Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | Release Date: October 18, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
21
Negative:
11
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
76
The VergeCaroline SiedeOct 17, 2019
After a run of live-action Disney remakes that mostly play things safe, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is a much needed swing-for-the-fences dose of originality. It doesn’t always hit it out of the park, but it’s wickedly fun to watch it try. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 17, 2019
Mistress of Evil is an entertaining thrill ride with a sly sense of humor and some admirable albeit obvious political and social commentary, with messages along the lines of, “It doesn’t matter where you come from, it matters who you love.” Read full review
75
USA TodayBrian TruittOct 15, 2019
Jolie’s magnetism, plus the way she toes the line between being a fairy version of Batman and a menacing mistress of not-quite-evil-but-pretty-close, is why these “Maleficent” movies work. She fits the character as well as her endless cycle of evolving costumes. Read full review
70
IGNRosie KnightOct 15, 2019
Impressive visuals and a very watchable cast make this a fun popcorn fantasy flick that's at its best when it leans into its genre roots and aims to create a truly fantastical fairytale world. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattOct 15, 2019
For kids maybe this is still magical; grownups, though, will waste many long, busily bedazzled minutes wondering why the powers that were able to bring Pfeiffer and Jolie together on screen couldn’t do at least marginally better by them both, and give them parts to truly sink their movie-star teeth into. Read full review
65
CNNBrian LowryOct 18, 2019
That doesn't translate into magic, but in terms of improving on the original, giving the stars some reasonably good material to play and delivering action within its PG parameters, Mistress of Evil pretty much threads the needle. Read full review
63
The Seattle TimesMoira MacdonaldOct 17, 2019
The fun of this movie — aside from the glorious and very velvet-forward costumes, by Ellen Mirojnick — is the performances of the two Hollywood pros at its center, both perfectly cast. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoOct 16, 2019
This franchise might be all about shedding light on lost details, but “Mistress of Evil” sometimes leaves us in the dark. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelOct 16, 2019
With “Maleficent’s” feminist message suffering a relapse, the sequel looks more like generic film fantasy than a fresh take on an old story. The cuddly creatures and razzle-dazzle action are enough to make two hours disappear, but it’s only Jolie’s bat-winged charisma that will rattle on in your memory. Read full review
60
Time OutTomris LafflyOct 15, 2019
It’s bewitching stuff when it doesn’t feel like a waste of invitations. Read full review
60
TheWrapMonica CastilloOct 15, 2019
Tragically, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil does not give Jolie and Pfeiffer nearly enough time to face off against each other. Read full review
60
EmpireHelen O'HaraOct 15, 2019
An improvement on the first film, in the end, and an encouraging rallying cry against fear and intolerance, but it’s still far too busy and baroque to match its leading lady’s elegance. Read full review
58
IndieWireEric KohnOct 15, 2019
An overlong blend of kid-friendly “Game of Thrones” warfare and standard-issue metaphors of intolerance, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil finds plenty of ways to build on the original premise, but few that resonate any better than the last flamboyant ride. Read full review
55
The AtlanticDavid SimsOct 17, 2019
This is a movie chock-full of heady imagery that it can’t get a handle on, and so the allegories at work don’t quite connect. Read full review
50
TimeStephanie ZacharekOct 18, 2019
See it for the inventive, elaborate costumes (designed by Ellen Mirojnick), for the tiny — albeit slightly creepy — mushroom people and the miniature fairies wearing dandelion tutus, and for Jolie. Read full review
50
Original-CinLiam LaceyOct 17, 2019
Norwegian director Joachim Rønning (who co-directed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) offers nothing unexpected here, in what amounts to a complicated exercise in paint-by-numbers movie-making. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJake CoyleOct 17, 2019
It’s starting to seem like every franchise film, when in search of a story, throws a battle against the wall and hopes something sticks. Not only has this gotten tiresome, but it also sacrifices what we came here for in the first place: Jolie and Pfeiffer glowering at each other. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzOct 17, 2019
The result is a disappointment that's more crushing than an outright bad movie would be. The original, despite its flaws, had moments of primal power and deep understanding of what drives people, qualities that are mostly lacking here. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Chandler LevackOct 17, 2019
Maleficent 2: Mistress of Evil is a misfire, despite its wonderful title, which feels plucked straight from an Elvira movie. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleSarah MarloffOct 16, 2019
Visually stunning, Mistress of Evil achieves full fairy-tale splendor – flowers glow, trees walk, and fairies of all shapes, sizes, and colors take flight. The elaborate costumes, especially those worn by Michelle Pfeiffer’s Queen Ingrith, are noteworthy and will surely inspire many a Halloween look. In short, this is where the second Maleficent excels, an instant crowd-pleaser for any fantasy-loving child or adult. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliOct 16, 2019
