Now, this movie was a movie I initially didn't really wasn't that interested in, because I don't really like Angelina Jolie (because of various reasons, I won't get into now). But because of a friend, who honestly is obsessed with Maleficent, I decided to give this movie a chance.
And boy, what a great decision. This movie is a cinematic wonder, the vibrant colours and weird woodland creatures, made it a feel like a real Disney cartoon movie. Except that it totally wasn't cartoony, but looked real? Like of course the creatures looked cgi, but the nature and sky and all that background stuff (which I'm guessing also is cgi and green screen) looked natural and beautiful.
Now, since this isn't exactly just a live action version of Disney's
Sleeping Beauty, I'm gonna just quickly summarize what
Maleficent's about.
Now this movie is told from "the big baddie"'s viewpoint, like why she was so pissed off at not being invited to the baby party.
And it all started in a faraway land, with two kingdoms. One was ruled by the ruthless King Henry, while the other - known as the Moors - was home to magical creatures, such as fairies. The most powerful fairy of all was Maleficent.
And I think that's as much as I want to say about the plot, because the things that happen in Maleficent's past, is the most prominent thing we don't already know from the
Sleeping Beauty cartoon. And I want you to experience that for yourself.
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Jolie as Maleficent and her own daughter Vivienne Julie-Pitt as Aurora age 5. |
One of the things I liked most about the fact that we got to see
what excatly motivated Maleficent to go after young Aurora, was that the movie didn't try to make her actions seem entirely justifiable? Like, they didn't make her into a heroine on her path of justice, but at the same time they did. I don't know, they managed to make her both the hero and the villain without it seeming out of character or messy and confusing. You understood
why she did what she did, even if you didn't agree with the way she did her thing.
I don't know what much more I can say without spoiling the movie, because most of the movie that involved Maleficent and her interactions with Aurora are a huge part of what differentiates this movie from the original Disney Classic. And I don't want to take that away from you.
So all I can say really is that Jolie really hit it out of the park with her performance and even though I probably won't be running to the store to buy every Jolie movie out there, I have changed my view of her a bit. Maybe I just needed to see her in the right role (and maybe I won't be so mad at her for the Tomb Raider movies anymore). Oh, I've got to mention Elle Fanning too, because she played young Aurora with a joy and innocence that was so endearing. Also, I am so glad they actually cast someone who looks the age of 16, which Aurora is when she enters her eternal sleep.
So yeah, go see it, it is truly a fairytale movie and filled with darkness and light. I was positively surprised. Oh, and if you can, see it in 2D, don't bother with the 3D version. Didn't add a thing.
And sorry for the last posting, but I've been a bit busy lately and haven't had much of a chance to write this. Again, I'm sorry.