Rotten Tomatoes 41% Cinemascore: A
Disney's sequel to 2014s Maleficent shares much in common with many of the studios other more original live action films. The visual effects and production are all excellent, however the script and characters are shallow leaving little more then flashy entertainment designed to pacify and instruct its audience how to feel rather than letting them decide for themselves. Mistress of Evil is not devoid of quality, no movie is. The film leans heavily into its dark fantasy aesthetic sparking the imagination with its sets throughout the film, my favorite of which is underground laboratory where creatures from the Moors are experimented on. The greatest tragedy of the film though may be its treatment of its title character played again by Jolie. The narrative refuses to commit to a central conflict to bind Maleficent to, resulting in disorganized pacing as the film marches towards the battle it desperately wants to stage. First the film focuses on Maleficent relationship with her surrogate daughter Aurora (Fanning), then it shifts to Maleficent's own insecurities until it drops that altogether and instead bobs between themes of belonging and acceptance. Then the finale dissatisfies every theme so it may have a classic Disney ending. There is joy to be had in Maleficent's third act as Ronning throws all the fantasy violence on screen he can get away with a PG rating, however the end result was the absence of any theme or character I could ascribe caring for.
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