Film Review, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

What happens when the mother of all Disney villains grows a heart?

If Angelina Jolie is playing said mother on screen, you can bet for some real magic.

This month, the Oscar-winning actress returns as the titular wicked wonder in Disney's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, the anticipated sequel to 2014's Maleficent. Now, the misunderstood dark fairy must cope when her goddaughter Princess Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty (Elle Fanning) is set to wed Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson). When challenged by Phillip's mother, Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), Maleficent makes a difficult choice as war threatens their two kingdoms.

The role marks Jolie's first on-screen acting role since 2015's By the Sea, which she starred alongside estranged husband Brad Pitt. And while, admittedly, Jolie's Maleficent could have had more dialogue, the cunning one-liners with Princess Aurora and faithful sidekick Diaval (Sam Riley) are as crisp as they were the first time around. 

Moreover, it's what she doesn't say — her empathic bond with fellow dark fairy Conall (Chiwetel Ejiofor) — that reminds us why she's still one of the preeminent artists of our time.

But let's not forget the newcomers to the franchise. Pfeiffer, who, like Jolie, has stepped away from acting in recent years, serves queen-level iciness with aplomb, and her repertoire with Jolie is a treat. 

In addition, Jenn Murray, known from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and Brooklyn (2015), portrays Queen Ingrith's top officer Gerda and her performance is so arresting that you may briefly forget that you're watching a family-friendly film (but that's not a bad thing).

The film is however, very heavy on big-budget visual effects that appear to conjure Disney-kin Marvel Studios. They can be distracting and make it harder to discern what's actually happening in several critical scenes. And even though this is Maleficent's second film, you may be left feeling like we didn't spend as much time with her as we'd like, and that there's still so much more to know.

And judging by the film's spirited goodbye, perhaps there's a third installment to look forward to.

What smooths out the aforementioned flaws, though, is the film's central theme of a mother's love — how it can heal or destroy, depending on how it's wielded. It's not something we've necessarily seen in a Disney film before, and perhaps hints that Disney will continue to expand push it self in favour of non-traditional storytelling. 

All the more reason to allow yourself to be spellbound by Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil arrives in Australian cinemas on October 17, 2019.