Maleficent

We watched this flick in the theatre over the weekend.... after soooo long. I was not a fan of 3D movies because it was not a fun viewing. There would be 2D and 3D parts in the movie... if I watched 2D with the glasses on, everything would look dark. And putting on and taking off the glasses was irritating. So, we stopped watching 3D movies. But for Maleficent the 2D was not playing in Gurgaon and we had no option but to watch it in 3D. I am happy to say that the technology has advanced and the entire movie is in 3D so no taking off and putting on the glasses.


Coming to the movie, Maleficent is a new take on the old tale of Sleeping Beauty. Aurora (or as later called Sleeping Beauty) was born to King Stefan and his wife. Maleficent is the evil witch who was not invited to the christening and gets offended. She curses Aurora that on the night of her 16th birthday she will prick her finger on a spindle and die. There are 3 good fairies at the christening out of which one has yet to give Aurora a boon/wish. She dulls the curse by declaring that Aurora will not die but fall into a dreamless sleep from which only her true love can wake her. The 3 fairies hide away Aurora which pisses off Maleficent. On her 16th b'day she tricks Aurora into pricking her finger and also hides away her true love. The fairies release him... he fights off Maleficent and Aurora is back. This is the old tale.

This movie starts off with showing Maleficent as a good fairy who is betrayed by Stefan and his greed. She curses Aurora to fall into a dreamless sleep on her 16th b'day and only be woken up by her true love's kiss. And here is the twist... she keeps an eye on Aurora everyday... befriending her when she grows older... and then trying to undo the curse. But that is not possible and despite all precautions Aurora falls into a dreamless sleep and she has not yet fallen in love. I won't get into the details... the end is predictable... atleast I found it so.

Angelina Jolie is great as Maleficent... it is a complex character... good to hurt to evil to compassionate to good. The movie is enjoyable even though slightly cliched.

Disney has been trying to make female centric movies to stay relevant in today's times. With movies like this, it is on the right track.
Worth a watch!!!