Top 10 Movies

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Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil ★★★★

DISNEY fans weary of copycat live-action remakes of beloved animated films – meow and hiss, The Lion King can enter a visually stunning fantasy realm with Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil.

Since the surprise 2014 hit Maleficent is already established as a revisionist fable that diverges sharply from the 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty, it’s no surprise that the sequel continues to take a twisty path deeper into its alternative vision of Charles Perrault’s classic fairy tale. Set five years after the events of Maleficent, the sequel is self-contained, so it’s not necessary to have seen or rewatched the first film.

The screenplay by Micah Fitzerman-blue, Noah Harpster and Maleficent scribe Linda Woolverton boasts all the plot twists, political machinations and alltoo-timely, magic-cloaked human conflicts of a Pg-rated Game Of Thrones episode.

Director Joachim Ronning (Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tale) mostly manages to keep the serpentine plot straight, while his stellar cast – Sam Riley returns as Maleficent’s shape-shifting sidekick Diaval, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville and Imelda Staunton reappear as the blundering fairy trio, and Warwick Davis bows as Ingrith’s personal mad scientist Lickspittle – is game for the adventure.

But Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil is at its best when it lets its two powerhouse leading ladies – Angelina Jolie, who is a force of nature as the misunderstood Maleficent, and Michelle Pfeiffer, who chews the fantastical scenery with villainous glee – dominate the fairy story. – Brandy Mcdonnell/the Oklahoman/tribune News Service