Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Harris Dickinson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Ed Skrein, Robert Lindsay, Jenn Murray, Warwick Davis
Directed by: Joachim Ronning
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is distraught when Aurora (Elle Fanning) decides to get married. However, the pending nuptials threaten the peace of the entire land.

Review:

Tim: I wasn't a big fan of Maleficent. Sure, Angelina Jolie was perfect for the role and I was initially interested in learning more about the titular villain. However, the movie was quite ineffective. It followed the awful path of taking a villain and turning them good, for no logical reason. Plus, it wasn't a very well made movie. Surprisingly, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is actually a better film. It's not significantly improved to the point of being reflected in the final rating, but Joachim Ronning crafts a better film for this sequel.

The story felt like a decent continuation from the first movie. It builds on the events of that film. In this movie, we learn more about the fairies (of which Maleficent belongs). We have some family drama, we have a big battle for the climax. None of these things are great, but they are fairly effective. I didn't hate the story.

Angelina Jolie is once again good in the role. She just looks exactly like you'd imagine Maleficent to look. I enjoyed her performance. Although I'm still troubled by the rewriting of history (making her a sympathetic character instead of a villain), I suppose I was more able to accept it here. It helps that she faces and even more evil threat, so it's all relative. Her performance is good.

I absolutely hated Elle Fanning's performance in the first movie. I know she's talented, so I blame that movie's director. Ronning does a much better job with her. She's massively more believable this time around. That's one of the brightest spots in this film- Fanning actually makes the movie better. She was a big detractor the first time around. Sam Riley once again adds a strong supporting performance. Ronning also wisely limits the screen time for Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, and Imelda Staunton. Their over-the-top, ridiculous performances were terrible in the first film. They aren't bad here.

The film benefited from some nice additions. Michelle Pfeiffer is maniacal in the antagonistic role. She's a really talented actress, and she makes the movie better. She was a worthwhile foil for Jolie. No mistake about it, Pfeiffer is one of this movie's greatest strengths. They were lucky to get her for this role. I love Chiwetel Ejiofor and enjoyed his performance as one of the fairies. Ed Skrein was okay- he's not a good actor, but Ronning used him effectively here. Robert Lindsay did decent work, and it's always fun to see Warwick Davis.

The cast isn't all good news, though. The movie replaces Brenton Thwaites with Harris Dickinson. I'm never a fan of recasting, for any reasons at all. It was jarring to see this new Prince Philip. Here's the other thing- Dickinson can't hold a candle to Thwaites. Dickinson was okay, but it's impossible for him to be successful when everything he does is compared to a far better actor. That hurts the movie significantly.

This film suffers from some of the same issues as the last one. Disney's tendency to make everything a visual effect doesn't do the movie any favors. It might look magical, but it certainly doesn't look believable, which completely takes you out of the movie. They need far more practical effects for these movies. It's hard to take anything seriously when it's all so glossy. The script felt pretty generic. A lot of these movies follow predictable paths and this movie mostly feels comfortable doing that. Far too much of the film is obvious. There's so little to surprise you.

I appreciated that this film embraced a bit of a darker narrative. There's a surprising amount of death in this film (obviously Disney-fied to keep the PG rating. Still, this isn't a movie I'd watch with young kids. It felt like it upped the ante from the original and wasn't afraid to tell a slightly more complex and challenging story.

While I would say I enjoyed Maleficent: Mistress of Evil more than the first movie, the difference is minor. I'd still consider this a decent movie (like the first one). There's a few things to like, but the flaws really drag the movie down. Audiences reacted appropriately here, though. The first movie made $241 million, which is a ridiculous take for a lackluster movie. This film grossed only $113 million domestically. The worldwide take was way down, too. That's probably more in response to the original. Unfortunately, while this movie is better than the first one, it's not enough of an improvement to feel good about. Disney got two decent movies out of this, but I'm hoping the box office closes the lid on this potential franchise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Maleficent, Sleeping Beauty