362. Maleficent - Mistress Of. Evil; movie review

MALEFICENT - MISTRESS OF EVIL
Cert PG
119 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate fantasy threat, mild violence, scary scenes

Another day, another big-budget sequel which left us rather underwhelmed.
We had realised the type of audience at which Maleficent - Mistress Of Evil was aimed when the trailers included young girls advertising butterflies which could be attached to their shoes.
Therefore, it was clear that the older Sunday night crowd in Nottingham Cineworld were merely add-ons to the hundreds of millions of dollars families have already contributed to Disney's bank balance.
Yep, Joachim Rønning's movie has been a worldwide hit despite it lacking the punch of 2014's original version.
I heard a radio review in which a contributor quoted a child as saying their problem was that Maleficent wasn't actually evil.
Quite right. Indeed, she is positively cuddly compared to Michelle Pfeiffer's character.
Pfeiffer plays the Queen Ingrith of Ulstead whose son (Harris Dickinson) wants to marry Aurora, queens of the Moors (Elle Fanning).
She sees the opportunity of a pre-engagement royal meeting to polish off Aurora's godmother, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), and as many of her subjects as possible.
Meanwhile, Ilkeston's own Robert Lindsay turns up in a major Hollywood film as the more benevolent king.
Hold-up, for just a second, local lad Bob Lindsay in an on-screen marriage to Michelle Pfeiffer no less - at the age of 69?!
Apparently, he has matured like a fine wine.
I digress. The easygoing king is no match for either of the feisty women and cannot stop the advance towards war.
So, what will Maleficent and her god-daughter do to counter the power game of Ingrith?
That is the push-me-pull-you question which underscores the film with Aurora always seeing the best in folk while Maleficent finds the worst.
And of course, there are the special effects and fight scenes which are aimed at keeping the kids engrossed.
The problem is that, in common with many sequels this year, there is an overwhelming sense of "I've seen all of this before".
In itself, it is not a terrible film but, in common with so many sequels this year, its reason for being is much more financial than artistic and it shows.

Reasons to watch: Its special effects
Reasons to avoid: Too much of the same

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Days before the Rome premiere of Maleficent 2: Mistress of Evil, Angelina Jolie said that she’d had a teenage crush on co-star Michelle Pfeiffer, who she thought was “very hot”.

Final word. Joachim Rønning: "Even though it's a fairy tale and spectacle, and all that craziness, it was still about a mother and a child. I'm a parent myself, and it was just interesting to see. That really caught me and grabbed me." Screen Rant

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