Maleficent and her goddaughter Aurora begin to question the complex family ties that bind them as they are pulled in different directions by impending nuptials, unexpected allies, and dark new forces at play.
When Disney is now simply regurgitating every intellectual property that it owns in a different format, you can't help but appreciate that Maleficent tried to do something different. It attempted to finally show a classic one-dimensional villain as anything but one-dimensional; building a whole fantasy world around her, and forging a new narrative that explains her behaviour in the classic, Sleeping Beauty.
So, it's needless to say, that the title of the sequel was a little perplexing. The previous film painted Maleficent as a misunderstood but loving character. To regress back to "evil" status seems like incredibly lazy storytelling. Nevertheless, Angelina Jolie does a great job in the titular role. Despite it is starting to look as if Jolie was becoming a bit bored and routine in her portrayal, she remains incredibly charismatic, creating a strong level of engagement with the audience. You can feel her joy and happiness, her concern, and her anger, as she does.
What is unfortunate, is that the scenes without Maleficent in them are far less charismatic. Elle Fanning does her best with the script she was given, but the human drama aspect of the story is the least interesting part of the film. This is made worse by the fact that this hum element takes up so much of the story, that Maleficent is noticeably absent for nearly half of the film. It gives the impression that this sequel (that has come out 5 years after its predecessor) is a story that didn't meet Disney "standards" so they decided to add Maleficent to it.
The fantasy elements are the highlight of the film. Great worldbuilding is something that can really draw in an audience, and there was a lot of potential with this world of The Moors and all of the creatures that dwell within it. With a runtime just shy of two hours, there were simply too many subplots, and these interesting elements ended up not getting the proper development and exploration that they deserved. The writers would have benefitted from either extending the film another 20 minutes or cutting out some of the unnecessary extra storylines.
The tone of the film is also inconsistent enough to warrant further suspicions about whether this was an original script, or if it was multiple ideas blended together. The third act brings with it some high energy scenes that have an overload of violence, but suddenly gets toned back by an unnecessary amount to maintain that family-friendly Disney tone. Much like changing the channel from The Lord Of The Rings to The Lego Movie, the difference in tone is jarring.
The lore and the character designs create an interesting world that represents a lost opportunity for Disney. Still an enjoyable film that is paced well enough that the kids will still love it. As an adult though, I wanted a more consistent tone, more Maleficent, and more time exploring The Moors.