Although the second installment is effective at moving the story forward rather than re-treading familiar ground, it enters a patch of quicksand from which it is unprepared to escape. Disney is adept at doing many things but offering a sobering and intelligent examination of genocide is not among them. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneStaff (Not credited)Oct 16, 2019
What worked about the first “Maleficent” was Jolie herself, trying on something softer, even funny, her face, enhanced with prosthetics, half of the visual spectacle. But “Mistress of Evil” crowds Jolie. Maleficent fades to the background, eclipsed by full-camp Pfeiffer as the evil, Trumpian dictator queen. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 15, 2019
The saddest thing about Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is that it’s not bad, but typical, that this emptiness — this immersion in mass numbification — is the modern style. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 15, 2019
Like most sequels that exist for chiefly commercial reasons, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil isn’t a great movie; with its flat dialogue, overblown battles and cloying CGI critters, it’s not even a particularly good one. . . . But it’s also not without its pleasures. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerOct 15, 2019
It’s hard to say what’s odder about Maleficent 2: that Jolie disappears for long stretches of it, or that her elegant, imperious darkness isn’t much missed when she does. Read full review
40
Total FilmMatt MaytumOct 15, 2019
An uninspired and unnecessary sequel that won’t leave you spellbound. There’s neither enough Maleficent or genuine magic to make it worth a revisit. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawOct 15, 2019
This Maleficent is disappointing, although Jolie certainly sells it hard, as does Fanning, who takes it as seriously as anything else in her career. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonOct 15, 2019
Mistress Of Evil invests heavily in inundating our eyeballs with relentless enchantment, which unfortunately translates into largely dreary CG renderings of pixies, sentient trees and other woodland critters Read full review
40
The TelegraphTim RobeyOct 15, 2019
It gives you plenty to look at, even if you could say it’s been Avatarred and feathered to within an inch of its life. It’s the big, echoing hole in the middle – insert story, any story – that no one has figured out how to plug. Read full review
38
ObserverOliver JonesOct 17, 2019
Indeed, considering its trippy visuals and leaden dialog, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil would work much better with the sound turned off (the music is as ubiquitous as it is unremarkable) and Dark Side of the Moon or a bootleg of a Dead show blasting on the stereo. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 15, 2019
The endless on-and-on-it-goes finale grasps for emotions it only earns by being so very appalling in the build up to it. One doesn’t feel redeemed or revived after enduring it. Just relief. Read full review
37
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanOct 15, 2019
Think twice about taking very young children — or even some susceptible adults — to this at-times shocking, if less than graphic, gloom-and-doom fest. But the worse sin is: It’s boring. Read full review
30
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 17, 2019
You don’t wait long to be disappointed. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternOct 17, 2019
The big-horned heroine is played once again by Angelina Jolie in this dull sequel to the not-so-sparkling 2014 original. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)Angelica Jade BastienOct 16, 2019
But a star — even a great star — can only do so much when the film around her is a haphazard mess on nearly every level, only able to work in fits and starts. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyOct 15, 2019
Every conceivable button is pushed to achieve rote satisfaction in young viewers, while any notion of creating tension and suspense is dutifully ignored. Not for a moment is actual peril considered as something worthy of a dramatic climax. Read full review
30
VarietyPeter DebrugeOct 15, 2019
If America goes to war sometime in the next year, pundits will have a field day with this movie. But barring that, it’s just another ugly, unpleasant slog through a disposable fantasy universe. The true Disney villains in this case are off screen, sabotaging the studio’s canon from within. Read full review
25
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiOct 15, 2019
In “Mistress of Evil,” everything is a notch less fun, romantic and engaging. Read full review
25
Slant MagazinePat BrownOct 15, 2019
In transforming folk metaphors into utilitarian attributes of an action hero, Disney exposes the emptiness of their product. Read full review
20
Rolling StonePeter TraversOct 17, 2019
This misbegotten sequel to 2014’s not-so-hot Maleficent is a torturous exercise in brightly-colored monotony that chokes on repetitive screenwriting, amateurish directing, paycheck performances and digital hardware for a heart. Kids under five (months) might be fooled, but sentient filmgoers know a scam when they see one. Read full review
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