Review: Maleficent was less than magnificent
Marcus Goh is a former Singapore television scriptwriter. He's also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. Tweets at @Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own.
Secret ending? No.
Running time: 97 minutes (~1.5 hours)
"Maleficent" is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale through the perspective of titular character. It stars Angelina Jolie (Maleficent) and Elle Fanning (Aurora).
So what makes this iteration of the classic story worth watching?
Maleficent's snark and playfulness
Despite playing to her evil stereotype, Maleficent exhibits a sense of fun and glee. She displays a childlike (not childish) sense of humour, which hearkens back to her more innocent origins. Combined with some choice retorts that come from Maleficent's sarcastic exterior, this is a dimension of the character that helps to bring her past the good/evil dichotomy. Unfortunately, this aspect of her character isn't explored enough in the film.
Elle Fanning's performance as Aurora
Elle Fanning's portrayal of Aurora blends enthusiasm and charisma convincingly - you can see why Aurora wins over virtually everyone in the film, including the audience. It's not easy to play a charismatic character, and still be likeable, but Elle Fanning manages to straddle both.
However, "Maleficent" has its fair share of flaws that prevent it from becoming the classic that the original was.
The draggy pacing
The movie takes its time to establish certain facts and introduce certain characters, to the point of belabouring them. The problem is, most people already know who are the key characters and what is going to happen. It would have been a better idea to either do quick introductions or present a twist on the original. This, combined with the fact that the plot is already quite simple to begin with, serves to make a short movie feel much longer than it really is.
Maleficent didn't win my sympathy
Despite her tragic back story, Maleficent's actions don't feel justified. She feels more fickle-minded than painfully conflicted. Her performance is enjoyable to watch, definitely, but you're not empathising with her. Her motivations just don't mesh well with what she actually says and does, making you question why you're rooting for the character in the first place.
The villain is two-dimensional
You can see his actions, his fate, his downfall coming a mile away. There's absolutely no subtlety or finesse with what the antagonist does - he's just a blunt instrument to provide conflict for Maleficent. True, the original Sleeping Beauty's villain was two-dimensional (Maleficent herself), but isn't it ironic that the villain of this movie is so underdeveloped as well?
"Maleficent" was a movie that held great potential to subvert expectations and present a refreshing new take on Maleficent herself. It was a great pity that it didn't make better use of the fact that audiences already know the story of Sleeping Beauty to create more insight or surprises (the way "Once Upon A Time" does), although it did change more than just window dressing. Still, it's worth watching just for the recognition of how they shuffled around the elements of the original Sleeping Beauty.
Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? No.
Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Yes.
"Maleficent" opens in cinemas 29 May, 2014 (Thursday).
