MALEFICENT 3: The Dark Fairy
June 29, 2025
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Movie Review: Maleficent 3: The Dark Fairy (2025)
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Darkness has wings once more—and this time, it flies higher than ever.
Maleficent 3: The Dark Fairy brings the gothic fantasy trilogy to a thunderous and emotionally resonant close, offering a deeper, more complex portrait of the misunderstood villain-turned-guardian we’ve grown to admire. Directed by Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), the third installment takes a bolder, more mature turn, leaning into epic myth, tragic romance, and war between realms.
Angelina Jolie returns in full, magnificent form as Maleficent, now ruling peacefully over the Moors beside her goddaughter Aurora (Elle Fanning). But when an ancient curse—older than even the Briar Rose—awakens from beneath the roots of the forest, Maleficent must confront her own origin story, one tied not only to her magic, but to the very creation of the fairy world itself.
The antagonist this time isn’t a vengeful queen or a greedy king—it’s something older and more elemental: a forgotten deity known only as Nyx, the First Dark. Played with icy grace by Tilda Swinton, Nyx seeks to reclaim the balance of magic by plunging both human and fae realms into eternal night. It’s Maleficent who stands in her way—but to stop her, she must embrace the darker side of her power that she once rejected.
Visually, the film is a masterclass in enchanted atmosphere. The Moors are more breathtaking than ever, filled with bioluminescent flora, howling winds, and sentient shadows. The fairy battles are sweeping and stylized—think The Lord of the Rings meets Sleeping Beauty. Costume design and score are top-tier, blending high fantasy with regal melancholy.
What makes The Dark Fairy truly land is Jolie. Her performance here is layered and haunted—Maleficent is still fierce, still dryly humorous, but now weighed down by legacy, love, and the fear of what she might become. A confrontation between her and a fully grown, battle-armored Aurora near the film’s climax is both heart-wrenching and powerful.
Some pacing issues linger in the second act, and a subplot involving a human resistance leader (played by Florence Pugh) feels underdeveloped. But when the final act soars—with a fiery sky battle above a burning castle and Maleficent’s full transformation into the Winged Flame—you’ll forgive everything else.
Verdict: Maleficent 3: The Dark Fairy is a visually rich, emotionally potent finale. Jolie remains the beating heart of this dark fairy tale, and the film proves once again: villains, when written with love, make the best heroes.