12 June 2014

Maleficent Review

Maleficent



Synopsis: (hijacked from IMDb)
A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child may be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land.

Why did I watch this movie again?

I wasn’t totally hyped to see this movie. My husband and brother-in-law, on the other hand, were waiting about as patiently as 2 year olds for a handful of Goldfish. So we saw it. I’d guessed the basic idea of the show without seeing anything but trailers, and I was pretty much right.

I was expecting a Wicked take on Sleeping Beauty with lots of beautiful effects and some funny dialogue. I mostly got it.

4 out of 5

Characters

Maleficent was magnificent. I thought she did a great job of pulling the audience’s heart strings as well as working through the characters issues.

The King came off as a bad, bad man and I liked how all of that went down.

The rest of the cast didn’t perform nearly as well. Not sure if it was the writing or the directing, but not one else had a personality deeper than, comic relief, subservient or look good in the costume.

The three fairies from the original movie were almost as annoying as some people claim Jar-Jar Bink was. Is. Both. I hated the CGI they did on them, and while a little flighty is fine, their daftness almost drove me batty. I would have been totally fine if Maleficent had zapped them into oblivion.

4 out of 5

Did I care what happened?

Yes.

The story they wove around why Maleficent turned bad made me route for her. Stupid humans. What were they thinking?

The princess came off okay, I mostly cared what happened to her.

4 out of 5

Plot Holes

Although some of the plot points felt rushed, I don’t remember any gaping holes.

Oh, except the spinning wheels. If you’re going to burn them all to dust, then do it, don’t toss the half-burned ones in a cavernous dungeon of the castle. With the needles still attached. Put some effort into it people.

Yes, yes, I realize that a spinning wheel is imperative to the story, but don’t make it too easy.

4 out of 5

How many times did I yawn?

No yawning.  The beginning took some time to set up, but that’s to be expected when you’re being introduced to a completely fantasy world and the CGI guys want to show off. A lot.

There were a few Princess Aurora moments that could have been less like the first Harry Potter movie where they simply showed his adorable face smiling about a hundred times.

4 out of 5

Cool Factor

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of this movie. I am glad that Disney didn’t insist on a long, drawn out epic battle scene. There was one, but it didn’t last long, and actually made sense. Not like a few other recent-ish Disney films in which an epic battle got shoved in there just for the sheer impressiveness of the visuals.

I wanted some sinister Maleficent. Which I got, but not as much as I would have liked. She’s one of the worse/best villains of all time, and I wanted just a little more than this movie gave.

4 out of 5

The End

This is the second Disney movie in a row (I just saw Frozen) in which love is branched out from that of princess and prince to friends and sisters. I really liked that. Oh don’t worry, there’s romance.

The end of this movie left me happy and fulfilled. No loose strings.

5 out of 5

Overall Enjoyment

Fun show. Cool take on the original story. Loved the wings. Loved the dragon and the crow. I was surprised I liked it so much.

If not for those stupid fairies this may have gotten a black belt!

4 out of 5

Score=33
That's a Brown Belt!

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