Angelina Jolie returns to play the revisionist version of the villain from the 1959 animated classic Sleeping Beauty in this sequel to her highest-grossing movie.
The plot of the new film sees the imposing but mostly misunderstood titular "dark fairy" drawn out of the verdant realm of the moors, thanks to the upcoming wedding of Princess Aurora (the now-awake Sleeping Beauty, played once again by Elle Fanning) and Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson taking over from Brenton Thwaites).
However, Phillip's scheming mother Queen Ingrith (Michelle Pfeiffer), is distrustful of Maleficent and secretly plots against her, which leads Maleficent to discover she is actually not the last of her kind.
The biggest joy to be found in this sequel that nobody demanded is the sight of two of Hollywood's most commanding actors - Jolie and Pfeiffer – matching wits on screen. And even then, it's only in a couple of scenes.
Clearly lot of money has been spent on the film's visual aspects: the flawless CGI here presents a wide range of imaginative creatures and settings, including a massively-imposing castle and the heretofore unseen home of the Dark Fairies.
