I truly enjoyed the first entry of the “Maleficent” series, released five years ago. It took a classic story and fleshed it out admirably. The production values were top-notch, and the story had some interesting twists.
The second installment of the series, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” still has gorgeous production values. However, the story is hackneyed and there is little to no character development. With a theme of genocide and an allusion to the Holocaust, however unintentional, this film takes the viewer into much darker territory that may be too much for children.
The story begins where the last one left off. Aurora (Elle Fanning) now rules over the Moors as Queen. She is holding court when Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson) shows up to propose to her. She accepts and sends Diaval (Sam Riley) to tell Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) of the upcoming nuptials.
Maleficent initially opposes the union but is won over by her love for Aurora. Back at Philip’s castle, King John (Robert Lindsay), Philip’s father, is thrilled that his kingdom will be united with the Moors through this marriage. Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), Philip’s mother, invites Aurora and Maleficent to dinner as a gesture of goodwill.
Ingrith harbors a dark secret. She has a secret foundry/laboratory hidden inside the depths of the castle where her minions prepare for war. She hates all of the fairy folk who live in the Moors, and wants to annihilate them for the good of humanity.
At the dinner, Ingrith insults Maleficent. For example, she uses iron silverware which Maleficent cannot use, then says that she will have to use her hands to eat. Finally, Maleficent has had enough and starts to act out. Suddenly, King John falls ill. Ingrith blames Maleficent for casting a curse on John (in reality, Ingrith has secretly harmed him). Aurora asks Maleficent to undo the curse, which of course Maleficent cannot do.
Under threat, Maleficent flees the castle, only to be shot with an iron arrow. Severely wounded, she plummets into the nearby river and goes over the falls. As she proceeds out to the ocean, another winged figure mysteriously pulls her out of the water and takes her away.
At the castle, Ingrith’s pixie Lickspittle (Warwick Davis), whose wings she had removed, has figured out how to create a substance that will kill fairy folk. Ingrith, in a particularly horrifying scene, takes a captured fairy out of a jar and applies the red dust to this creature. It transforms into a dandelion, which Ingrith casually blows away.
Maleficent ends up with her own kind, who refer to themselves as the Dark Fey. They have taken refuge in a distant cave where they can hide from humans who keep harming them with iron.
Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor) wants to live in peace with humans. Borra (Ed Skrein), in keeping with the film’s theme of genocide, wants to kill all the humans. When Conall is killed saving Maleficent’s life in an ambush set by humans, a final confrontation is set up between the Dark Fey and Ingrith’s red dust of death.
The visual effects are absolutely stunning. As I watched the initial scenes of the fairy folk in the Moors, I thought that I could watch a silent plotless feature film of their antics because of the magic created by the filmmakers. Even the battle scenes, with a steampunk flair, are well-depicted and staged.
The costumes also are first-rate, as is the production design. There is a wonderful sense of authenticity to the original story material in the castle settings. The caves where the Dark Fey live are a wonder to behold.
The real drawback is in the theme of genocide present in this picture. One setting is particularly disturbing. The fairy folk have been invited to the wedding of Aurora and Philip. As such, they are escorted into the church where the two are to be married. They go to the bride’s side and then are sealed inside by Ingrith’s warriors. A woman begins to play the church organ. When she hits a certain key, the red dust begins to circulate out of the pipes and down to the fairies.
The similarity of this to the chambers where Nazi victims were led, sometimes on the pretext of taking showers, only to have Zyklon B gas kill them was very shocking to me. I wonder if we have reached the point where the makers of this movie are so young that they are clueless about the parallels of this scene to the Holocaust.
I also wonder if the fact that the red dust does not result in blood and gore has deluded the filmmakers into thinking that it makes killing more palatable for young viewers to watch. If this is true, I beg to differ with this cynical viewpoint.
In point of fact, Ingrith is a war criminal committing genocide who should be tried before the Disney version of The Hague. The character is not helped by the over-the-top acting of Pfeiffer. Why no other character can see that she is up to no good baffles me.
The rest of the acting is equally poor. But then, since there are no fully-developed characters, who are sacrificed to this poor excuse of a plot, they don’t have much with which to work. Jolie looks like a deer in the headlights half the time. Fanning is completely wasted, alternating between abject terror and giddy happiness.
This film is actually rated PG, which literally refers to “parental guidance.” The reason for this rating is “intense sequences of fantasy action/violence and brief scary images.” If you do take your children, please be prepared to discuss why megalomaniacs want to kill off every existing creature different from themselves.
I frankly cannot see that this film was made for children to watch. It is “Sleeping Beauty” on steroids. Even the predictable Kumbaya ending, so out of place with what preceded it that it is laughable, cannot save this beautiful mess.
Two out of five stars, and those 2 stars are strictly for the production values.
The years have been kind to Maleficent and Aurora. Their relationship, born of heartbreak, revenge and ultimately love, has flourished. Yet the hatred between man and the fairies still exists. Aurora’s impending marriage to Prince Phillip is cause for celebration in the kingdom of Ulstead and the neighboring Moors, as the wedding serves to unite the two worlds. When an unexpected encounter introduces a powerful new alliance, Maleficent and Aurora are pulled apart to opposing sides in a Great War, testing their loyalties and causing them to question whether they can truly be family.
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sam Riley, Harris Dickinson, Ed Skrein, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville and Michelle Pfeiffer
Directed by: Joachim Rønning
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Summary
This film is actually rated PG, which literally refers to “parental guidance.” The reason for this rating is “intense sequences of fantasy action/violence and brief scary images.” If you do take your children, please be prepared to discuss why megalomaniacs want to kill off every existing creature different from themselves.
I frankly cannot see that this film was made for children to watch. It is “Sleeping Beauty” on steroids. Even the predictable Kumbaya ending, so out of place with what preceded it that it is laughable, cannot save this beautiful mess.
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