Maleficent - Review

Oh Disney... we meet again. I feel like the last few times I've reviewed a Disney film, I spent more time talking about the company itself than the film I was reviewing. I admit that's probably not the best approach to reviewing movies, but the choices they've been making the last few years have been drastic... at least compared what they normally. For a company with such an infamous reputation for guarding and protecting their beloved properties to re-invent itself so drastically, it's hard not to notice. Whether they're making biopics portraying their founder as somewhat morally grey (Saving Mr. Banks), adding undertones of sexual repression to their animated fairy tales (Frozen), or using their superhero franchises as a means to critique American politics (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)... you got to give them credit for taking chances. With Maleficent, the first of a proposed line of live action re-imaginings of Disney's animated classics (Cinderella, Beauty & The Beast, and Cruella Deville are supposedly on their way), they did something that I would have never EVER predicted. Not only did they take Sleeping Beauty and dramatically alter the tone, subtext, and characterizations of it's beloved classic... but they basically turned it into a Rape/Revenge horror film... no really! Okay, well given this is a Disney film, most of the alleged "rape" of  is generally implied, though they are some pretty strong implications. Still, if Disney ever decided to make their own version of "I Spit on Your Grave" or "Kill Bill", I imagine it would look something like Maleficent. Still, ambitious ideas aside, does Maleficent live up the hype and the daring premise?

The story begins in the land of the Moors, a magical forest populated by fairies, mystical beings, and other supernatural creatures. The Moors, however, borders a human-ruled kingdom, and tensions between the two realms have become tense. Despite the increasingly violent actions of the human kingdom, a powerful fairy known as Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) protects her fellow fairies. This all changes, however, when a former friend Maleficent, a human named Stefan (Sharlto Copley), betrays her by removing her wings and leaving for dead in an effort to become King. As Stefan takes the throne, Maleficent's heart turns to stone, making herself a dark queen of the Moors and vowing revenge on Stefan. With a hardened heart and a taste for revenge, Maleficent places a curse on Stefan's newborn child, Princess Aurora, so that when she turns 16, that she would fall into a deep sleep in which she would never awaken. To ensure the curse would be carried out, Maleficent watches over the young Aurora, and in the process, discovers something she didn't expect...

Okay, so like I said, turning Maleficent into what is essentially "I Spit on Your Sleeping Beauty" was a risky, daring, and audacious move by the Mouse House. Even more than that, they basically completely changed everything from Sleeping Beauty from the ground up. I knew Maleficent was going to be depicted as a more sympathetic character this time (as compared to her animated counterpart where she was basically evil just because she liked to be evil), but the fact that they basically turned her into a sympathetic anti-hero while making the previously "good" characters like Stefan into the villains was something I would have never expected. Seriously, Stefan is one of the most vile, sleazy, and despicable characters I've seen in a LONG time... family film or otherwise. The three fairies, assigned to protect and look over Aurora are also made into complete buffoons. Seriously, the movie basically made them into the Three Stooges with wings. And like I said, it's Maleficent who is the sympathetic and relatable character that we root for and want to see succeed. She can be evil (which, given the circumstances are kind of understandable) but there's no denying the movie makes her the hero. I don't know if this was necessarily the best direction in which to take this movie, but I have to give them credit for taking a such a chance. I'm just amazed that Disney, who has been infamous for their over-protective nature of their properties, gave the green light to this. Gotta give credit where credit is due.

Unfortunately... risky concepts aside, the film is kind of a mess. Parts of it work in spades and I won't say that there are some truly stand out scenes. The first 30 minutes of the film is where it truly shines with some impressive visuals, a great sense of wonder, and a truly gut-wrenching and heart-breaking opening. It sets the stage perfectly and makes for a great start. It's when the second act roles around where things start to fall apart. This is where the film somewhat abandons a lot of the setup and takes to re-enact scenes from the original Sleeping Beauty. They admittedly do a pretty good job re-enacting a lot of those scenes, but they feel more like filler than anything. They don't really work with the overall narrative, as they open up some gaping plot holes, slow the film down, and presents some kind of iffy subtext that can't be explored properly by the constraints of a family film. The fact that Maleficent starts to come around after watching Aurora growing up is kind of sketchy in the sense that... well, given the rape-inspired context, I'll let you fill in the blanks. I'm not saying that kind of a topic shouldn't be explored, it's just too dark of a subject to explore properly in a Disney Family film (despite the incredible dark subtext present already). By the time the third act roles around and the Sleeping Beauty re-enactments are finished, the film picks up again somewhat. It finds itself getting back into the story it originally was trying to tell and does a decent job wrapping it up... even if the ending feels a bit contrived. As mentioned, there are parts of Maleficent's story that couldn't have been better, but a clunky second act really did kind of ruin what could have been a great film.

