Maleficent (2014), PG, ★★★

Angelina Jolie as the wicked Maleficent.

Every family is always entertained by Disney classics and about every generation in a family witness those classics such as Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Pinocchio, and Cinderella (the latter is good, but not great.) Another movie that is seen by every family is Sleeping Beauty, a very good film that is plain pretty to witness. Any girl will fantasize being a princess for a day or forever and dance the day and night away and even being rescued by their one true love. However, this 97-minute live-action version of Sleeping Beauty primarily focuses on the antagonist, Maleficent. It is not destined to be a classic, but there's one performance that I cannot avoid singling out which, in my opinion, saves the movie.

The movie starts with a narrator (Janet McTeer) stating that if we can remember this old tale as we witness a young Maleficent, a young and powerful fairy, who lives in the Moors, a magical realm near the kingdom, meeting a peasant boy named Stefan. Stefan is infatuated to becoming king one day that it is overshadowing Maleficent's love for Stefan. On Maleficent's 16th birthday, she kisses Stefan with "true love" and it does not sound great in these Disney films.

The two drifted apart as an adult Stefan (Sharlto Copley) stopped visiting her and when an adult Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) defeated the current king and his army, Stefan is tasked to kill her. Stefan drugs Maleficent and uses iron (a lethal substance for the fairies) to burn off her wings and shows the king that she has been slain. Disheartened by Stefan's betrayal, she builds a darker kingdom in her realm and is furious as she divulges a green light which Stefan gazes at and is ashamed.

One day, Diaval (Sam Riley), a shape-shifting man and raven discloses some information that Stefan, now, a king, is hosting a christening for his daughter. Maleficent arrives to the kingdom uninvited and proclaims that on her 16th birthday that she will put a sleeping curse on her after pricking her finger on a spinning wheel spindle. Being merciful toward Stefan, Maleficent says the curse can be broken with a true love's kiss. Stefan orders the guards and people to burn all the spindles and orders the pixies (Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville) to keep her hidden in the woods and to take care of her until her 16th birthday.

Years later, Aurora (Elle Fanning) blossoms into a beautiful young woman, nearing her 16th birthday. Maleficent and Diaval spots her and when Aurora spots Maleficent, she thinks that the cunning witch is her fairy godmother. Maleficent grants Aurora to spend time in the fairy kingdom and as Maleficent tries to remove her sleeping curse, she cannot because the curse is set until the end of time and nobody, not even Maleficent, can revoke the spell. It becomes a struggle.

Elle Fanning as Aurora.

I am in the middle with this movie because it is an incoherent film as the film juggles three characters and does not do it real well. The movie shifts from Maleficent to Stefan to Aurora and vice versa. I got confused as to what central character that I can focus on. Granted, I did not want to be another Sleeping Beauty film but the film meanders and the filmmakers present this as another product but a formulaic and jumbled product full of visuals and beauty. It is a visually enchanting film but with uneven character development.

Angelina Jolie chews the scenery with her devilishly attractive smile and villainous laughter and enjoyment. Her performance is the best and most entertaining of the picture that persuades us to know her attributes and unconventional sentiments toward Stefan and Aurora. Elle Fanning is a very good young actress but she was not too compelling as Princess Aurora. If the movie were to focus on her primarily, it would have been a dull movie. Brendon Thwaites plays the young prince and looks like he does not know what he is doing in the movie. Copley is good and committed, however, his murky character development interferes with his fine performance and does not justify his motives to perform the tasks he is committed to do in the climax.

I did like this movie and I am giving this movie a marginal recommendation because of Angelina Jolie's exuberant performance as the titular character. I cannot deny her performance, but the visual effects are alluring and focused. The effects identify the setting real well. There is a twist in the movie that I think kids will get a bit hostile towards but I felt that it was not totally earned and the writers needed to write another draft of that particular twist. It was decent from there on and the ending was fine. Despite the problematic character development and uneven narrative, Maleficent is a tale to be seen.

***