'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' review

For one of my arts events, I went to watch ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’. I watched this at the cinema in October 2019. The art forms included in this movie were filming, performing, music, and design.

‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ was the sequel to its previous film ‘Maleficent’. I had watched the first film before, so it was not new to me. However, I had watched the film quite a long time ago, so I had to try and remember the storyline. A good thing about the second film was that it was not entirely related to the previous film, so I did not need to remember most of the first story.

As a fan of the first film, I was very excited to watch the sequel, and it really exceeded my expectations! In ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’, I enjoyed how it was very dramatic, but also quite comedic at the same time. Throughout the film, I was never bored, because it was very engaging. I enjoyed how Disney had adapted the original fairy tale, and had added different plots to make it original, and to keep the audience interested. The visual effects were created very well, and were extremely fascinating to watch. Every tiny detail of the film was perfect!

The acting in ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ was incredible! Each actor portrayed their character amazingly well – it was as if they were really them. Angelina Jolie, who played the role of Maleficent, showed her versatility in the movie, as she had to change throughout the movie from evil to good. Michelle Pfeiffer, who played the role of the queen, showed both sides of her character’s personality very well, which made it very hard to predict what was going to happen next. Elle Fanning, who played the role of the princess, was very elegant, and acted like a real princess. All of the other characters were also lovely to watch.

The staging in the film was very well executed, and very accurate. During the film, I noticed how even the way the actors were positioned, and even their body language, added to the tension the film. The lighting always changed at the right time in the film, according to what was going on in the scene, where they were, and the atmosphere of the scene. The film chose and composed completely appropriate music for the type of film that it was. I also noticed how even adding music (or not having music at all) can make the scene really effective. The costumes that the actors wore in the film were beautiful. The outfits really helped to portray the character’s personality. For example, all of the queen’s costumes were very grand, which is also how I would describe that character. The set design was also beautiful – I was amazed how the special effects and the set could create such a wonderful image.

In ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’, I did not like how it was rated PG, because some of the scenes were quite violent, which some children might have found scary. Some of the scenes might have been quite distressing for younger viewers. This is something that I think could have been improved. I also think that some of the story could have been a bit simpler, because some of the scenes might be confusing for younger children. 

Overall, I think the film was amazing. I saw all of the different age groups around me were really enjoying the film. The wonderful costumes and sets made me want to pursue a career in design, which I have always been passionate about. I would definitely recommend this film to others, because it was extremely enjoyable to watch!