Maleficent: Mistress of Evil

There's a lot of money on the screen, Angelina Jolie is once again really good in the film, the musical score is great, and some of the action sequences are cool. But the story this time around is even less investing than last time.

It just did not know what it wanted to be.

"Mistress of Evil" has its heart in the right place, but good intentions can't overcome a nagging blockbuster familiarity.

There's no need for this [sequel]... It's almost not campy enough.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil didn't lean on its greatest strength, instead almost downplaying that mischievous Jolie performance by giving her less to do, and then overblowing everything else.

We get a classic buildup establishing heroes and villains; gorgeous, screen-popping visuals featuring beautiful and mysterious worlds; a bounty of colorful and magical creatures, and a lengthy, CGI-laden, climactic battle sequence...

The new “woke” and conscious interpretation of the Sleeping Beauty story is a fairy-tale for the present time, the one we want to grow old with and tell our children about.

There’s a distinct feeling that the filmmakers wanted this sequel to feel as stakes-heavy and intense as something like Return of the King, which is honestly just too ambitious.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was a huge surprise for me, I found it vastly more enjoyable than the first film.

While Maleficent: Mistress of Evil suffers from treading down some fairly well worn paths it does it with exceptional skill.