Like the story, everything else is kind of a mixed bag. Oscar-winning art director and visual effects artist Robert Stromberg makes his directorial debut with Maleficent. As expected, he brings a creative visual aesthetic to the look of the film. The Miyazaki-inspired look of the forests of the Moors is both as beautiful as it is creative. Solid production design and costumes are all present here as well (can't say that they didn't totally nail the look of Maleficent). The effects themselves, however, are hit and miss. There are some high points, some of the forest creatures are pretty solid and that dragon at the end was pure awesomeness. The cgi, however, for a lot of the characters (namely the three guardian fairies) looked unfinished and completely unconvincing. Some of the action scenes are shot a bit too erratically as well, and leave more than a bit to be desired. Fortunately, the film finds it's true strength in it's cast. Angelina Jolie is so impeccably cast as Maleficent that she almost makes me want to ignore the rest of the film's faults... almost. I knew she was going to kill it with Maleficent's evil nature, but the vulnerability and soul she brings to the character in the more subdued and heart-wrenching scenes could not have been better. There is no doubt in my mind that she was born to play this character, and I can't imagine anyone that could have done it better. Sharlto Copley really piles on the sleaze as King Stefan, and really does contribute to the character's innate nastiness. Elle Fanning finds true grace as Sleeping Beauty herself, Princess Aurora, and continues to prove that she is one of the most talented young actors working today. It's the cast that almost salvages this film and keeps it somewhat afloat... even if the story kind of kills their efforts.

Just for the risky concept, talented cast, and creative efforts, I'm almost tempted to give Maleficent a passing review. The flawed story, hit and miss effects, and iffy direction however kind of ruin that. That said, for it's attempts at feminist deconstruction plus it's connection to it's classic animated counterpart, I imagine this one might live on a cult classic. If that does become the cast, I might have to re-visit it again sometime in the future. For now, however, it's just okay. I can't say for sure whether you'll like Maleficent or not, since I've heard strong opinions in both the pro and against camp... but I'm somewhere in the middle. Take that as you will.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5!

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Review

There was a time in my life where I would have been overjoyed at the thought of a new Spider-Man movie. After all, I've been a massive Spidey fan since... well, pretty much as long as I can remember. I have fond memories growing up of collecting the comics, had tons of Spider-Man action figures, played pretty much every video game based on the character, and woke up every Saturday morning to watch the newest episode of the Fox Kids cartoon series. I still even vividly remember back when I was 13, seeing for the first time, one of my lifelong favorite characters being brought to life on the big screen in such awesome fashion by one of my all-time favorite directors, Sam Raimi. When the 2004 sequel hit theaters, I was pretty much on cloud nine. To this day, Spider-Man 2 is one of my all-time favorite movies and a strong contender for best superhero film ever made. The much-derided Spider-Man 3, however... while a far weaker follow-up to it's two predecessors, I'll forever maintain is a much better movie than for which it's given credit. It's flawed, messy, and uneven for sure, but it's positive traits are good enough to make it a decent film and certainly not the disaster people make it out to be. Then... the folks at Sony Pictures decided to hit the reboot button and Spidey got a massive overhaul. The result was 2010's The Amazing Spider-Man, a film that I labeled as "average at best." Actually, I took a lot of flack for giving that film such a lukewarm review, more than I expected. I didn't think it was terrible, but rather was just a generally average and soulless movie (mainly since it was rushed into production so Sony wouldn't lose the film rights). Still, a lot of people liked it, so I recently re-watched it to see if my opinion might have changed. To my surprise, it did! A film I once derided as mediocre, flat, and uninspired I now consider... pretty bad actually. The cast tries hard, but their efforts are ruined thanks to a half-assed retelling of Spidey's origin, non-existent character development, hit-and-miss special effects, misguided direction, and one half-decent action scene among a collection of terribly shot and erratically edited sequences that should have been exciting. So yeah... my expectations for the inevitable sequel were not so high, despite my love for (almost) all things Spider-Man. How does The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fare??? Well, let's just say that the true Amazing Spider-Man 2 already came out 10 years ago.

