Angelina Jolie gives a forceful and nuanced performance as Maleficent, but Sharlto Copley is absolutely miscast as the king. "Maleficent" reveals how events transformed the title character from a happy, optimistic young fairy into one of Disney's most recognizable villains. As a girl, Maleficent (Isobelle Molloy) meets and befriends a young human named Stefan (Michael Higgins). The two share a close friendship that develops into love as the years pass. However, Stefan's ambition seduces him to the dark side. He disappears from Maleficent's life for a while as he strives to ingratiate himself with the current king. When he returns to Maleficent (now played by Copely), his goal is to drug her, cut off her wings and take them back to the king to prove his worthiness to be the new king. Bitter and broken hearted, Maleficent (Jolie) plots her revenge when she hears of the christening of King Stefan's daughter. And we already know the curse she gives to the young Aurora.
"Maleficent" offers two twists to the Sleeping Beauty tale we're familiar with. The first is to make Maleficent's actions explicable. Her deeds aren't the product of inherent evil, but result from Stefan's despicable act. The film also postulates a mother-daughter relationship between Maleficent and Aurora (Elle Fanning). During the period when the princess is living in the forest with three other fairies, Maleficent visits her regularly and they become close, so close, in fact, that Maleficent regrets her curse and tries to reverse it. Angelina Jolie is the driving force in the movie and she dominates every scene she's in. Elle Fanning is delightful as the naive Aurora, but Copely not only doesn't look or sound like a king but he overacts. The scenes where he slowly goes insane are heavy handed and detract from the rest of the story. The visuals are powerful and imaginative and "Maleficent" is enjoyable summer fare. 6/2/14
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