The idea that Hollywood has run out of new ideas is not new. We’ve been complaining about that for about as long as I can remember. There are still wildly original movies coming out these days (I just watched Poor Things as just one example – although come to think of it, that film was clearly greatly influenced by Frankenstein…). But it does seem that the local cineplex is constantly filled with sequels, remakes, and reimaginings.

That last one has gained a lot of traction over the last few years. Movies and television shows are often going back to the “classics” and tinkering with them a bit, reimaging them for today’s age. Maleficent takes the classic Sleeping Beauty villain and gives us her backstory, making her not quite so evil.

As you can read in my review, it doesn’t quite work.