Maleficent
2014
**½
Director: Robert Stromberg
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Kenneth Cranham, Hannah New, Brenton Thwaites
In a world where humans and magical creatures live in isolation from one another, a kindhearted fairy Maleficent and a human boy Stefan form a rare bond. When the grown-up Stefan betrays Maleficent to become King, she turns dark and curses his daughter Aurora to fall into deep sleep on her 16th birthday. Maleficent was the villain in Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959), and now the studio gives her a proper backstory. Robert Stromberg's directorial debut retells the same fairy tale, this time with a twist. If only that twist wasn't exactly the same one Frozen used last year. That feeling of familiarity extends to the candy-coloured visuals which could be from Alice in Wonderland, Avatar, Oz: The Great and Powerful, Snow White and the Huntsman, or any other recent fantasy film. Thanks to Jolie's strong screen presence, Maleficent at least becomes a compelling main character; It's her movie after all. Stefan, on the other hand, is a dull plot device whose personality is as unstable as his Scottish accent (I could swear it was Irish in the beginning). Aurora comes across as a slow-witted teenager who spends her days rolling in the grass or staring at the wonders of Moors with her mouth open.
