Hey everyone! As you can see I am back with a brand new review, this time of a live-action Disney remake. Now I have stated before that I am not a huge fan of what Disney is doing here. I feel like these films are just made for money, and to make the animated films feel inferior to these live action films (when to be honest we all know which of the two people will talk about more in the end). That’s not to say all of these films are bad though, as stuff like Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and especially Pete’s Dragon are actually really good. Heck even the ones that may not be that good, like Alice In Wonderland, and Maleficent, I somewhat appreciate because at least they are trying to be their own thing (they may not be successful but still they tried). So when this film was announced of course I was skeptical, and have continued to be all the way up to the film’s release as if you’ve read my review of the original 1992 Aladdin you know that, it is my personal favorite film from the Disney Renaissance. Those trailers did not help in making me anymore excited as well. So now that I’ve finally seen the film how is it? Well, surprisingly not terrible actually.
Narrated by Will Smith’s mysterious boat traveler, as a story to his kids, the basic plot is pretty much the same as the original. After being taken on a ride through the land of Agrabah where we are introduced to the characters we jump right into Aladdin living his life as a street rat on the streets of the city. He runs into the princess, Jasmine in the market, though he does not know that at first, and after protecting her from a street vendor, and escaping from the guards they start to form a connection with one another. But as Jasmine returns to the palace to meet a suitor for her, Aladdin realizes Abu stole her bracelet which belonged to her mother. So to get it back to her, he sneaks into the palace disguised as a servant, which gets the attention of the Vizier, Jafar, who has been having trouble convincing the Sultan to conquer nearby territory, and has been yearning to take the throne for himself. He then sees an opportunity with Aladdin, and captures him, to take him to the Cave of Wonders to find a magical lamp that contains the Genie who will grant three wishes to whoever rubs it. Aladdin is able to get in successfully, and is able to find the lamp, but Abu causes the cave to collapse and with the help of a magic carpet is able to barely escape thanks to Jafar betraying him. He then meets the enthusiastic Genie who promises to grant his wishes, and in return Aladdin will wish him to be free. After much thought, Aladdin wishes to become a Prince in order to impress Princess Jasmine. But will this truly give Aladdin want he wants, and will he realize that his qualities on the inside matters the most?
Frankly, the film gets off to a pretty rough start. Since the movie starts off at the One Jump Ahead sequence, we are not given proper introductions to the characters as those are skipped over. While its not terrible idea to start the film like this, since it assumes that the audience knows these character well enough, the way it is paced is incredibly awkward, and rushed to the point where it feels more like a Disney World ride than an actual movie. The pacing is something of an issue for the movie as a whole since it definitely feels like the developers were trying to drag out the original’s 90 minute runtime into 121 minutes which is apparent in the scenes that are dragging a lot. However right when Aladdin gets into the palace, things start to improve, and the film does get better as it goes along. Really the movie is at its best when it just lets the characters just talk to each other, as not only does it make the film very character driven, and develops the characters, and themes a little bit more but it is also where the comedy of the film really shines. While it isn’t as laugh out loud hilarious as the original, there was still a number of times where I found myself laughing pretty hard (When Aladdin, and Genie meet the Sultan in particular was a standout). The message of being proud of who you are in the inside is nice, and is handled pretty well here as well. I also do like that it at least tries to be its own thing, and change the story up in some interesting ways, and while some of them are not necessarily better they still make this movie seem much more than a shot for shot remake which it easily could have been, and I did like how the film ended. And yes I would say that it changes enough to some what justify its existence.
