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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019) in Movies

Oct 20, 2019

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)

2019 | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

7.3

(72 Ratings)

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A pretty solid sequel

Contains spoilers, click to show

The first Maleficent is a film that could quite easily be a one and done type deal. It doesn't particularly need a sequel, but diving back into this world is huge heaps of fun.

The narrative is a little faffy to begin with, as it establishes the story, introducing us to new characters, and re-introducing us to others.
But once it gets going, it easily manages to re capture everything that was good about the first film.
Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, and Sam Riley are Greta as they were before, and newer characters played by the likes of Warwick Davis, Ed Skrein, Robert Lindsay, and Chiwetel Ejiofor all have their place and fit alongside everyone else nicely.
Michelle Pfeiffer is also a fun villain , starting off as a thorn in the side and evolving into full mad queen by the end.

The expiration of the larger world surrounding Maleficent is a nice route to take for the most part. There are some pacing issues around the mid section, and sometimes it feels like Maleficent is sidelined in favour of other it strands.
These are minor annoyances though, as the film heads towards it's hugely entertaining finale.
The third act is fantastic. The action is thrilling, the visuals are stunning, and the stakes actually feel quite high. It plays out at times like a PG version of The Red Wedding!

The CGI throughout is top quality, and much like the first, the various settings seen throughout feel fully realised and vivid.

Mistress of Evil is a sequel that perhaps didn't need to happen, but I'm glad that it did, and the two films together stand head and shoulders above any other live action adaption that Disney have put out in recent years.