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Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019)
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
4K UHD Released: 1/14/2020
All Ratings out of
Movie:
1/2
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Review by Mike Long, Posted on 1/20/2020
There are basically two kinds of movie sequels.
First, there are the follow-ups where you are truly invested in the
characters and story and you simply can’t wait to see what happens next.
It would be great if all sequels fell into this category.
Sadly, the other category includes movies where you know that you saw the
first movie, but really have no detailed recollection of what happened or why it
happened. (There’s also a third
type where you haven’t seen the first movie and you’re watching the sequel
because that’s what the people with you want to watch.)
These films can be very frustrating, as the movie insists that what you
are seeing is important, but you just can’t place why.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil falls squarely into this category.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
takes place a few years after the events of the first film.
Aurora (Elle Fanning) is now Queen of the Moors and oversees all of the
woodland creatures. When Prince
Phillip (Harris Dickinson), who once woke Aurora from her deep slumber with
“true love’s kiss”, proposes marriage, Maleficent (Angelina Jolie), Aurora’s
step-mother, is concerned, given her overall mistrust of humans.
In order to build a bridge of trust, Maleficent is invited to the castle
to dine with Phillip’s parents, King John (Robert Lindsay) and Queen Ingrith
(Michelle Pfeiffer). When this
doesn’t go as planned, it only deepens the human’s distrust of Maleficent, who
must defend herself. As Aurora
attempts to set things right, Maleficent will discover clues to her mysterious
past.
2014’s Maleficent reportedly grossed over $750 million worldwide on a
budget of $180 million. So, I guess
it made sense financially for Disney to greenlight a sequel.
But, was anyone asking for a second film?
Especially one which is 22-minutes longer than the original?
Everyone in my family saw the first film, but as we sat down to watch
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, no one could remember any specifics of that
movie, save for the basic premise.
It was as if we’d all participated in some secret experiment and only had the
faintest recollections of what had transpired.
And, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil doesn’t do us any favors, as there’s
basically no recap of the first film.
It simply informs us that five years have passed and then jumps right
into the story. Normally, that
would be an admirable quality in a movie, but the assumption that we remember
who these characters are or why they are doing what they are doing is a bold
one. It also doesn’t help that the
story is simultaneously too banal while also being overly detailed.
The primary story involving the plot to portray Maleficent as wicked is
meant to play as a classic fairy tale trope, but it feels very hackneyed.
The movie attempts to tack on additional meaning to this plot path by
having the residents of the Moors be demonized as well – a half-hearted try at
mirroring modern-day racism – but this also falls flat.
The movie’s other big story focus has to do with Maleficent discovering
other winged creatures like herself.
Again, was anyone asking for this?
As stated, I don’t clearly remember Maleficent, but I thought that
her origin was covered in that movie.
In the end, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a frustrating movie.
It’s great to see a fantasy film like this which has strong female
characters in the lead. But, other
than that, it does very little to separate itself from the pack.
The CG-laden final battle sequence could have been lifted from any of the
Lord of the Rings-esque films which we’ve seen over the last 15 years.
The movie sports a great cast and, of course, Jolie shines as the title
character (although she doesn’t get all that much screen time).
Norwegian director Joachim Rønning has given the film a nice look, and
based on his experiences with the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie, he
knows how to work with special effects.
Still, this movie will leave very little impact on most viewers, and if
they make a third Maleficent film, I will once again be left to scratch
my head and wonder what happened last time.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
made me wonder how many kids in the theater said, “Mommy, what’s a mistress?” on
4K UHD courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains a 2160p
transfer which runs at 65 Mbps. The
image is sharp and clear, showing no overt grain and no defects from the source
materials. During the daytime
shots, the colors look fantastic and the movie offer a rainbow’s worth of bright
tones. However, when things get
dark, they get way too dark here.
I’ve found that some 4Ks can skew dark and then one definitely fills that mold.
There were shots where the action was nearly invisible.
The level of detail is good though, and the depth works quite well,
especially during the finale. The
Disc carries a Dolby Atmos audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of
6.0 Mbps. The track provides clear
dialogue and sound effects. The
action sequences deliver highly detailed surround and stereo effects, bringing
even the smallest sound to life.
The subwoofer also packs a punch in these scenes.
The sound moves smoothly from front-to-rear and sounds coming from
off-screen make their presence known.
The special features for Maleficent: Mistress of Evil are found on the
Blu-ray Disc included in this set.
“Origins of the Fey” (3 minutes) has Jolie discussing how the backstory of
Maleficent is represented and all of the questions surrounding this character.
“Aurora’s Wedding” (3 minutes) offers some on-set footage from the finale
while Fanning describes her reaction to being in a Disney Princess wedding.
“If You Had Wings” (4 minutes) examines the flying effects from the film.
We go behind-the-scenes to see the various ways in which the characters
are made to fly, as Jolie describes the work which goes into these scenes.
“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil VFX Reel” (2 minutes) goes through
several shots and shows the layers of effects which were used.
The Disc contains two EXTENDED SCENES which run about 4 minutes.
This is followed by 2-minute reel of OUTTAKES.
The final extra is the MUSIC VIDEO for the song “You Can’t Stop the Girl”
by Bebe Rexha.