Guy Ritchie, a director whom I really admire, directs this picture, and he does a pretty good job all things considered. There were some shots, or sequences where I could spot his stylings, and fast paced energy, particularly in the One Jump Ahead sequence which, despite the narrative being rushed is still pretty entertaining all things considered, and he does give the film a real sense of danger which made the proceedings more intense. Although he struggles in some places crafting a good musical number, and that’s most apparent in Jasmine’s musical number where she sings her own new song, and it is so awkwardly shot, and poorly executed that it was almost unintentionally hilarious. It doesn’t help that the song itself, Speechless, is very forgettable. As for the other musical numbers, like I said One Jump Ahead is pretty entertaining, Friend Like Me is by far the best one as it is the most visually pleasing, and has the most energy out of them all, Prince Ali is slightly better than that clip on Youtube would lead you to believe, and I do like how Will Smith made the song his own to make it different from William’s performance (same goes for Friend Like Me), and Whole New World is fine, even if it suffers from noticeable CGI, and auto-tuning (though not nearly as noticiable as Beauty and the Beast’s auto-tuning). In fact the CGI all around is very noticeable, and even some of the green screen is too. Now I know Aladdin was always going to be a hard film to make into live action given how insanely cartoony it is, but still the CGI here is pretty inferior to that animation (although Carpet looks pretty good surprisingly). Luckily the film does have good production values including the colorful sets, and costumes (though the costumes do look a little too broadwayish, they match the film’s tone appropriately) that help balance out the questionable effects.
But what surprisingly saves this movie from being completely disposable, and what actually elevates the movie, is the cast as almost everyone does a good job with their role. I was a little unsure about Mena Massoud at the beginning of the movie since his performance felt a little weird, but again as the movie goes along he gets much better, and he makes Aladdin into a likable protagonist here. He especially shines in his interactions with everyone else as he has great chemistry with the other members. Naomi Scott unsurprisingly does a good job playing Jasmine handling the more dramatic, and comedic moments very well. I also did like how this movie gave Jasmine a little more to do, and how she plays a bigger role in the climax, even if the movie doesn’t really improve her character, when really her sense of agency was kind taken out of the movie, and she actually less empowered here than in the original, but that is really another problem that arises from that rushed beginning. But of course we have to talk about the elephant in the room, and that is Will Smith’s Genie who has gotten a lot of internet hate. How ironic then that the most controversial aspect of the movie is also one of the highlights of the film as Will Smith gives a really fun performance as the iconic character, brimming with charm, and energy, giving the film some of its best comedy. He thankfully doesn’t try to copy William’s performance, and actually makes the role his own, and he succeed greatly in this regard. He is also given a love interest here in the form of Jasmine’s handmaiden, Dalia, which sounds like a bad idea on paper, but it actually works here, surprisingly. That’s thanks in no small part to Nasim Pedrad, who is a scene stealer, has some of the best comedic beats, and has surprisingly strong chemistry with Smith. Navid Negahbah also does a good job as the Sultan, as it was a smart decision to make the Sultan more serious here, and I thought his relationship with Jasmine was actually developed more here. If there is one weak link in the cast though, it would have to be Marewen Kenzari as Jafar. While he I do appreciate his character getting something of a backstory, and clearer motivation, and he does get some of the best lines in the film, its just that he feels more like a Power Ranger villain than anything else (both in acting, and appearance). His performance feels more like an irritated guy than a truly menacing threat which was really disappointing, and he would benefited if he cut loosed a little more (they really should have gave that Prince Ali rendition), and it also is disappointing how underutilized Alan Tudyk is here as Iago. Oh and for those of you who were worried, No Billy Magnussen’s Prince Anders does not marry Princess Jasmine at the end, and is just an idiotic suitor for her (yes this was an actual controversy), and he actually gets one of the funniest scenes in the movie.
While it doesn’t hold a candle to the original, Aladdin still works as big colorful, splashy, entertainment that I think families will really enjoy. Yes it is flawed but again it could have been so much worse, and to Disney’s credit the marketing did hide a lot (even if it made the film look so much worse than it actually is). In terms of Disney live-action re-imaginings this is definitely one of the good ones, and it is better, and more memorable than the likes of Beauty and the Beast, Alice In Wonderland, and Maleficent, if not as good as stuff like Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and Pete’s Dragon. Although I will argue that this is an important movie for diversity as there is something special about seeing this story being done with a cast like this as that I would argue would justify this film being made. Also unlike some of those films, I actually would not mind a sequel to this movie as there are some things that I would like to see explored more, so maybe it will succeed where films like Alice through the Looking Glass failed?
Rating: B-
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