After graduating from high school, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) attempts to live a double life as an average college student and the web-slinging crime fighter, Spider-Man. Living this double, however, becomes difficult when he reluctantly breaks up with his loving girlfriend, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) after the death of her self-sacrificing father at the hands of the Lizard in the previous film. They both try to make a relationship work, but difficulties present themselves in the form of Gwen considering moving to London to attend Oxford and Peter facing a number of new deadly foes. The first of which is the nerdy Spidey-obsessed electrical engineer Max Dillon (Jamie Fox), whom after experiencing a near-fatal electrocution becomes Electro. Also present is Peter's former buddy, Harry Osborne (Dane DeHaan), heir to the Oscorp legacy who in a search to cure himself of a rare and fatal disease, becomes the Green Goblin (or is just a goblin... they never really say who he is). Also making a short appearance is Russian mobster Aleksei Sytsevich aka The Rhino (Paul Giamatti). Peter also digs deeper into his parents' mysterious disappearance, looking to discover what led to their tragic deaths and the research his father risked his life to keep hidden. Meanwhile, Peter's supportive Aunt May (Sally Field) struggles after Uncle Ben's death from the original while trying to keep up financially to support Peter and... OH MY GOD IS THIS PLOT CONVOLUTED!!! You know, people complained about Spider-Man 3 having too much going on (and it did, don't get me wrong) but AT LEAST you could follow what was happening. Why the filmmakers thought they could stuff so much into one movie is beyond me. This is easily the most difficult plot description I've ever written since there's simply so many barely (or not even) connected storylines with little resolution or development that it becomes an absolute mess. Ugh!

Okay... so yeah, the movie's not that good, just going to get that out of the way first. It's not terrible in the sense that it's at least a SLIGHT improvement over the last film and it does have a few standout moments... but yeah you can add this one to another let-down in the Spider-Man film series. I was pretty heavily criticized for my negative comments toward the last film (which is fine, everyone's entitled to their own opinion) but what I didn't get was when people accused me of not giving these ones a chance simply because I'm a big Sam Raimi fan. I'll admit, yes I love most of Sam Raimi's movies, I'll admit that I think he did a better job directing the Spider-Man films than Marc Webb, and it's true that I didn't exactly go into this or the last one with particularly high expectations... BUT that doesn't mean I was hoping this one would be bad!!! On the contrary, I don't like seeing one of my favorite superheroes getting shabby cut-rate movies, and there's nothing more I'd love to see than another worthy live action Spidey film, so I can once again revel in that feeling of nostalgia-based glee of seeing some of my favorite childhood characters being brought to life on the big screen! But I'm sorry, seeing boring re-imaginings of Spidey's rouge's gallery of villains, turning Parker into what it essentially a Edward Cullen-knockoff, and rushed and convoluted narratives just doesn't do it for me. That doesn't mean there's nothing about this series I don't like, there are a few bits and pieces that I did find myself embracing, but not enough to come around.

