(Spoilers ahead)
I like the idea of the story Maleficent was trying to tell
better than the actual execution. The
idea of having a character acting in haste and later regretting it is a good
simple idea, and one that can resonate with a lot of people. I feel like the movie would’ve worked better
without the baggage of being a version of Sleeping Beauty. Making it a retelling increased the profile
of the film and got people into the seats, but it also creates odd disconnects with
the audience when the narrative strays from what’s expected. Ultimately, this is not a retelling of the
animated Disney movie Sleeping Beauty, but really its own version of the whole
thing. Though it borrows many elements from the Disney version.
The weakest part for me was the first act. I think the relationship between Stefan and
Maleficent is glossed over a bit too fast for the audience to really connect
with the characters and their relationship.
I also feel like seeing more of Stephan might have been good so we
understand more why he betrayed Maleficent.
The film would’ve been better if this was allowed a bit more time to breathe.
I feel like the second act, with Maleficent’s turn to evil and
Aurora growing up is where the film really shines. I liked seeing Maleficent change as she
basically ends up watching Aurora grow up.
That all worked for me. But, the
scene with defeating the soldiers before showing Aurora the moors felt really
unnecessary to me. The fairies were a
little bit too useless for my tastes, but I can see why they did that,
effectively forcing Maleficent to intervene.
But some of their antics was good comic relief.
The bait and switch with Prince Phillip was fun, though I
thought it was pretty obvious how the kiss of true love was going to play
out. I did like the way the true loves
kiss breaking the spell was set up. With
it being an ironic echo of what Stephen told Maleficent. Which is another reason I think it would’ve
been nice to actually see that scene, instead of just having it voiced
over.
I wasn’t a fan of Stephen overall. He just felt too shallow a character. Ironically, in attempting to make the
previously shallow villain deep, they end up creating another shallow villain
to oppose her. Mostly he comes across as
obsessed and crazy. It would’ve been a
lot more interesting to me if he was driven more from love of his
daughter. But even when she shows up
he’s still more interested in fighting Maleficent. Having two sympathetic villains would’ve been
a lot more interesting.
The final action climax felt more tacked on than
anything. We had already reached the
emotional climax of the movie earlier with waking Sleeping Beauty, so the
action at the ends doesn’t have much purpose other than to kill of the king (in
traditional Disney fashion). It would’ve
been much better if they could’ve held of the emotional climax and made it a
bigger part of the end. For example if Maleficent
realized outside the castle that her own love for Aurora could break the curse,
and then have to fight her way in to reach her that would’ve been much more
satisfying.
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