Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (review)
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was an enjoyable movie to watch. It continued the trend that the first Maleficent movie set up. It continued to rely on the concept that because she is a dark Fae and different from humans, she is evil. However, just like in the first movie, she was only misunderstood.
The narration opens the story reminding the audience of the events of the first movie. As a refresher, Aurora was cursed by Maleficent to prick her finger and fall into eternal sleep on her 16th birthday. Maleficent set this curse as revenge for her father stealing her wings when they were younger.
Aurora’s parents sent her to be taken care of by three fairies until after her 16th birthday. That didn’t work as planned, so the curse still took effect. But not before Maleficent grew fond of her. As a result, she was able to break the curse.
However, in the present, Maleficent was still labeled the villain even though she was technically the hero of the story. We find out that Prince Phillips’s mother, Queen Ingris, helped that happen.
The queen has a vendetta with the fairy creatures and the Moor’s because her fathers’ kingdom perished while trying to seeking a truce and cooperation with them. The queen’s brother died in the process.
So, the entire film Queen Ingris is plotting out how to kill the dark fae and all of the other creatures in the Moor’s. Her ultimate goal is to take the Moor’s resources for her own.
Michelle Pfeiffer and Angelina Jolie play off each other very well. In the first scene that Maleficent and Ingris meet each other, they are constantly insulting each other. They have a massive “pissing contest” that eventually leads to Maleficent losing her cool and flaring up with her green mystical aura. Ingris uses this moment to frame her for the curse of King John, Prince Phillip’s father, and the story takes off from there.
By the end of this tale, Maleficent finds her inner strength, gains additions to her family, and they all live happily ever after. Again, I think this movie is enjoyable and if you ever want something easy to watch, you should try this out.
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Disney is certainly milking the live-action train. I didn’t understand why they needed a Maleficent sequel of sorts. They really need to do more original screenplays. I find it questionable having a group called the Moors because that was the name of an actual African group in history. Also, Chiwetel Ejiofor really needs to run away and never return to Disney (see what I did there?) because he’s too good for these kinds of movies.