Like I said, there are a few things I did like about the movie. Once again, the cast is the main thing that holds the films somewhat together. Andrew Garfield is a damn good actor and there are times in his performance as Peter Parker/Spider-Man that you can see his natural range shine through. I still don't really like the way his character has been written in this series, but this time, it ALMOST works. Where in the last film, he was basically a one-note douchebag with little to no character development, here they try to show him grow as a character, are there are times it actually adds some legitimate drama, and Andrew Garfield generally delivers. Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy is once again the standout, both as an actress and as a character (as in, she's the only person in this movie to have some element of depth) also bringing her natural dramatic and comedic abilities to the part. Plus, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone do have a genuine chemistry, and that is a big help. Dane DeHaan's intense performance as Harry Osborne is another standout, conveying some truly intense dramatic weight to a surprisingly emotional character... though by the time he makes his Green Goblin transformation, he feels a little out of his element. Jamie Foxx tries hard as Max Dillon/Electro, but because of the questionable script choices and direction for the character, most of his efforts are completely wasted. Sally Field is at her Sally Field-est as Aunt May, which is mostly a good thing, even though she's basically pushed aside for most of the film. Paul Giamatti as The Rhino could not have been more enjoyable, but the massive disappointment stemming from him basically being a glorified cameo to setup future sequels pretty much ruined any potential there. I might have been more forgiving if he had SOME relevance to the story, but like I said, he was there only to tease future sequels, and that was a cheap, shallow, and lame use of an enjoyable character and actor. So yeah... it's a generally good cast, even if the script lets them down.

As for the look and feel of the film... actually it's not that bad this time around. Most of the effects are an improvement this time around and Marc Webb has gotten slightly better at directing action. The web swinging scenes are easily the best the series has ever had, with some really fast paced and thrilling sequences that are a total rush. I didn't see the film in 3D, but I kind of wish I did just for those sequences. Plus, the first Spidey vs Electro fight scene was another highlight for the series, featuring some creative staging, effects, and tricky camera moves that were admittedly quite awesome. Nothing in the series has topped the outstanding train scene from Spider-Man 2 yet, but there were times that the Electro fight could have offered some decent competition. The actual finale itself isn't exactly groundbreaking, but it works. Unfortunately, I could not have been more disappointed with the look of these characters. Taking a comic character as unique and creative (look-wise anyways) as Electro and basically turning him into homeless Doctor Manhattan is a disappointing re-imagining. The look of Harry Osborne's Green Goblin manages the impossible of looking even sillier than Willem Dafoe's plastic costume from the first film. Finally... the Rhino suit (for the brief moments it appears on film) being re-imagined as a generic mech suit just left me saying, "Were the filmmakers not allowed to express ANY creativity?" At least the new Spidey costume was admittedly awesome, possibly even the best for the whole series.

Unfortunately, despite the obvious efforts of a good cast and a (seemingly) interested director, it's the script that ultimately brings everything down. There's so much going on that character development comes off as forced, rushed, and sloppy. Electro's storyline in particular is the main casualty, as the film was setting him up as the main villain but instead just rushes through forced and confusing character beats, ignores him for most of the second act, and has him return for a underwhelming closing. His character was basically stolen from The Riddler in Batman Forever, only even more forced and non-nonsensical (honestly, when Batman Forever did something better than your film, you know there's a problem). The Harry Osborne plot has it's moments, but some confusing plot-holes and unexplained character decisions kind of ruined it. Gwen Stacy's main dilemma in the film could have been a genuinely emotional and moving bit of storytelling but the foreshadowing is so heavy-handed that it will surprise absolutely nobody. The bits involving Peter's disappearing parents are basically thrown in as an afterthought and culminate to a revelation that also had little to no surprises. Even Peter's basic story arc, while having the right idea, competes with so many underutilized subplots that it doesn't come together all that well in the end. It has trouble finding a proper tone as well. It appears to try and go for a more realistic and down-to-earth vibe (which is fine), but with villains this over-the-top, it feels sloppy. I'm not saying that campy or scenery-chewing characters don't work (the original trilogy is proof that they do), but it's best to choose a tone and stick with it. My main problem, however, is that film's main purpose felt like less to tell a story, but rather to set up a shit-load of sequels and spin-offs. There are SO many shout-outs and set-ups for the recently announced two more sequels and a Sinister Six spin-off (a Venom spin-off is apparently in the works too). I don't mind sequel foreshadowing, but it shouldn't be the sole purpose of the film.

So it should go without saying, but The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not even close to amazing. Despite some decent effects, action, and actors, the sloppy and poorly conceived screenplay ruins any chance of the film coming together. If there's one thing the film wants me to take away from it... it's that I should be excited for the inevitable sequels... can't say I am though.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5!