Angelina Jolie in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
ANGELINA JOLIE’S not-so-fiendish fairy casts her spell again
FANTASY ADVENTURE Friday, Sky Premiere HD, 12.30pm & 8pm 3
STILL SPORTING THOSE alarming black horns and still magnificently haughty, Angelina Jolie returns for a sequel to 2014’s Maleficent, Disney’s spellbinding Sleeping Beauty reimagining – which gave us the well-known tale from the point of view of the villain and made her a much more sympathetic figure.
Jolie’s dark fairy was more tragic than evil, and only laid a curse on the king’s daughter after being betrayed by her childhood love. In the mistitled sequel, she’s even more sinned against than sinning.
The story’s villain here is Michelle Pfeiffer’s ruthless neighbouring queen, Ingrith, who plots to wipe out all magical creatures, using the forthcoming wedding of Maleficent’s adopted daughter Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) to her son, Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson), as a trap.
As the plot unwinds, Maleficent learns about her own origins and encounters a raft of other dark fey, including Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Conall, who also sport horns and wings.
There are more new characters than the plot can handle, and the need to find room for them, as well as such returning figures as the trio of bumbling fairies played by Imelda Staunton, Lesley Manville and Juno Temple, leads the movie to sag in the middle.
Still, the special effects are fabulous, as are the costumes, and Jolie is even more spectacular than before. 2019, PG, 119MIN
Also on Disney+ from Friday.