Maleficent

Every Curse Can Be Broken

            Go ahead, say it.... Okay fine, I'll do the honors, Angelina Jolie's cheek bones are as beautiful as the Rocky Mountains. Since I have never seen the Rockies in person, I'll just have to settle with Disney's make-up department's superb performance in transforming Jolie. Maleficent is exactly what one would expect as a timeless tale is adapted onto the big screen using today's technology. But, what makes this movie as real as the magic in it is the smaller moments that give Angelina Jolie the chance to be human after all.

            From the opening scene it is no secret that the magic Disney created in 1959 with the original Sleeping Beauty cartoon is still alive. Maleficent's childhood as a powerful and creepily horned fairy girl quickly moves into her discovery of true love followed by betrayal. Why someone would double-cross Angelina Jolie with horns and those eyes, I'll never know. Maleficent seeks out the royal newborn girl of her betrayer and crashes her christening party in commendable fashion only fit for the wicked. You know the rest of the story.

            First of all, this film does not go too far into the characters and it does not dwell on every single back story. Those are both good qualities. Being a Disney movie, albeit classic among classics, the drama and sensibility are expected and come with the package deal right off the bat. It's the job of contemporary filmmakers to not modernize too much. Modernity is a good thing too but over-doing it will cast a spell that'll bury the film altogether.

That's why Maleficent should be given credit.

          Angelina Jolie has the perfect face to play this part to begin with but the added effects are top-notch. The sculpted cheeks, piercing eyes, marble skin, and fiercely intimidating horns. Her smile, stare, and enchantingly executed British accent are all excellent and scene-stealing but what really draws the audience in is her ability to create small, intimate, even comical, moments with the big personality that comes with such a role. Including one part when she hisses at baby Aurora to scare her and after the child is not startled she grits her teeth in disappointment and mutters, "I hate you." Maleficent's malevolent laugh could have been capitalized a little more, but that's just a side note. Her co-star, Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) is charming and beautiful beyond words. Her contagious laugh and smile have gotten her this far and will only take her higher being only 16 years old (how fitting!). She truly lives up to the status that surrounds the character of Sleeping Beauty and compliments Maleficent gracefully.

            It's impressive the way Disney carried out the visual effects in Maleficent but that doesn't mean all of it was needed. The pixies that take care of baby Aurora (Leslie Manville, Imelda Staunton, and Juno Temple) transitioned from small to life-size pretty well but it was the completely CGI'd creatures that needed a bit more work. The interaction between humans and graphics lacked a certain concrete element that kept it onscreen and 2-D. True love's heart is always in the right place and it's nice to see that Disney Studios have not lost touch with its legacy. GRADE: 6.9/10