Being a fan of Once Upon a Time, I’ve become no stranger to retellings of Disney classics with a twist. I really enjoyed Maleficent. They tell the story in a way to make you sympathize with the flawed “villain”.

Before watching the film I was worried if it would be too kiddie. The first trailer looked nice and dark, but the second trailer made it look very kid friendly. That plus the films PG rating had me confused what kind of film I was walking into. Turned out to be a perfect combination where the dark parts, and silly fantasy moments never felt out of place.

If you couldn’t tell from the trailers, the cinematography in the film is great, as are the special effects. To my surprise I didn’t mind the CG fairies that I previously thought looked horrible and out of place from the trailers.

I have to of course mention Angelina Jolie’s performance of Maleficent is great, and definitely the best part of the film. She has that striking presence the character needs. She doesn’t have to say a word and i’m engaged.

My only problems with the film are that it can be predictable using twists i’ve seen before in Once Upon a Time. My second complaint being I wished it was longer, but that’s not really a bad thing I s’pose.

I think if you’re a fan of Once Upon a Time, chances are you’ll like Maleficent.

I give Maleficent an 8 out of 10

(Score based on school grading in which 10-5 mean A-F, and 5-0 lets you know how badly it failed, just to rub it in)