MovieChat Forums > Maleficent (2014) Discussion > Criticisms... anyone agree?

Criticisms... anyone agree?

posted 3 years ago by esshor (119)
8 replies | jump to latest

I really found the overall storyline concept to be quite unique and creative. But it ended up being SOOOOOO lacking. The scenes of the developing dynamic between the growing Aurora and Maleficient were not enough, and were sooo robbed of their potential.
Overall the whole movie ended up feeling very lacking. Clearly an underdeveloped script.

...I also found the changing dynamic and relationship between Maleficent and Stefan to be unjustified and unrealistic for what actually took place between them.

[–] TandyMan (11349) 3 years ago

I finally watched this cause my sister loves it and we're in tight quarters for the first time since childhood on account of the holidays. It's actually pretty good. I was surprised. My problem is mostly what you mentioned. Because what they were doing was actually cool, I wish they had doubled down on it and really fleshed it out. Instead, it feels like broad sketches. This could have been a timeless great movie if it were given more attention. Movies like Wizard of Oz don't just happen. They pour talent into it. That is just missing these days.

[–] esshor (119) 3 years ago

It's nice to have my criticisms and opinions validated and confirmed. Because just as I expressed, I was somewhat initially enchanted by the altered storyline and concept. And was really hoping it continued further in the direction I was expecting it to. But after establishing its initial muster and allure, it seems to totally back off from that and half-ass till the end.
Which was such a let down.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (15113) 3 years ago

By itself, it's a fun story and an interesting view on a wronged fairy who found her way back to redemption.

The trouble is, it's basically a multi-million-dollar Angelina Jolie fanfic that's inspired by the original Disney cartoon, and when you compare the two stories, then things start to fall apart.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

Very disappointing movie, they were clearly relying on Jolie to carry the whole mess with star power (she was the most talked-about woman in the world at the time), so they didn't bother much with a coherent story.

So Jolie was good, got exactly the right camp note for the material, but the movie as a whole is still a mess.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 3 years ago

Agree. It was lazy, sloppy and not thought through; nor do I want to see an Angelina Jolie vehicle. She apparently wanted to be both antagonist and protagonist. That just does not work. In no case has it ever worked, e.g., Venom, Joker, Birds of Prey. If the notion cannot work at a comic book level, it has no hope of working at a fairytale or other more elevated narrative level. To remove all doubt: comic books are the very lowest level of narrative.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

Apparently Jolie wanted to be late-career Joan Crawford, where Crawford was played her diva-bitch roles both protagonist and antagonist, and was as camp as a row of tents. Jolie largely succeeded in what she set out to do, and face it, that was the only way to play this mess, and the result was one of the few performances of hers that I've actually liked!

I am so not a fan, of Jolie in general, or this stupid movie.

But anti-hero protagonists can work, both in dramatic films like "Taxi Driver" or in the camp masterpieces of Joan Crawford, they can be intense drama or ludicrous self-parodies and not much in between. IMHO the only way "Maleficent" ever could have worked in its current form was to tip it over the edge into a high-camp comedy, but nobody at the modern Disney Inc. has that kind of sense of humor, especially Jolie.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 3 years ago

I agree about anti-hero protagonists, like Mel Gibson in Payback. I draw the line at trying to make 1 person both the good guy AND the only
bad guy. That’s just vanity.

I’ve never liked Jolie. I stopped liking Scarlett Johansson after Lost In Translation. Both women are cardboard cutouts for sex appeal.

[–] Otter (24464) 3 years ago

I've never liked either actress much, although I might start liking Jolie if she turns into Aging Joan Crawford 2.0! And it's possibly she's narcissistic enough to do so, and that's the only reason I've ever been interested in her acting.

Anyway, the script for "Maleficent" is a hash by any standards, an attempt to make a cartoon villainess into a complex anti-hero, and even "Cruella" did a better job and "Cruella" isn't a good movie either. Disney really needs to stop with the remakes and rethinks, they're all crap.