By: Abeeha Shahid
We are all familiar with the age-old tale of sleeping beauty. The innocent princess cursed to eternal sleep by an evil, resentful fairy, is saved by a true love's kiss. The first Maleficent movie took a darker spin on sleeping beauty and brought about a new perspective to light, redeeming Maleficent's character as she recognizes the error of her ways and in the end it was her maternal love for Aurora that saved her and not Prince Philip’s. But was the happily ever after, truly all happy and peaceful? The question is answered in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, an even darker sequel. It is a 2019 American, fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures, directed by Joachim Ronning and written by Linda Woolverton.
Mistress of Evil, picks up five years after the events of the first film, with Maleficent’s adopted daughter Aurora (played by Elle Fanning) as Queen of The Moors, the magical fairyland that birthed Maleficent. Aurora hopes that her engagement to Prince Philip (played by Harris Dickinson) will finally unite the human and fairy worlds. In order to celebrate the unification, Maleficent (played by Angelina Jolie) is invited to dinner by Queen Ingrith (played by Michelle Pfeiffer).
Maleficent, however, is apprehensive about Aurora’s choice in husband and even reminds her adopted daughter, “Love doesn’t always end well, beastie.” She still begrudgingly agrees to put in the effort to be respectful of Philip’s family and practices niceties and even covers up her horns with a shawl.
It is during this dinner when things start to go downhill as Ingrith taunts Maleficent, alluding to Stefan’s death as murder and openly claims Maleficent killed two human fairy poachers last seen near the Moors. Maleficent responds with equal iciness that humans have been kidnapping fairies and hints that the order must have come from the King or Queen.
The final straw to Maleficent’s patience proves to be Ingrith dismissing Maleficent as Aurora's paternal figure and claiming that Marriage will make Ingrith her real mother. Furious, Maleficent bursts out and this marks the start of the fragile affection crumbling and giving way to hostility and war.
Michelle Pfeiffer and Angelina Jolie’s acting is what brought the characters to life aided by the wonderful costumes that fit their characters really well. Ellen Mirojnick’s stunning costume truly accents and highlights the coldness of Queen Ingrith’s character.
The beautiful imagery makes the movie even more captivating, bringing forth stunning visuals.
Mistress of Evil grossed $491 million worldwide, although it needed to make $500 million in order to make a profit when factoring in the total budget, marketing, and distribution costs. The film received negative reviews for its muddled plot. It is packed with subplots but lacks a center to hold all of its ideas together.
The movie echoes the same message as the first movie that love is the saving grace but explores it further featuring it as the main catalyst for establishing peace. Altogether the film makes for an entertaining watch as we witness characters get betrayed by loved ones and old prejudices between races leading to war.
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