This beautiful discovery turned out to be a movie I can watch again and again, so here are a few things that I especially like about it.

While heavily based on the character of Maleficent from Disney’s animated classic Sleeping Beauty (especially in terms of looks and diction), who is an evil, jealous figure through and through, one doesn’t permanently remember that fact. Instead, combined with respectful, measured contributions from the original, a fully-fledged, individual character emerges in Angelina Jolie’s portrayal. This is not just another backstory of a famous villain supported by the “she’s actually good” plotline. She branches off from the animated Maleficent without seeming like a spin-off.

We feel her pain, oh, we feel it, and we cry with her! We’re horrified. Just give the fairy her damn wings back! For all the trauma, it’s one of the best scenes in the movie, showing the bond of flight to Maleficent’s identity.

Despite this horrible attack, she did not let herself be crippled by it. Instead, she became fetchingly badass (though you are secretly hoping she won’t get murderous urges, since this is a new movie, and there must be some other point to this story then the character giving in to the dark side). She also somehow easily got really cool make-up and a whole outfit made out of black leather – mais oui. And the raven, don’t forget the raven.

She still retained her sense of humour, playing tricks on the bumbling fairies looking after Aurora, instead of frying them all.

And finally, what I like most – she stands up and soars (impressively shattering some glass in the process).