I wanted to see the movie Maleficent from my first glimpse of the trailer. Yes, I’m an Angelina Jolie fan, and the trailer looked intriguing and beautiful, but I never did get around to seeing the movie in theaters. Then on my flight to New Zealand, after the battery on my netbook ran out, I started looking at the list of in-flight movies, and there it was. So I watched it — on a tiny screen on the back of the seat in front of me — and I loved it!

I didn’t know much about Maleficent going in. I generally won’t read reviews before trying a book or a movie myself. Once I’ve decided I want to experience either one, I want to do so with as few preconceived notions as possible, so that I can form my own opinion and gauge my own reaction. So with Maleficent, I’d seen the trailer and noticed a few positive comments on Twitter, but that was it. My impression was that the movie had not been successful — and I still don’t know if that’s the case or not.

Anyway, per usual, I’m not going to discuss the plot, but I will say that I really appreciated the evolution, complexity, and strength of the Maleficent character, and I loved the ending.

And since reviews are for reading after seeing the movie (or reading the book) I’ll say that I was surprised how the critical reception tended toward the negative. I roll my eyes at you, critics! Maleficent is a fairy tale. If you have no intrinsic objection to the fairy-tale format, then I highly recommend this movie.

Now — tell me if you liked it!