I don't have any specific attachment to this franchise, nor its characters. I didn't really love or hate the original movie. Although I admit, I find the Maleficent character to be a bit dull overall. I also haven't been a fan of taking fairy tales and changing their stories to fit a narrative about everyone being misunderstood. These new-age versions end up all being a bit samey, telling us that all the murderous villains were just being persecuted because of fear and misunderstanding. No one is ever actually bad, except for people who think other people are inherently not good. This causes those "not" bad people to think bad things about the actual bad people, making everyone bad for thinking each other is the real villain. If you read that and are not confused, and still care, you are a better person than I.
Alright, so, Maleficent Mistress of Mundanity is a continuation of the first film, in that Princess Aurora and Prince "what's his name" are going to get married. There are some shenanigans from the fairy folk, but overall, things are going along well. Then everything goes to hell when the mother of the prince decides she wants to kill all the moor people for not helping her daddy back in the past. A plot is hatched to make big M look evil, and they kill her for the first time in the film with some iron. Luckily, the iron is a slow working killer, and Maleficent is rescued by another of her kind. The new fairy birdman takes her to the super-secret area in the world where all the giant magic fairy people live. It's a biome that has a desert, snowy mountain, jungle, and tropical oasis all in a stone's throw of each other. You know what? There is more plot to this, but Mistress of Evil has so much nonsense story to go through and so little to actually say that it isn't worth talking about. In the end, intolerance loses, and the whitest people in the castle become rulers.
This movie felt like nothing really happened. We watch almost two hours of film and nothing of interest happens. This being the first sequel and yet none of the characters seem anymore fleshed out than before. Why would Aurora not believe Maleficent right away, in fact, why wouldn't anyone? She didn't remotely look like she was casting a curse, and she didn't even say anything towards the king. I know they are scared of her, but damn, the king could have had a heart attack for all we know. Also, this whole I made up a legend thing really bugs me. It has only been a few years since the first film. How has the Queen's tale of the mistress of evil become so widespread when she lives next door to a castle that has been living in peace for years? The only issue is poachers who come to steal fairies are disappearing, and somehow that means the moors are evil? I bet if someone came and shot deer on the Queen's land in her home country of Olstead, they'd disappear too.
I feel like I can pick apart a lot of this film. I also know some people out there will probably say, well Bob, you old piece of crap, this movie about genocide, war, and death is for kids. To that I say, right, kids totally dig the politics of fairy kingdoms and the deaths of their favorite characters. Love it. I don't even want to get started about the sheer stupidity of the army of dark fae who commit suicide against the weapons of man. Watching them fly directly to their deaths over and over again becomes a sad chore. I feel like the Queen could have put out a plate of poisoned cookies with a sign that says do not eat, and the dark fae would indulge all night. Plus, there is the main characters' second death and Battlefield Baseball like resurrection, which is just...ugh.
This really felt like a cash grab. I know that's kind of the point of all big-budget movies, but this one felt that way hard. No story, and just the barest of reasons to put these characters back on screen, don't make for a fun viewing experience. They definitely don't make a good sequel.