This film was so creative and imaginative that it made me want to go back and review Sleeping Beauty just to map the correlations; this was a wonderful new spin on an old tale. Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) was not just a one dimensional villain; she was truly relatable and genuinely garnered sympathy for all that she endured. I wasn't surprised that she had been betrayed costing her to lose her wings, that much was fairly clear from the trailer although the extent of the betrayal wasn't clear until I experienced the film. Hell has no fury like a fairy scorned! But anyone who has ever been angry for any reason knows that it is very hard to stay in that place. The passage of time depicted as Aurora (Elle Fanning) grew was the best gauge for the changes in Maleficent's disposition. The story was very engaging to watch as Maleficent also grew. Hopefully, there won't be a crazy Hollywood band wagon of films based on every classic villain's perspective; that would be such a shame and would put me back on my soap box regarding a lack of originality. Shrek did it right and now so has Maleficent. There were so many phenomenal special effects in this film that it's hard to call out some as superior to others. With that being said, whenever Maleficent exhibited her powers the results were awe inspiring, from the floaters, to her in-flight and those amazing battle sequences. The special effects were as much a star of this film as the talented actors. I did feel like some of the magical creatures were recycled from the Spyderwick Chronicles, but most were new creations so that's only a minor infraction. With all the action, an engaging adventure and a female lead, this film is to be enjoyed by all. I'll suffice it to say that this is a great film to kick-off the start to the summer movie season for avid film lovers.
Review of Maleficent
