A vindictive fairy is driven to curse an infant princess only to realize the child may be the only one who can restore peace.
If this tiresome yarn is the ‘true’ story of one of Disney’s most popular villains then, please, give us colourful lies and happy ignorance.
Magical but modern, family-friendly but feisty and a feast for the eyes. Maleficent doesn't entirely reinvent the (spindle) wheel, but certainly provoke thought with its (ahem) prick teasing.
This is a knowing and witty re-invention of an old fairy tale that looks as if it owes as much to Marina Warner and Angela Carter as it does to Disney - it is just a pity that the malevolence in in such short supply.
I'd forgotten what a fierce screen presence Jolie is: she is becoming the Sophia Loren of our age. Now I want to see her in a grownup film.
Jolie nails it, but she deserves better than this CGI sinkhole.
A Jolie good show.
An ability to merge the fantastical with the dramatic is what’s missing. Jolie’s up to the task; it’s a shame her director and the film don’t appear to be.
Filled with an over abundance of effects, Maleficent lacks the sense of awe and wonder of a Frozen or a Wicked but it is a thoroughly enjoyable fantasy.
Live-action folly.
This film is a beauty, but whenever Jolie is offscreen, it is also a snooze.
Children will have fun with Maleficent's wickedness
The ultimate villain: why Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent is just as scary 50 years on...
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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