Film Review: Maleficent

Maleficent    7/10

Director: Robert Stromberg

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley

Plot: the untold story of Maleficent unfolds as a curse is put on an infant princess.

Maleficent is, as another critic has pointed out, magnificent. It’s magnificent in the sense that its world building is spot-on. Except the opening sequence which is a little shabby on the CGI front, the rest of the picture builds the world of Sleeping Beauty with absolute ease. Director Robert Stromberg has a real eye for detail and has successfully transformed the animated original into a visual feast. The battles are enormous in scale and the effects do, at times, really flourish.

Maleficent, however, suffers from some really serious flaws. To begin with, a film that markets itself as a dark retelling of an untold story feels a little under-baked at a painfully short 97 minutes. On a budget of $180 million, it feels as if the entire production has been pushed into a teeny, tiny box that doesn’t have nearly enough time to explore.

For starters, this really isn’t the dark retelling we’ve been promised. Yes, it does have its rather depressing and ominous moments, but it’s actually incredibly light-hearted, humorous but altogether silly for the most part. When you get Angelina Jolie on-board for a Disney production on this scale, it’s a missed opportunity to use her for anything other than her incredible acting abilities. Unfortunately, the script doesn't always let her do this; it’s overridden with clichés, cringe-worthy moments and random comments that really do not fit with the rest of the picture.

Another point of criticism for this is its pointless characters. Sam Riley as Diaval (Maleficent’s sidekick) is painfully unnecessary and takes up precious running time that we want to spend solely with Jolie. The three fairies also – Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville – are sweet and all, but err on the side of irritating all too often. It all feels a little wrong.

Finally, to the major lead that gives this film the worthy ‘MUST SEE’ stamp. Angelina Jolie, who has chosen film projects sparingly, finally takes on the villainous, leading role we've all been waiting for. As previously mentioned, she doesn’t portray the dark villain we all wanted to see for the entire film, but we do get hints of this, particularly in the birth scene. It’s possibly the highlight of the entire film; the doors bursting open, the wind blowing the chandelier and the dreaded curse placed on the young Aurora. Another excellent scene early on involves Maleficent being betrayed by someone dear to her. It shows off Jolie’s inner fire and strength as the Disney villain. She’s captivating and nothing less than perfect in this, and it’s definitely up there with her role in Changeling, which was incredible enough.

In Conclusion: Maleficent is confused with itself; the big battles we were teased in the trailer are mostly over within the first 30 minutes and the untold story of Maleficent completely twists and contradicts the original, in a manner that simply doesn’t work. However, Angelina Jolie is phenomenal here. She’ll take your breath away at times and you’ll want to see this again and again solely for her – Jolie was born to play this role.

Film Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction

Transformers: Age of Extinction

Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Stanley Tucci

Plot: Explosion. Rubble. Smash. Bang. Wallop.

When you utter the words “Michael Bay”, you’re likely to get one of three responses; a complete blank look of someone that knows nothing about blockbusters, a big sigh and horrid rant about every movie he has ever made, or a big fat smile of joy. I, for one, am the third. Michael Bay, in all his explosive glory, is one hell of a director.

Firstly, Bay has such a keen eye for adrenaline; he builds up action sequences like no other. Just as you think you’ve seen it all, a drop from the top of a giant skyscraper just tops it all off. Even with a running time of 165 minutes, dedicated fans will not be let down by the movie’s electric pace and insane special effects sequences. Not only that, there’s a whole array of new additions such as Dino Bots (which are underused but incredibly cool) and a lot more combat between the humans too!

Amongst the cast there’s Mark Wahlberg, who takes on the leading role as you’d expect; he’s blimen huge and deals with the action scenes perfectly. Wahlberg isn’t used like Shia Labeouf was in the first three either, he gets fully involved in the action (which isn’t just running). Nicola Peltz – fresh from the outstanding Bates Motel television series - plays Wahlberg’s daughter, and does a stellar job too. Peltz doesn’t play the damsel in distress all the time. Unlike previous females in the Transformers series, she has some really feisty moments. Stanley Tucci as Joshua is also brilliant; his role isn’t unique in any way, like Wahlberg and Peltz, but who in the world cares? His reaction to a giant ferry dropping out of the sky is a highlight (even if it is in the trailers…)

Finally, with this being the fourth Transformers film, Bay has pulled out all the stops, with action that will blow your mind. On entering to see this film, you should already know exactly what to expect… yes, the script is basic, the acting is average and it’s predictable. If, by the fourth film, you have yet to understand why millions go back to see these movies time after time, you are the one with the problem.

In Conclusion: Age of Extinction is one of, if not the, biggest funfest you’ll have at the cinema this year. It’s colossal in scale and it ramps itself up into a giant climactic finish. Honestly, it’ll leave you with clammy hands! If you don’t know what to expect from a Bay movie by now, go and watch something else and let the rest of us mad, Transformer loving, explosion-craving lunatics, to enjoy this extravaganza of a movie.

   BOOM