The new “woke” and conscious interpretation of the Sleeping Beauty story is a fairy-tale for the present time, the one we want to grow old with and tell our children about.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 21, 2024

There’s a distinct feeling that the filmmakers wanted this sequel to feel as stakes-heavy and intense as something like Return of the King, which is honestly just too ambitious.

| Jul 10, 2024

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil was a huge surprise for me, I found it vastly more enjoyable than the first film.

| Original Score: B- | Mar 8, 2023

While Maleficent: Mistress of Evil suffers from treading down some fairly well worn paths it does it with exceptional skill.

| Original Score: 8.5/10 | Jan 17, 2023

Much like the original, there's very little charm and excitement to be found in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. While Jolie looks impressive in her full Maleficent costume, there is little reason to watch the film outside of that.

| Original Score: 4/10 | Aug 22, 2022

Despite a lackluster third act, Maleficent: Mistress Of Evil still works as a whole, largely thanks to Jolie and Pfeiffer’s all-in performances. It may not be much more memorable than the first entry in this franchise, but it’s still enjoyable enough.

| Original Score: 6/10 | May 19, 2022

Even though they try to [refresh] the tale, it comes off silly.

| Sep 16, 2021

It's certainly better than the other live-action Disney rabble, but it still fails to reach the potential it has.

| Original Score: 2. 5 / 5 | Jun 25, 2021

The dialogue is hopelessly trite and generic, maladroitly trying to balance predictable exposition with comic relief - from countless different sources.

| Original Score: 3/10 | Dec 7, 2020

'Disney's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' is beautifully animated, but there are many dark moments and themes within the movie that overshadow the notion that this film is supposed to be for kids or younger audiences.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 15, 2020

The Disney live-action fairy tale sequel that begs the question "Is Angelina Jolie too popularly disliked now to play anything but beautiful villainesses?"

| Nov 3, 2020

There's a lot of money on the screen, Angelina Jolie is once again really good in the film, the musical score is great, and some of the action sequences are cool. But the story this time around is even less investing than last time.

| Original Score: C | Jun 8, 2020

The sequel, however, is thankfully an improvement over the poorly-executed first movie, thanks to the more experienced director Joachim Rønning.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 14, 2020

Maleficient: Mistress of Evil could certainly be worse, but that does not make it a good movie either.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 29, 2020

Pfeiffer, as usual, is magnificently portraying the not so innocent and kind-hearted queen.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 10, 2020

These elements give the movie a nice shine, but when you bust out the polish to make your shoe look pretty, it doesn't make a difference if the sole is missing.

| Original Score: Catch It On Cable | Jan 10, 2020

Mistress of Evil is simultaneously overdone and undercooked, with a lot of the customary mistakes of giant studio entertainment.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Dec 20, 2019

Maleficent 2 is weirdly memorable with strange visual choices, great costumes, and two true movie stars giving each other the stink eye.

| Original Score: C+ | Dec 19, 2019

... a feast for the senses and the mind in terms of pure fantasy and imagination... buries significant character opportunities, as if the writers were tasked to combine three different scripts that defied being strung together.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Dec 7, 2019

Mistress of Evil could have done anything it wanted with its unconventional villain. And yet, for some reason, Disney chose to clip her wings - keeping her story from ever taking flight.

| Dec 6, 2019