Maleficent , transporting viewers into a world of fantasy

By Sureshni Pilapitiya

Film lovers can have a wonderful and memorable experience at the newly opened boutique cinema, Empire Cineplex at the Arcade Independence Square which was opened recently by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Ceylon Theatres has created history with its super luxurious cinema with the latest technology, acquired from the biggest international cinema brands such as Harkness, Barco, QSE and QUBE. The Gold cinema, Deluxe and Empire Cineplex offer the maximum comfort to the filmgoer.

The state of the art 3D projections and audio visual systems bring the entire cinema experience to life. Film enthusiasts can now see a film in comfort and luxury.

Maleficent, a 3D animated film screened at the Empire Cineplex is sure to give the viewer the most enjoyable experience. While seeing the movie the viewer feels as if the characters are alive. The latest 3D technology makes the whole experience come alive. Maleficent is an action thriller. It's a 2014 American fantasy film directed by Robert Stromberg on a screenplay by Linda Woolverton. Starring Angelina Jolie as the famous Disney villain, it is a live action re-imagining of Walt Disney's 1959 animated film, Sleeping Beauty.

The film premièred at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on May 28 was released in the United Kingdom on the same day. The rest of the cast includes Sharlto Copley as king Stefan, Sam Riley as Diavel and Elle Fanning as princess Aurora.

The story begins with the narrator speaking about Maleficent's childhood, as a strong and a powerful fairy living in the moors. She is playful and loves to wander in the moors and also fly along in the sky. She suddenly falls in love with, a peasant boy, Stefan, but as the years pass by, his ambition of becoming the king someday overshadows his affection for her and stops seeing her.

After Maleficent defeats the current king in a battle in the moors he vows anyone who will kill her will be the successor to the throne. Stefan overhears this and as a result of his ambition to be the king, he goes to Maleficent and deceives her by convincing her to believe that he has come to warn her of the king's plot.

He drugs and tries to kill her but cannot bring himself to do so. May be the small affection he had for her still prevented him from doing so. Instead, he burns her wings with iron,which is dreaded by fairies, and takes the wings back to the palace to prove that he has killed her.

The dying king is overjoyed and crowns Stefan as the next successor to the throne. Thereafter she rescues Diavel a raven and makes him become her informant and confidante.

After he informs that Stefan has been crowned king, she is devastated by the fact that Stefan betrayed her to fulfil his ambition of becoming the king.

Sometime later when Diaval tells her that the king is going to christen his new-born daughter, Maleficent arrives uninvited and curses the baby saying that on the day of her 16th birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel, which will put her into a death - like sleep.

Terrified, the king is forced to beg her to take away her spell and as a small consolation she says that the curse can be broken by a true lover's kiss. Stefan sends the baby along with three pixies for safety, and orders his men to destroy every spinning wheel in the kingdom and hide them in the deepest dungeon of the castle. He sends his men to hunt Maleficent, but she surrounds her kingdom with an enormous shield of thorns.

The amazing and powerful performance of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, with her experience and also the rest of the cast makes it a pleasure to see the film taking the viewer into a world of fantasy and dreams. The film has topped the box office charts and has got a lot of positive and negative comments from critics.