Review: MALEFICENT

MALEFICENT  (FANTASY/ADVENTURE)
3.5 out of 4 stars
Directed by Robert Stromberg
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Brenton Thwaites, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Kenneth Cranham, Hannah New
Rated PG for sequences of fantasy action and violence, including frightening images.
Verdict: Immensely likable and a refreshing deviation from bloated summer sci-fi, MALEFICENT is an unexpectedly good family fantasy boosted by a pair of excellent performances from Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning.
YOU MAY ENJOY MALEFICENT IF YOU LIKED:
ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)
OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL (2013)
SLEEPING BEAUTY (1959)
LEGEND (1985)
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (2012)


In spite of its reputation as a beloved animated classic, Disney's SLEEPING BEAUTY, released in 1959, is not a particularly good movie.  The film can claim an iconic villain, Maleficent, "Mistress of All Evil", with the marvelously sinister vocal performance of Eleanor Audrey and legendary animator Marc Davis' memorable, horned character design.  That film also boasts the grandest production design of any Walt Disney Animation Studios feature during Walt's life time released after BAMBI.  Unfortunately, those positives are outweighed by the largely hollow feel of the film; it is a style-over-substance affair, beautiful to look at, but a bore to experience.
My expectations for Disney's newest live-action reinvention of a fairy tale, MALEFICENT, were in a similar vein.  Outside of their Marvel Studios and animated endeavors (but including the past few Pixar films), the Disney company's big budget films as of late have been expensive, flashy and bland, many of which I was very excited for ahead of time like 2010's ALICE IN WONDERLAND and TRON: LEGACY, and 2012's JOHN CARTER.  OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL was fine, but merely fine, and THE LONE RANGER was more fun than people give it credit for, and still a bloated mess.  And now, it's almost as if Disney accidentally made a quality live-action family fantasy film.

MALEFICENT returns to the classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, specifically the tale as told in the 1959 animated film, but now from the perspective of the iconic antagonist, with a little tweaking besides.  Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is introduced as a sweet-natured fairy who spends her days frolicking through the enchanted moors which are filled with fantastical creatures and luxurious riches, and are neighbored by the dismal kingdom of men.  Greedy for the treasures of the moors, the dying king promises his kingdom to the man who vanquishes Maleficent, who acts as guardian of her land.  Stefan, the one human whom Maleficent trusts, betrays her, severing her wings to claim the crown, and soon after fathers a daughter, Princess Aurora.  On the day of her christening, Maleficent places a curse on the child to plunge her into an eternal sleep before her sixteenth year, so Aurora is sent away to be raised under the protection of three bumbling fairies.  As the years pass, Maleficent secretly forms a bond with the teenage Aurora (Elle Fanning), and struggles to prevent her own spell from coming to pass, while the mad King Stefan desperately seeks Maleficent out with murderous intentions.
It's an unabashed fantasy movie, opening with a preteen girl sporting a pair of large horns, along with magic, will o' the wisps and assorted other magical creatures (including a few creatures reminiscent of Maleficent's swine lackeys from the animated film), and it embraces its material wholeheartedly and without qualifications.  Surprisingly, it isn't especially dark either, no more than the average fairy tale anyway, and it's actually more family-friendly than films like ALICE IN WONDERLAND or OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL.  In fact, it's a very warm film, carried by the starring pair of Angelina Jolie, in a role she was born to play, and Elle Fanning, who exudes immense charm in each of her scenes, and the two create a believable mother-daughter relationship despite their very different personas. 
In comparison to frequently bloated and convoluted summer blockbusters, MALEFICENT is slight, running about forty-five minutes shorter than the average summer blockbuster at ninety-seven minutes, and running through its simple and familiar plot without distractions.  Although it's directed by first-time director Robert Stromberg, whose career has revolved around visual effects and production design (he's a two-time Academy Award-winner for AVATAR and ALICE IN WONDERLAND), the film is surprisingly restrained to charming storybook visuals, rather than the over-the-top, baroque looks of his previous work.  The special effects are generally adequate if nothing special, except for the three fairies who appear as hyper-realistic CGI in some scenes and very much in the "uncanny valley", and the extremely apparent use of CGI doubles in a few shots.
It's hardly perfect, but I can't remember a more enjoyable and family-friendly, non-animated adventure in a long while.  MALEFICENT is a lovely family popcorn flick.