It's time for another Double Feature.
2014's Maleficent and it's sequel 2019's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil are part of a wave of Disney live-action/photo-realistic adaptations based on their classic animated films. While many of these movies are basically one-to-one remakes with maybe a new song or a few extra scenes added to pad the runtime, the Maleficent films are different. Different doesn't necessarily mean they're better but, I think they are more interesting.
The first of the two films, Maleficent, takes the approach of looking at the 'Sleeping Beauty' story but from the villain's point-of-view. Who is Maleficent as a character? Why does she curse the princess? Is she really all that bad? The film is predictable and some of the special effects less than spectacular but, I think it is a decently made and entertaining movie. Plus, I think Angelina Jolie perfectly cast as the title character.
The sequel on the other hand, is a not as good. The story picks up a few years after the events of the first film and splits the focus between the upcoming marriage of Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip, and a plot about Maleficent meeting a whole race of fairies that are like her (except she's the only one who possesses the powers of the phoenix... It's a bit of a mess). The two movies came out five years apart, so Disney didn't exactly rush out the sequel but, it feels like the script for this one needed more time.
I don't think either one of these movies will rise to that "Disney Classic" status. Both films did make money but, were also met with mixed reviews. Maleficent has enough that I like about it and I think it is worth watching. However, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil falls just on the other side of that recommendation line for me.
I'm going to give Maleficent a 3 out of 5 and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil a 2 out of 5.
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