LIAM EASLEY, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Stories like “Wicked” and “Maleficent” have given fantasy entertainment media a new dimension and another perspective. It is with these stories that an important question is brought to light: should you trust everything you see?
It is with that thought that “Maleficent” was made, but “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is a pathetic rehash of the same message.
The first movie in the franchise was well-made, but the latest installment seems like nothing more than a money grab. The movie is centered around Maleficent’s daughter, Aurora, who is to be married to the prince of the kingdom of man.
Aurora is the queen of the Moors, the fairy realm, and the world of man does not get along with the world of fantasy, making this union controversial. The plot gets rolling once the king is put under a curse, and the tyrannical queen steps into power with a plot, like the “Shrek” antagonist Lord Farquaad, to kill all fairytale creatures.
The movie progresses with predictable plot twists, a Hallmarkish script, plenty of plot holes and the inevitable outcome of the protagonist, who, in a way, is actually the antagonist, waving the flag of victory. There is not a point where one genuinely doubts the failure of the “good guy,” nor is there a moment where the film reaches an edge-of-the-seat moment of intensity.
The one redeeming factor of the film is the cinematography. The beginning shot takes the audience through a twisting flight of landscape and the surrounding kingdoms. The special effects are truly remarkable, especially in this moment.
The use of camera angles is also respectable. While the camera acrobatics are nothing noteworthy, they do fit well for a movie with a lot of flying. It is not in its unoriginality that this film suffers, as a movie can be unoriginal yet still be well-executed. “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” is just poorly executed and, above all, painful to sit through.
Knight Wire 
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