought you loved everything Copley does.
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I freaking ADORE everything Copley does! How did you misread that?! 😉
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Dear JJB,
I watched this because the Mrs wanted to and I can’t say that I didn’t like it. I actually thought it was kind of good except for Copley. I have absolutely no idea why he was picked for that role……
Very nice!
Love,
Sleepy SC
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Dear PSC,
Yeah, not as bad as one would expect! But Copley was awfully miscast here…
Love,
JJB
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Dear IJB,
Who looked at that role and though “OOOOH!!! Sharlto Copley!!!!”
Love,
SC
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Klink soos bollie.
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Minder as wat ek verwag het, steeds nie grand nie!
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It’s a gorgeous movie. But if that’s all you have to work with, that’s something of a problem. Nice review Zoe.
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Thanks Dan! It did look really pretty!
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still havent gotten around to see this one. nice review!
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Thanks Rob!
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I was mostly curious to see what Jolie would do w/ the role too, but it was just ok. Not bad but not excellent either, I actually enjoyed the more conventional retelling of Cinderella that’s just been released.
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Jolie herself is excellent, I would watch her in anything. Hmmm… wonder if I will check out the new Cinderella… it is not my scene, but maybe. Worth the watch?
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I liked this a whole lot more than I expected to. I think I’ve gotten so used to bloated fantasy epics, that I was grateful to see one that clocked in under 4hrs in length. Good review.
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I had a good giggle here, thanks Gareth!
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I liked this a LITTLE more than you but liked & hated the exact same things as you did. Jolie was by far the best thing about it. She was perfect.
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I am glad to hear that we are solidly in agreement with this one then!
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Zoe!!! I’m baaaaack!!! And I have SO much to catch up on. Can’t wait!!! 😀 As for Maleficent, we’re pretty much on the same page. I might have liked it slightly more than you, but Stefan and the damn fairies really dragged it down. At least Jolie was awesome. I loved her relationship with the crow, too! Nice review, lady! Prepare for lots more comments over the next few days!!!
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LOL! Welcome, welcome! So good to see you 😉 They were so freaking painful to sit through, it was actually just embarrassing!
Thanks a lot 😀
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