Maleficent: Mistress of Evil  ★★½

SCREEN sirens Angelina Jolie and Michelle Pfeiffer gave a great time putting villainy in the fantasy adventure Maleficent: Mistrss of Evil.

This sequel comes five years after Disney’s 2014 original, loose adaptation of Sleeping Beauty.

By all accounts this sequel moves further still from the source material with an abundance of creatures and aerial battles.

But at its core is still a power struggle between three strong women – Maleficent, the Protector of the Moors; Aurora, her god-daughter and Queen of the Moors; and Queen Ingrith, mother to Aurora’s fiancé.

the film is most effective when it focuses on these characters and, for the first half it provides respite from the computer generated imagery.

But eventually Norwegian director Joachim Rønning and his Disney writing team relent to the usual computer-generated action finale that swamps any emotional centre.

Jolie reprises her role as Maleficent and Elle Fanning again Looks the part as young Aurora.

Pfeiffer joins the ensemble as Queen Ingrith and probably has the most fun of everyone with her role.

The various creatures that inhabit the moors opposite the Royal Castle are mostly interesting and well-rendered, except for the awful-looking fairies with Juno Temple and Imelda Staunton’s faces badly superimposed on them.

The tree people also look remarkably like giant versions of Groot from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy films.

Ultimately this sequel seems to spin its wheels in terms of story. It’s also too dark at times for the very young and not engaging enough for parents.

For the audience who now compare all films to Frozen, it’s probably a mildly entertaining time.

It’s a shame that the director of Max Manus and Kon-Tiki has progressed so far to Maleficent 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean 5, lost within the Disney machine.