Personally, I will say that I am somewhat biased, because I tend to enjoy fantasies, particularly those with a darker tone of pain, loss, betrayal, and ultimately a sense of hope amongst the overwhelming despair the characters suffer. I enjoyed the humour in the movie as well, from Maleficent's dry sense of humour, which reminds me of Morticia from Addams Family, to Diaval's snarky comments and the three fairies' constant mishaps.
Maleficent's start of darkness was tragic and beautiful, as you watch her being betrayed by a friend she trusted and loved for the sake of power, leaving her heart shattered and twisted with hate. It adds a new dimension to the original incarnation, where the villain is simply evil for the sake of being evil and petty. In Maleficent, you get to witness how the titular character is broken, yet not completely villainous. In addition, it puts a realistic spin on some aspects of the fairytale: The impracticality of love at first sight, the problems arising from three inexperienced fairies attempting to care for a baby, the awkwardness and emotional distance created by a 16 year separation followed by reunion...
Having said that though, it is undeniable that the movie focuses a lot on Maleficent: It is, after all, her story. I don't think the other characters fade into the background around her. Rather, you see the other characters through her interactions with them, making them secondary characters but certainly not insignificant background elements.
The best way to watch this movie is to go in and view it with an open mind rather than comparing it to the original, consciously or otherwise. Maleficent is a movie that may not appeal to everyone because of its darker tone and how it shows a different angle to the characters in the story, but there is something beautiful in seeing the darkness that consumes the various characters and how they react to it in their own ways, be it by being twisted and consumed by it or by embracing and accepting it and growing stronger from the experience. Whatever critics and other viewers may think of it, this is one movie that I'll be looking forward to seeing on DVD.
Not everybody's cup of tea, but darkly beautiful
Personally, I will say that I am somewhat biased, because I tend to enjoy fantasies, particularly those with a darker tone of pain, loss, betrayal, and ultimately a sense of hope amongst the overwhelming despair the characters suffer. I enjoyed the humour in the movie as well, from Maleficent's dry sense of humour, which reminds me of Morticia from Addams Family, to Diaval's snarky comments and the three fairies' constant mishaps.
Maleficent's start of darkness was tragic and beautiful, as you watch her being betrayed by a friend she trusted and loved for the sake of power, leaving her heart shattered and twisted with hate. It adds a new dimension to the original incarnation, where the villain is simply evil for the sake of being evil and petty. In Maleficent, you get to witness how the titular character is broken, yet not completely villainous. In addition, it puts a realistic spin on some aspects of the fairytale: The impracticality of love at first sight, the problems arising from three inexperienced fairies attempting to care for a baby, the awkwardness and emotional distance created by a 16 year separation followed by reunion...
Having said that though, it is undeniable that the movie focuses a lot on Maleficent: It is, after all, her story. I don't think the other characters fade into the background around her. Rather, you see the other characters through her interactions with them, making them secondary characters but certainly not insignificant background elements.
The best way to watch this movie is to go in and view it with an open mind rather than comparing it to the original, consciously or otherwise. Maleficent is a movie that may not appeal to everyone because of its darker tone and how it shows a different angle to the characters in the story, but there is something beautiful in seeing the darkness that consumes the various characters and how they react to it in their own ways, be it by being twisted and consumed by it or by embracing and accepting it and growing stronger from the experience. Whatever critics and other viewers may think of it, this is one movie that I'll be looking forward to seeing on DVD.