Image: Walt Disney Studios
Maleficent transformed the classic Sleeping Beauty fairytale by reimagining the origin story of its evil mistress. Leading the charge as its poised anti-hero was Angelina Jolie, striking the balance between exuding a playfully evil tone with some reserved affections for the very child she cursed. As Aurora (Elle Fanning) blossomed into the young woman destined to prick her finger, tensions rose between the magical forest of the Moors and the neighbouring realm of the humans. Beneath the mischievous guise, Maleficent carried a hidden grief that arose from betrayal and unrequited love, which was purportedly resolved when she came to adopt Aurora as her own surrogate daughter.
Fast forward into Aurora’s early twenties and she’s something of a bohemian queen, a young Stevie Nicks larking around the forest. Maleficent hovers while Aurora commands the creatures, but she does so without any real stress or authority. Naturally, her pleasant demeanour wins over the beau but establishes her naivety that will later be manipulated. As Prince Phillip humorously recites the need for uniting the two kingdoms in the middle of his proposal, the urgency of peace before impending wartime is clearly the arc of these two characters. There’s a bona fide romantic love to be had, but the issue of meeting the parents is the least of their engagement anxieties.
It’s a real spectacle to watch the two mother in-laws exchange jabs, but the validity of the loving but dysfunctional family unit of raven, evil mistress and young beauty is questioned when Queen Ingrith of Alstad (Michelle Pfeiffer) invokes the wrath of her fellow nemesis. While genocides are occurring on both sides of the realms, Aurora and her new family including kindly King John (Robert Lindsay) begin to doubt that the love that was strong enough to melt the mistresses’s cold heart has overcome her supposed primal nature. Unfairly and inconveniently cast to the side, Maleficent’s personal exile and feared disappearance forces Aurora to take pragmatic measures by siding with Queen Ingrith. Earnestly trying to impress her mother-in-law, Aurora feels constricted in her new home and this is reflected in her tightly pulled back bun and choker jewelry.
Left for dead, Maleficent recovers in a hidden lair where she finally discovers her own kind in a fortress of shared solitude. CGI heavy but otherwise a breathtaking beautiful display of waterfalls and forest green shrubbery, the injured fairy rejects any notion of peace between the two kingdoms while leader of the Fae ( Chiwetel Ejiofor ) appeals to her better nature. Revealing her kin and ancestral roots, we see that her prowess originates from a deeper magic. Stunning landscapes and amazing airborne choreography are not enough to distract from the fact that while a war is brewing back home, she’s simply out of the picture. Surely the titular character deserves more credit than this.
Back at the castle, the weapons stockpiling consists of mixing iron-known to hurt fairies-and pollen that’s been pillaged from the Moors. It’s symbolic of the human destruction and over zealousness to explore and exploit the gems of the natural world. Employing biological warfare that’s reminiscent of WW1 gassings, the humans carry out genocide towards the magical creatures in a manner that’s almost nonchalant. The younger audiences will have difficulty understanding these dirty tactics and the adults might have difficulty explaining why.
Throughout it all, Pfeiffer asserts her political stance and laps up her evil villain role as a formidable foe to Maleficent. She embodies compromising love over duty and threatens to destroy the very bond that makes the relationship between Maleficent and Aurora both plausible and sweet. Smiling and snaring her way into the top position, she holds up a mirror to the winged mistress and her adoptive daughter who prefer the simple life over messy family fortunes.
Overall, the evil mistress could do with more screentime, and tone is certainly darker in parts than its predecessor, but the sequel still has wings.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Walt Disney Studios Australia
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