The wicked one

                                      The Wicked One
    I'll say it right here and now.  The ending for maleficence is a cop out, an obvious attempt by Disney give the adults enough sub-text to keep them interested while not alienating the kiddies that Maleficent is obviously marketed to.   I give Disney some credit for not fully lobotomizing Linda Wooverton's script for the sake of outright commercialism.  The ending is a good example of this.  Well, at least the first act of the ending is at least.  There are sequences in the middle of the last act where Maleficent (Angelina Joliet) is unmercileslsly pummeled by her former flame Stephan (Sharlito Copley) with such fury that you wonder who Disney greased at the MPAA to get this film a PG rating.  After an incredibly breath taking sequence in which Maleficent drops a vanquished foe off the top of a castle, the next shot is a compromised ball of glossy pomp and circumstance pandering that makes you wonder what this film could've been if Disney had full taken their foot off of the gas.
  
  Now normally this would be a seething two star rating bemoaning a film that didn't have the guts to fulfill its own destiny.  The thing about Maleficent is that it works.  This film not only works, it actually has enough adult sub text to make it as fascinating as it delicious.  Writer Linda Wooverton's script doesn't treat Maleficent as a disposable pawn in which to move the plot.  When Maleficent does make her inevitable about face and discovers her humanity beneath the ice that was once her heart, writer Linda Wooverton ceases this opportunity to explore the pathos of revenge in a very grown up manner.  There's is a great moment in the second act where Maleficent's unbridled thirst for revenge is held up to her like a mirror and she realizes what she is becoming.
  
  Plot:  Young malefience (Isabella Molloy) is a magical fairy creature who develops a crush on young Stefan (Michael Higgins.)  As the years go on, Maleficence (now played by Angelina Joliet) finds her romance with Stephan (now played by Sharlito Copley) flagging a bit as Stephan's ambition to become king starts to take precedence over his romance with Maleficient Further complicating matters is the war that the mortals and Maleficent are waging against one another.  After single handedly vanquishing the blood thirsty king henry and his royal army, the wounded emperor offers the throne to anyone who is willing to take out Maleficent.  In the Stephan accepts the bounty and ends up betraying Maleficent.  It is this act of betrayal that leaves Maleficent seeking revenge against not only Stephan but also his first born, Aurora (Elle Fanning.)  Upon locking eyes on young Aurora, Maleficent curses the child with a prophecy; young Aurora will fall into a death sleep upon her sixteenth birthday and only a kiss of true love is to being her back from deaths door.  I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own.
 
  I've thrown a few bouquets at writer Linda Wooverton but Angelina Joliet deserves some high praise for her work as Maleficent.  Joliet is a perfect blend of wickedness, smoldering sensuality, and tempered vampishness that keeps the performance from wandering into a state of pandering or outright parody.  Jolie's performance keeps this film afloat because she never over plays the material.  In the hands of a lesser actress, Maleficent becomes an empty shell of pre programmed fury/  In Jolie's hands, Maleficent is a wounded soul whose sense of justice blinds her to the collateral damage that revenge often leaves in its wake.  Indeed, Jolie's transformation from wide eyed romantic to scornful sorceress seems very organic and unforced.  While Jolie deserves the plaudits, credit screenwriter Linda Wooverton for giving Jolie a fully developed character to work and not just a hastily sketched outline.  Jolie is given the ball and she runs with it.
 
  I said that Maleficent has adult sub text sprinkled about and nothing is more indicative of this than the battle between Stephan and Maleficent.  Like Maleficent, Stephan is a two dimensional character and not simply a caricature for the screenplay to manipulate at will.  If it is revenge that blinds Maleficent, it is both power and hate that eat away at the man that Maleficent once knew and ultimately loved.