So in June we went to see both Maleficent and Edge of Tomorrow and it only
seemed appropriate that we would write reviews (of sort).
They tend to be from the feminist point of view as that is how a lot of
other people wrote about them so we paid a lot of attention to that subject matter.
Also, as we both are feminists, it comes rather naturally for us to watch
films from that aspect. Now as both films are not to be taken seriously
(the other is fantasy and the other action), neither are we überpassionate in
our reviews. We decided to just go with pro/con lists.
Maleficent
Pros
It passes the Bechdel test, which is not to say that passing it would
make a film good or bad. It's just a fact, and since it doesn't
happen very often we decided to make it a pro.
The movie was visually quite stunning and enjoyable.
It had a point, a storyline that was simple enough to follow.
It didn't have a clichéd man/woman true love (although even
if a movie does have that it can still be entertaining. Eg. Enchanted.)
Cons
In order for a film to be good, ALL the characters need to be interesting or
at least entertaining. It doesn't really make a difference for us if it's all
male or all female (although granted you never really see that in Hollywood
unless it's one of those painstakingly awful chick flicks).
In that light, this movie really butchered all the original story's
male characters. It only had one more developed "male" character
(the bird), and even he wasn't given enough screen time.
So, we heard that this film is great to see from the female empowerment
viewpoint. What a load of crap as we will prove.
1. Maleficent's main motives for becoming "evil" was revenge
against actions forced upon her by a man. That doesn't ring the
stereotypical bell of a woman at all, now does it?
2. What some feminists would probably be most "horrified" by would be
the reasoning behind her change though. Mother's instinct. We actually
don't object to that the same way some feminists seem to, because
it's pretty true in most cases (we love Aliens so duh). So actually
we didn't mind the reasoning, but it was rather her turning "evil" in the
first place. It was just too sudden and then it felt like they needed to
come up with a plausible motive for her to "turn back".
3. And then probably our main beef: Aurora. She had the makings
of a good female character: she was a normal
character you could relate to, rather unconventional also for female
empowerment (teenage girl), which would've made her all the more interesting.
And then it was all ruined by that last scene. Why on earth did they need
to bring that prince back in for that??? He was a useless character to begin with.
Actually, he might've served as a comic relief and would've been a good
one to boot. Ugh, see what we mean by butchering male characters?
4. Also, we don't think it can be female empowerment because it didn't
really deal with any feminist issues. Rather it seemed to advocate that
women are better than men. We don't like that idea. It would be better
if the film industry was more into making equally interesting characters,
be they male or female (main or minor characters). Plus the music was so bland.
Edge of Tomorrow
Pros
Both main characters were developed, and the minor ones were solid.
And when there are good characters you're not that bothered by minor
details. It takes a lot for you to dislike a film if it has enjoyable characters.
Rita was pretty kickass. Even though the film has a male protagonist
she still plays an integral part in the story's development. Actually,
the movie reminded us a lot about Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,
but like an action version. Connection to Capra is always welcome.
And how this film would serve female empowerment WAY more
than Maleficent is how Rita makes all her own decisions. She doesn't
get affected by the sentiment of any man. We were pleasantly
surprised by that. Plus we really like Emily Blunt.
The story was quite coherent and the script worked well, it
is an action film after all, so no Shakespeare here.
The visuals were good too, you weren't bothered by the CGI
as you were invested in the story. Action was decent as well.
The film was like Mr. Smith + Groundhog Day+ Action. So not too shabby.
Cons
Tom Cruise. Sorry y'all who like him, but we just don't care for
him as a protagonist. He is better than Keanu Reeves, but let's just
say if the role had been played by....ummm...we don't know,
Michael Fassbender? Yeah, we would own this film in that case.
But since it's an action film it's not that big of a deal.
There were a few minor plotholes, eg. the end...how did it all
suddenly go back to that specific moment? But once again,
it didn't really bother us that much, as it actually would've been
more uncharacteristic for the story that everyone had died.
Like almost every movie these days, the music was forgettable.
Summary
It's quite obvious we preferred the latter. Once again we're not saying that
it's a masterpiece (neither is Maleficent the worst film ever) but in
comparison Edge of Tomorrow was more enjoyable and worked better
as a film. Both films had equal stories we feel, but characters are
the most important factor for us. It's impossible for us to enjoy
a film, unless ALL the characters are developed (in their sphere).
Also, Maleficent actually felt longer even though it's a full quarter
shorter. Watch for yourself and decide.
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