3 Thoughts on Maleficent

1. The "real" story - *very slight spoilers ahead* Since the story is about the villain "Maleficent" from the Sleeping Beauty fairy-tale, I assumed it to be the back-story of how her evilness came to be - and because all women turn evil because of a man (ahem), I assumed I already knew the story. I was right, in a way, but it's all of the reasons I was wrong, that make me really appreciate this story. Maleficent, is indeed, betrayed by a man. She is not betrayed by him in the sense that he leaves her for another woman (like the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz, who literally turns green with jealousy); instead he betrays her in a way that causes her unimaginable pain. Her need for revenge is completely understandable. The other part of the story that I enjoyed is that even when she is "evil", the audience knows that this is not her true self. She is never beyond the realms of saving and she is actually not the real "villain" of the story.

2. Angelina Jolie - I have always been a fan of Angelina (since Hackers). She receives endless criticism about her personal life (my mother refers to her as "the home-wrecker") and about her charity work (um...this one doesn't even make one ounce of sense. Why criticize someone for trying to do some good in the world?).  Even if you have "issues" with how she lives her life, none of that has to do with her acting abilities. She's made some bad choices (*cough* The Tourist), but I've never seen her bad in anything. As Maleficent, she is stunning. I would watch the whole movie again, just to analyze her performance alone.

3. The reviews - So the reviews for this movie aren't exactly great. To be honest, I had zero interest in seeing the movie at all. I was stuck with work people for a week and EVERYONE I worked with wanted to see it. It caught me by surprise, because I haven't seen any excitement for it among movie fans (It was even more surprising that it was sold out the first night we went). The movie far exceeded my expectations. It's flawed, for sure - some of the special effects were downright ugly, Sharlto Copley, once again, over-acts and mumbles his way through dialogue, the amount of times a character says "Maleficent" will make your skin crawl, and the editing could have used a little tightening. However, the story is engaging and Jolie is spectacular. Overall, I was completely entertained.