Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 7, 2020

Why pick up a fairy tale to read or sit down to watch a beloved Disney fairy tale classic when they all end the same way, with the boy and girl falling in love? Cinderella and her Prince get married, Snow White wakes up to Prince Charming, Ariel stays with Eric on land, Belle saves the Beast, and Philip awakens Aurora. But what happens after the book's last page is read or the movie's credits roll? How does happily ever after play out in real life? Can a maid be happy as a princess? Can a mermaid enjoy a life on two feet? Can virtual strangers make a relationship work? Countless films and sequels have tried to answer that “what’s next?” question. Entire genres of books exist to flesh out fairy tales beyond the Disney accounts (see, for example, this). Enter Disney's own live action account of "what's next?" with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Director Joachim Rønning's surprisingly good but unsurprisingly effects-happy visual overload film about Maleficent's origins, chronologically occurring following Maleficent.

Five years have passed since the events in Maleficent. Aurora (Elle Fanning), Queen of the Moors, has been living alongside Maleficent the Fey (Angelina Jolie). Her romance with Philip (Harris Dickinson) has blossomed, and he’s proposed. She happily accepts, but can their families co-exist?. Maleficent attends a tense dinner to meet Phillip’s parents, mother Ingrith and father John (Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Lindsay). Maleficent can’t stand humans beyond Aurora, and Ingrith harbors great disdain for the Fey. A stilted dinner goes from bad to worse when Philip’s father is struck with a curse and Maleficent takes the blame. The Fey flees the castle and vanishes, leaving Aurora to face becoming a “perfect” queen without her mentor. In her absence, Maleficent discovers the truth about her own origins and the future of the Moors.

Part origin story, part sequel, and not at all anything like the classic Sleeping Beauty but rather an original story that builds on the established universe, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil more often than not works at its core, away from the visual effects, though the film admittedly tries too hard, at times, to be everything for everyone rather than fully satisfy its most fundamental needs. At that sort-of focused center is the story of Philip and Aurora’s engagement and the family dynamics involved with introducing a Fey Godmother to a human mother-in-law with a chip the size of a kingdom on her shoulder. On a deeper level, the film delves into Maleficent’s origins and attempts to explain both her powers and her reputation in the human realm where she is reviled despite being the one to break Aurora’s curse. The film is very well made, even if it's far too frequently dependent on cutesy visuals, and triumphs as a story of love against hate and identity beyond preconceptions. But it also, at times, plays like an unnecessary epilogue to a story that was heretofore complete.

Beyond the frivolities, its focus remains on love and its power, whether Phillip's love for Aurora, allowing him to find greater acceptance of the different aspects of the world around him, or the loving relationship that exists between Maleficent and Aurora, which allows each character to see the other, and those like them, in a new light. In that light diminishes the darkness, the reputation that precedes Maleficent, and produces the film's central question: is Maleficent truly evil, or does prejudice and unfounded fear cloud humanity's vision of her? Maleficent: Mistress of Evil works hard to build lore, dispel notions, and create legacy. It works quite well in the aggregate, dismissing some of the needless support that exists around it.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil's 1080p Blu-ray presentation is dizzyingly good. Colors leap off the screen with tremendous intensity and stability. They are bold, striking, and true. During the marriage proposal early in the film, Phillip and Aurora stand amidst a cluster of greenery that's dazzling for its eye-popping tonal tuning. Every hue jumps off the screen with equal delight, whether splendid regal attire or any of the colorful digital flowers and fairies that dot the screen in so many shots, scenes, and sequences. Maleficent's red lipstick proves to one one of the most aggressive colors in the movie, and against her pasty white skin the visual prowess is only amplified. Skin tones in general are pleasantly accurate while black levels hold true, whether in low light exteriors or interiors alike or considering some of the darker attire intermixed throughout the film. Textures delight. Costumes are the highlight. Each one reveals authentic fabric definition and density, all begging to be touched and explored. Seams, stitches, bumps, weaves, accents, anything and everything characters wear -- even digital characters -- never fails to impress. The real and digital words blend seamlessly and there's no textural wavering or shortcomings of note. Everything that should be sharp is sharp, near and far alike. Skin textures are sublime, too, from minuscule pores and ridges to more densely obvious hairs. The image shows no major bursts of noise. Compression issues, while occasionally present, are not going to be noticed unless one is actively looking for them, usually in some of the darker corners in the movie. Disney's 1080p transfer is nothing short of breathtaking.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Once again Disney's track demands that listeners increase volume from reference level to experience a fuller, more properly engaging listen. The Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is, sadly but expectedly, a bit stingy at the low end and dynamics are not particularly engaging. It's a flat track despite its faultless width and seamless surround integration. Maleficent's rage in chapter six presents with a healthy burst of activity but not much in the way of capable depth or detail. There is likewise less intensity and natural heft than expected when a waterfall briefly becomes a critical focal point in one shot moments later. Din within the secret arms making facility proves nicely immersive but again lacks that deep, detailed extension to truly set the scene. Surround integration is always good, but the track consistently lacks the fullness and whole range detail it needs. The low end certainly engages to some extent here and there, but listeners will note the shortcomings in many critical moments. But music does offer good front fluidity and back channel support. Essential clarity is quite good, too. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized. It's naturally center focused but again requires that upward volume adjustment to get the most from it.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil's Blu-ray disc contains a handful of featurettes, outtakes, extended scenes, and a music video. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Origins of the Fey (1080p, 3:02): A brief look at how the movie explores Maleficent's origins and her species.
• Aurora's Wedding (1080p, 2:31): An all-too-quick exploration of the movie's marriage ceremony sequence: guests, the dress, music, etc. It even includes some 1980s-style camcorder well wishes.
• If You Had Wings (1080p, 4:15): An interesting exploration of how Dark Fey's wings define and support the character both emotionally and in flight. It also looks at the visual effects that allow the Fey to fly.
• Maleficent: Mistress of Evil VFX Reel (1080p, 2:11): Juxtaposing pre- and post-visual effect shots with sporadic interview commentary.
• Extended Scenes (1080p): Included are The Queen Comforts Aurora (2:00) and Philip and Aurora Dance (1:32).
• Outtakes (1080p, 1:55): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Music Video (1080p, 2:43): "You Can't Stop the Girl" performed by Bebe Rexha.

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil sometimes threatens to lose sight of story and focus on its visuals, which are these days barely distinguishable one from another and from one film to the next. Fortunately, it's not the soulless experience that is Nutcracker and the Four Realms, even if it often teeters on finding its identity in the computer rather than in the characters. There's a bit too much visual overflow in the movie, but Joachim Rønning and his high quality cast help keep the film in line with the story, upping the digital ante but also working to find meaning in flesh and blood. Mistress of Evil isn't the factory film it might have been, but a little less might have been more. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil looks terrific on Blu-ray. The audio is typical of the studio's foolhardy neutering. Supplements are of little value. But the movie and the 1080p video warrant a recommendation.