Maleficent

Remarkable thing: in a movie stuffed to the gills with special effects and computer generated characters, it is only in the human moments—or at least almost-human moments—wherein the story’s real charm comes to life. I watched this and it’s sequel in reverse order, so I was at a certain disadvantage where some elements of surprise were missing; hence the story lacked some of what should have been its inherent drama. That said, the aforementioned dichotomy between the human interactions and the fake-play between the real and digital characters stands out here. One might almost believe that a movie such as this, if made the old-fashioned way, might be some untold amount better. Alas, it is unlikely we will see such efforts made any time soon, despite the potential for greater results (and, I daresay, better economics; all those special effects cost a lot of budget-bloating money). As for the story here, the makers almost but not quite pull off this re-imagination of the old tale into something that works. However good Jolie may be in turning Maleficent's character inside out, she still makes a better villain than a hero. And frankly, some of the plot changes make some story elements make no sense. For example: Why are the pixies welcome at the christening, when the introductory material so thoroughly vilifies The Moors and its inhabitants? (Also, they might want to get a grip on what kind of land the term “moors” refers to.) All in all, this is a decent diversion, so long as you didn’t pay money to watch it, but it hardly falls into the category of classic, enchanting entertainment.