Deron Generally
Deron Generally
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Walt Disney Pictures
Written by Linda Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster and Charles Perrault
Directed by Joachim Ronning
Starring Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Harris Dickinson, Sam Riley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville
Rated PG
Maleficent travels to a grand old castle to celebrate young Aurora’s upcoming wedding to Prince Phillip. While there, she meets Aurora’s future mother-in-law — a conniving queen who hatches a devious plot to destroy the land’s fairies. Hoping to stop her, Maleficent joins forces with a seasoned warrior and a group of outcasts to battle the queen and her powerful army.
The sequel to Maleficent expands on the world of the character and touches on parent/ child relationships as Aurora and Phillip find themselves torn between the prejudices and pain of their respective mothers. There are some enjoyable story beats throughout and the introduction of other Dark Fay is an interesting addition to the lore of the character. Unfortunately, Maleficent seemed to react more to events that actively engage in them.
A lot of the personality that made her so engaging in the first film is missing in this sequel. It doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of the film, but there is something missing from the performance and it is obvious as the story moves forward. The story is enjoyable and the moments in the beginning between Maleficent and Queen Ingrith are filled with a cool menace that showcases how powerful Jolie and Pfeiffer are on film. The production design is breathtaking and the film looks beautiful.
The Blu-Ray release is filled with special features that showcase the familiar and friendly relationship between the cast as well as the fantastic elements of the story.
Beasties
The cast gets together for some behind the scenes fun that reminds the audience how much they enjoy these characters and how much the like working with each other. It’s nice to see Jolie have fun with the rest of the cast in these scenes, but it was too short.
Extended Scenes
Extended scenes from the film. In contrast to the last featurette, this went on too long and the extended information did nothing to enhance the overall film.
Aurora’s Wedding
Elle Fanning and the rest of the cast and extras remark on the beautiful wedding dress she wears in the film as well as leave video messages for the bride. It’s a cute video that allows the cast and extras to have fun with the moment.
If You Had Wings
The Visual Effects are the focus of this feature, specifically the effects that allow Angelina Jolie and the other actors to fly. The harnesses and machinery used to simulate flight are showcased and the flying styles are discussed. A good feature that deserved more time.
Lickspittle
Warwick Davis’ character is featured in this short that actually adds more context and nuance to the character than the film actually did.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil VFX Reel
Self explanatory and engaging to see.
Origins of the Fey
The director and stars of the film discuss the background of Maleficent and the history of the Fey, including the varying tribes and where they are from. A detailed feature that could serve as a jumping off point for more stories featuring the Fey.
Outtakes
The ones that are there are cute, but there aren’t enough of them to sustain an entire featurette.
“You Can’t Stop the Girl” Music Video performed by Bebe Rexha
It’s a music video from a soundtrack song. Fine, but not revolutionary.
Maleficent Mistress of Evil
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