I went into this movie thinking it would be a nice movie from Disney, since I had heard it was a darker adaptation from the classic Sleeping Beauty, from the perspective of the villain. And I still think it's a great idea and still expect to see the same thing with other classics, even if in this case the idea was very poorly executed.
Starting with the director, it was a risky bet by Disney, because Robert Stromberg had never directed a movie (his work is almost exclusively visual effects). And it didn't pay off. Even though he did a good job adapting from the original story, there were some parts where the story and some actions from the characters didn't make sense at all. Then the acting was also sad. Bad acting from the three fairies (Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple) and from all the male characters, especially Sharlto Copley. Angelina Jolie did a good job. Not her best, of course, but a solid acting.
The idea of Maleficient was to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of Maleficient, but it didn't even give depth to the character! There are holes on the story and that hurts it pretty bad.
The images and effects were also very average and not good enough for 2014.
Overall, the movie wasn't appealing at all and the story, acting, and effects were weak. However, I applaud the idea and hope Disney learns from this movie's mistakes and do more of these kind of movies, but much better.
Starting with the director, it was a risky bet by Disney, because Robert Stromberg had never directed a movie (his work is almost exclusively visual effects). And it didn't pay off. Even though he did a good job adapting from the original story, there were some parts where the story and some actions from the characters didn't make sense at all. Then the acting was also sad. Bad acting from the three fairies (Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple) and from all the male characters, especially Sharlto Copley. Angelina Jolie did a good job. Not her best, of course, but a solid acting.
The idea of Maleficient was to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of Maleficient, but it didn't even give depth to the character! There are holes on the story and that hurts it pretty bad.
The images and effects were also very average and not good enough for 2014.
Overall, the movie wasn't appealing at all and the story, acting, and effects were weak. However, I applaud the idea and hope Disney learns from this movie's mistakes and do more of these kind of movies, but much better.