Maleficent (Post-release)

[azuredivina]

the fairies in the animated movie weren't the brightest, but they did make them overly moronic in this one. however, i think they were written this way to allow for unsupervised encounters between Aurora and Maleficent, which was integral to their deepening relationship.

 

[Jaedena]

I liked it. Finally it seems like Disney is making believable love stories.

 

[J.F. Sebastian]

Watched the movie this evening with a friend, and we both enjoyed it and had a good time... as said here before, these three fairies are plain dumb, but that aside, you've got a pretty solid movie which scores extremly well on the visual side! Really, there are many shots that are just wonderful and magical, especially when Maleficent is involved, be it in silhouette, hidden in twilight and behind branches, marching majesticly (sp?) through the forests, riding on her horse, or in full view, raging and commanding. The three costumes she wears during the movie are just spot on, in my opinion.
Although, James Newton Howard wrote a great and fun score for this one... especially all the flying sequences come to life through his music. :thumbsup

 

[dbalschi]

Liked the movie but I walked out feeling like Sharlto Copley's acting was just completely wasted in his role.

 

[Paul Andrew]

It was ok. I didn't care for it as much as my wife. I left wishing they'd played it straight rather than messing with the story because Jolie was a lot more fun when she was being evil.

 

[JediG60racer]

I don't get why Disney renamed the faeries. To my recollection they were Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather in Sleeping Beauty.
In this version they were Thistlewaite, Knotgrass, and Flittle? Um, what?
They were pretty doltish in Sleeping Beauty, but downright moronic in this. No reason for this.

Maleficent's story was perfect. Loved it. Wonderfully cast, acted, and filmed. Aurora was also well played.
I wondered why they repeated the same trope from Frozen - true love's kiss being something other than romantic.
Is that what we have to expect from now on from Disney? Next will it be Snow White awakened by the kiss of her favorite dwarf instead of Charming?

All in all, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Only minor quibbles.

 

[Jeyl]

I loved it.

This film got me. It really got me in a way I didn't anticipate. Let me explain. Even though the film had a pretty big happy ending, that Lana Del Rey rendition of "Once Upon a Dream" stood as a harsh reminder to what "could have been" in Maleficent's life. I may be giving the film too much credit for that or I may be misinterpreting it completely, but hearing that song and thinking back at those scenes of Maleficent growing up with Stefan just got me crying.

 

[mdb]

Maleficent's story was perfect. Loved it. Wonderfully cast, acted, and filmed. Aurora was also well played.
I wondered why they repeated the same trope from Frozen - true love's kiss being something other than romantic.
Is that what we have to expect from now on from Disney? Next will it be Snow White awakened by the kiss of her favorite dwarf instead of Charming?

To be fair it is entirely possible they got the "twist" in earlier than Frozen but with production delays the films were released in reverse order (I think.) That said, they did it with Brave and a few times in Once Upon a Time. And to be fair, family relationships in Disney films can be and continue to be very bad- Ariel's father acts like she is a possession, Aurora's father practically ignores her (in this film, for many reasons including his own Scottish King form of paranoia) and both Anna and Elsa both wound up with some major problems due to parents mishandling of things they feared. So to have family be at the heart of the harm and good in the films is probably a good thing. Especially for kids. And family is also not always the nuclear family of old. Not saying it's perfect!

I had a few issues with what felt like inconsistencies but Maleficent herself no. Not even with the apparent retconning. It is still a pretty far step to take to curse a baby that had nothing to do with past injustices. A very far step. So I don't think she has been totally washed of her malignant side. However I need to see it again to confirm what I suspect. And it all has to do with the wording of the curse.


But I keep getting mixed up with the in film curse and the original. Because the original says "The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her." So what does Maleficent wind up doing? Watching the child and getting to know her better than anyone else, and thus winding up loving her. Had she not watched over her she would not have been affected by her own curse. And then the means of revoking the curse is true love's kiss, which she does not believe in, and then she wraps it up saying it cannot be revoked by even the greatest power in the world. So while most people are focused on the kiss as a twist that's not a twist I think the real twist is that Maleficent herself is affected by her own curse. Right from the moment she enacts it.

 

[Probe Droid]

For me, it took awhile to get up on its feet but once it did it was enjoyable. Solid acting and it looked great (mostly). A perfect vehicle for Jolie. But Brad has to tape his wife to a chair and make her eat. The woman is near cadaverous. Lips on a stick.

 

[James Kenobi 1138]

Saw it. LOVED IT. Perfect casting all around.