Maleficent (2014)

Having very much enjoyed both Enchanted and Into the Woods I was a bit surprised how truly bored I was by Maleficent. The Disney corporation is a consummate re-user of their existing properties and Maleficent, a kind of revisionist take on the villain from the classic 1959 animated movie Sleeping Beauty, was a box office hit that pretty much ensures that we will be seeing the regular release of live action Disney princess movies for years to come. Perhaps that was my problem, this movie was just not made for me, I am in no way its target audience. This picture doesn't so much subvert its genera conventions as it simply re-routes them. The films star is Angelina Jolie, perfectly cast as Maleficent, we get her sympathetic backstory, and see how the love she gains overtime for the princess she cursed (played age 15-16 by an also perfectly cast Elle Fanning) makes her a better person. By making the villain a kind of hero-turned villain- turned hero the movie attempts to fill the 'villain role' with the Scottish brogue of Sharlto Copley, whose really not an interesting character here. Visually there is a lot to look at, and I can approve of the basic story arc and updating of the stories moral to something more suitable for our time, but speaking for myself, there just wasn't anything here for me to grab onto. But I suppose that's as it should be, this is not a movie for me, this a movie for little girls who love princesses, and my eight year old niece adores it. For her I'm sure its four stars, but for me I'll merely give it **.