WARNING: THERE MAY BE A FEW SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW!

 Maleficent is a young and very powerful faerie in The Moors. The Moors is a magical place bordering a human kingdom. One day, Maleficent meets a human boy names Stefan. They quickly become friends and as they grow older, more than friends. Soon, though, Stefan begins to drift away from Maleficent. After a confrontation between Maleficent and the king, the king is left wounded and nearly dead. He says that whoever manages to kill Maleficent and avenge him shall become the next king.

Stefan visits Maleficent in the woods and when Maleficent falls unconscious, he burns her wings off with an iron chain. He brings the wings back to the king, signifying that Maleficent is dead. In the pain of her Stefan's betrayal, Maleficent makes The Moors a darker place and turns a crow into a man who becomes her companion.

After the king dies, Stefan becomes king, marries, and has a child that he names Aurora. On the day of Aurora's christening, Maleficent arrives uninvited and curses the baby with a sleeping curse to take effect on her 16th birthday after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel spindle. She also decides that the curse can be broken with 'True Love's Kiss'.

Aurora is sent away with three fairies who are in charge of taking care of her. The three fairies are doing a poor job of keeping her safe so Maleficent, who is always watching the child, is forced to keep Aurora alive until she is 16. Through all this, Maleficent realizes that she has begun to feel affection for Aurora. She tries to take the curse back but does not succeed. How will Maleficent break the curse? Will Aurora be doomed to sleep forever? Does True Love's Kiss really exist?

Review:

I watched this movie without knowing anything about it. All I knew was that Angelina Jolie would be playing Maleficent and I knew right then and there that I needed to watch it. My expectations for this movie was quite high but in the end, I was sorely disappointed. 

First of all, the movie shows that Maleficent was merely misunderstood. In the end, she redeems herself and defeats the king, Stefan. I was really expecting Maleficent to die in the end. History is told by the victors, remember? So if Maleficent was victorious in her fight against Stefan, why would the legend get distorted like that? That part doesn't really make much sense but I can understand why the makers of this movie would like to keep her alive.

Secondly, the True Love's Kiss part wherein Maleficent kisses Aurora on the forehead and she wakes up was, for me, a bit cheesy. The True Love thingy where you're expecting the prince to perform an act of true love for the princess and in the end, that doesn't happen is a bit corny already since it's been done, like, thrice.

Third, the movie was a bit predictable. From the moment that I see Maleficent watching Aurora, I knew that she would be the one who would end up breaking the sleeping curse. I also knew that she would grow to like her from the very moment that she said that the child was ugly and that she hated it. There was one thing though that was not predictable. That was Stefan's betrayal. There was little indication that Stefan would do such a thing. In fact, all his actions suggested that he would love Maleficent and be loyal to her. Sure, Stefan had said that he wanted to live in the castle someday but the circumstances under which he said it made it look like one of the childish dreams that a child might have. That was why I was slightly surprised when Stefan betrayed Maleficent.



Fourth, it seems like this movie was supposed to be a bit feminist but when you look at it, the reason why Maleficent turned evil and all of this happened was because a man broke her heart. There are some who say that it wasn't because of the man but because her trust was betrayed and that may be so but the way that it was shown in the movie made that theory less likely. If it was really supposed to be because someone Maleficent trusted betrayed her, then they could have done a million things to make it seem so. In the movie, it just seemed like Maleficent got all mad and evil 'coz she got her heart broken and crushed into a million pieces.

But if you are to watch this movie, watch it because of this: Angelina Jolie's acting. She's great in all her movies and this one was no exception. I was truly amazed at how well she was able to play her part. From being angry and in pain to feeling regret. From being happy, peaceful, and innocent, to cruel, bitter, and dark. She plays this part very well. I was just hoping that the writers would have made her a little more evil, a little more hard.

Have you watched Maleficent? What did you think about it? What did you think about my review? Leave a comment!

 

Have you read Grim? What do you think about it? Leave a comment!