Film Preview: Maleficent (2014)

Poster

Trailer Link

Release Date:

May 30, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The “Sleeping Beauty” tale is told from the perspective of the villainous Maleficent and looks at the events that hardened her heart and drove her to curse young Princess Aurora.”

Poster: B- / D / C+ / D / B+ (5) / B / C

Review: There’s absolutely no doubt that this is Angelina Jolie’s film…I mean Maleficent’s story.

(#2-#3) If you want a thoroughly uninteresting and unnecessary poster, glance at the second. If you want one that attempts to be creative, even though it fails, look at the third.

(#4-#12) Starting off this new batch with a design that’s akin to the worst of the designs so far. The next five are thematically similar with the first four part of a series of character posters. This set is richly detailed and visually striking with the dark, haunted look a nice touch. The last designs are both intended for foreign markets. The eleventh poster is a slightly less grim version of the character set, which should sell the film nicely whereas the twelfth design is just a re-lettering of the third design, which is fine if you like that kind of thing.

Trailer: C+ / B-

Review: It’s nice to see that Elle Fanning may finally have a hit, but no one is likely to remember she was even there if this trailer is to be believed. Some rather lifeless visual effects are highlighted in the trailer, but it’s Jolie’s maleficence that oozes from the screen and capture’s the viewer’s interest. And that’s important.

The first trailer never really presents this as a deep character student, but the second does a better job at it. This is Maleficent’s story, but how she came to be the villain that she is is the crux of the story which might paint her as a tragic figure if the film is handled correctly which is still a debatable point from the hints given in the trailer.

Oscar Prospects:

Never underestimate the technical wizardry of Disney. However, from the trailer alone, this doesn’t look like the kind of film that will appeal to the Academy’s craft branches, though Production Design and Costume Design are possibilities, as is Visual Effects and Original Score.