Mini-review: Maleficent

Life action reimagining of Disney's animated Sleeping Beauty.  The additional twist is that like Wicked before it, it tells the story of how the villain became evil and why they really aren't that bad after all.  Sounds like a bit of a stretch, and it is a little. They just about get away with it, but the story is weakened by all of the retconning.

Jolie was born to play this part, and clearly relishes every moment of it. Fanning brings a decent amount of life and charm to Aurora.

Elsewhere, it looks rather sumptuous in the right places (fairy land), and suitably dark and menacing in the scary bits.