Name: Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Release date: October 16, 2019
Genre: Fantasy action
Directed by: Joachim Ronning
Synopsis:
The complex relationship between Maleficent and Aurora as godmother and daughter continues as they both face yet more difficulties that may harm their relationship or open up a new chapter with fewer complications. Overall, the movie was a splendid sequel of the first. During this movie, Maleficent faces some fatal decisions but, being the hero, she manages a compromise, saving the Moors in the process.
Character Profiles (Spoiler Alert!):-
Maleficent:
“The Mistress of Evil”
Maleficent is a powerful dark fae and one of the main characters of this movie. She is the sworn protector of her homeland- the Moors- and would guard it against invaders at all costs.
Maleficent attends a celebration dinner in honor of Aurora and Prince Phillip’s upcoming royal wedding when she formally meets the queen and fails to leave a good first impression. She then faces a major dilemma where she has to choose between the people of the Moors and Aurora. This movie explores Maleficent’s struggles and the sacrifices she’s willing to make for love.
Aurora:
“Sleeping Beauty”
Aurora is also one of the main protagonists of this movie. Her fairytale with Prince Phillip quickly ended when war was declared on her people in the Moors by the Queen herself. She finds herself torn between her future family (the King, Queen, and Phillip) and her beloved godmother. She chooses to give Maleficent the benefit of the doubt and expresses how she feels to Phillip the day before the wedding- but later learns that the Queen was up to no good and that her intentions were rotten. She fights for her people and eventually unites with Prince Phillip in holy matrimony.
Queen Ingrid:
“The Evil Queen”
Queen Ingrid is cold-hearted. She believes that all fairies and creatures must be killed in order to protect humans. She sends her men to capture creatures and magical plants to harness their power and use it to kill the fairies- all behind her husband and son’s backs. Her minion, lickspittle, is an elf who helps her make bombs of crushed toom blooms (a special flower only found in the Moors) and powdered iron. This mixture is fatal to all fairies that come in contact with it. She traps Aurora in a room while she prepares for war.
Unsurprisingly, she loses, and the power of family and love overcomes her evil and malicious intentions. As a punishment, Maleficent turns her into a goat.
Overall Opinions:
Overall, the movie was a splendid sequel of the first. I honestly did not expect it to be this good since sequels usually aren’t as good as the prequel but Maleficent proves this wrong. The consistent bursts of excitement and mystery are what kept the movie entertaining and ongoingly pleased the viewers. Maleficent’s character has grown widely throughout the movie, which was what surprised me the most, since she was able to open up about her love for her goddaughter and has learned to trust her. Aurora’s relationship with her godmother has truly developed, which brought joy to the whole audience, especially when Maleficent stood for Aurora’s decision on being with Prince Phillip and bringing peace to the Moors and the humans.
What would’ve brought more depth and emotion to the movie, however, was if we knew more about the character and backstory of Conal; his death was truly tragic but also very impactful since it allowed Maleficent to return to her state of mind and stop the attack/war with the humans.
