MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ Gives the Disney-Industrial-Complex Another Win
The Disney-Industrial-Complex may not possess the intellectual property rights to the Borg, Star Trek’s most enduring villains, but even if it doesn’t (yet), resistance truly is futile. It’s also non-profitable. Wherever pop-culture media happens to be consumed (i.e., everywhere), the Disney-Industrial-Complex can be found exploiting its IP (intellectual property) to the fullest. When it’s not breaking box-office records with the latest all-conquering MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) release, it’s bringing the latest live-action or live-action/CGI hybrid adaptation of an animated classic (see, e.g., The Lion King, Aladdin) to undiscerning, mainstream crowds while crushing its rapidly dwindling competition with sheer, scythe-like market power. Disney’s latest, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (actual title), the unanticipated sequel to 2014’s dark-fantasy take on Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent, arrives in multiplexes with similar intentions: Mercilessly rule the box office for several weeks, clean up overseas (no longer optional) and cross or get close to crossing the magic one-billion dollar number, scoop up some sweet merchandizing money, and vanish altogether from pop culture soon thereafter.
When we meet Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) and her ultra-imposing, razor-sharp cheekbones again, relative peace rules throughout the feudal lands that once treated…
