Review 2014 by RD Clark
Maleficent
Written by: Linda Woolverton
Directed by: Robert Stromberg
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley
Rated PG
Running time: 98 mins
When The Most Powerful Fairy is betrayed by a puny human, she exacts her revenge by laying an unbreakable curse on his newborn daughter.
I’ll start by observing that this is a Chick Flick. The men, for the most part, are assholes who want to steal the power from the Strong Independent Woman, except for the ineffective-but-oh-so-sensitive Prince. And the guy that’s a bird, who therefore doesn’t really count.
Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing; for the most part I really enjoyed the movie, but it does take a while get going. The first third is rather slow with lots of narration and one rather stupid fight (the men run away from the Strong Independent Woman). But once Aurora is born, Jolie’s voodoo picks up and she is deliciously, um, Wicked. I’m not sure I liked a lot of the retelling of the story and the resolution, but it did work in the context of the way they built it.
I’d recommend this as a decent matinee movie. I saw it in 3D and liked the effects, but don’t bother if money is tight. No post credit scenes, so feel free to fly when they roll.
Flytrap rating: 6.5/10
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