“Maleficent” is not so magnificent

Out of all the animated villains that Disney has presented, there has been only one who truly deserved to have her story told in a different light. She is one who has haunted children for decades with her pointed horns, glaring stare and menacing
laugh. She is the evil Maleficent.

With such an iconic villain, Disney took on the task of presenting the villainess’s side of the story from the cartoon classic, “Sleeping Beauty.” While the source material is present throughout the film, “Maleficent” takes several liberties that are quite
uncalled for — it leads to a predictable movie that will be sure to disappoint fans of the original.

This is unfortunate as it is written by Linda Woolverton, who wrote Disney classics such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “Lion King.” Woolverton’s script for Maleficent was brought to life under the direction of Robert Stromberg who made his
directorial debut with the film.

Immediately the viewer will notice the same CGI quality as experienced in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” not necessarily in terms of the sets, but with the exaggerated effects on certain characters. Some might be overwhelmed by the inhabitants of Maleficent’s domain as well as the three fairies whose CGI heads are a bit annoying.

Putting aside the mediocre effects, the storyline begins decently showcasing the turn of events that cause Maleficent to be traumatized and become the villain that she is.

Once she becomes the character that the audience knows and loves, the movie goes on for about 40 minutes of boring scenes and dialogues with young Princess Aurora, whom Maleficent cursed.

The performances are what truly saved this movie from being a total disaster.

Angelina Jolie’s performance as Maleficent was magnificent. She is flawless as the villain, and the viewer will feel for her character. She can be both menacing and sympathetic when she needs to be.

Jolie is Maleficent, just like Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man and Johnny Depp is Jack Sparrow.

The performance by Sharlto Copley also helps the film. Known for his performances in movies such as “District 9” and “The A-Team,” the audience can expect another golden performance from Copley, who pulls off a king who is obsessed with eliminating Maleficent.

The story puts new twists on characters such as Maleficent’s crow companion, who is transformed into a human being by Maleficent on film.

An appearance of the prince from “Sleeping Beauty” was uncalled for and randomly shoehorned into the movie for the sake of squeezing the character into the story.

However, some scenes in the movie are indeed neat to look at. The cinematography work is beautiful, and the music score is good enough to bring you into the world of Maleficent.

But for all the plot twists that “Maleficent” tries to conjure, it is still predictable.

There are plot holes that will make the audience tear the movie apart. The movie ends in one of the most convenient ways that audiences have seen a million times before.

The trailer made it seem like “Maleficent” would be a darker story of the queen of villainy, but after the first half hour it’s evident that the film is more catered toward children who will most likely enjoy this movie with its light-hearted humor and cartoonish atmosphere.

Viewers probably won’t hate themselves for watching “Maleficent,” but the overall outcome of the experience will be determined by how much one hyped this movie.