Despite
lukewarm reception by the critics (53 percent on RT), 2014’s ‘Maleficent’ starring Angelina Jolie as the iconic devil-horned
villain in Sleeping Beauty was beloved by audiences (with its CinemaScore of A) and raked in over
$750 million worldwide for the Mouse House.
I sided more with the moviegoers and thought it was a pretty good dark fantasy tale with an abundance of CG eye-candy so signed on for this
sequel.
The
title and preview trailer of ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ would lead us to
believe that, in this highly anticipated follow-up, Maleficent’s true colors
and evil nature will emerge when her god-daughter
Aurora (Elle Fanning) decides to marry young Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson),
heir to the Kingdom of Ulstead ruled by King John and Queen Ingrith (Michelle
Pfeiffer), thereby ushering in an era of peace between the mythical and human
realms. Alas, as in the original,
everything is not as black-and-white as they appear (especially in costume) and
treachery awaits in every corner. How
so? Well, you’ll just have to watch the
movie and find out for yourself.
With
its RT score of 41 percent based on 218 reviews, ‘Mistress of Evil’ is even
more maligned by the critics than its predecessor, but then again that doesn’t
really matter anymore than it did before because the audience loved it, giving it the same CinemaScore as
the original. So what did I think? I’m
happy to say that I enjoyed it enough to more than recommend it. While its story is a familiar one, the movie is (like the original) a feast for the eyes packed with great visuals and epic fantasy battle scenes as the mythical creatures of the Moors do battle with Queen Ingrith and the Army of Ulstead.
Grade: B+
Grade: B+
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