★★
Young Aladdin embarks on a magical adventure after finding a lamp that releases a wisecracking genie.
Classification: PG
Most remakes or re-imaginings deserve to be judged on their own merits. To tell a classic story from a new perspective is a great challenge so that it can gravitate with the audience in brand new ways along with the ways we remember. Disney’s latest live action adaptation of Aladdin is never given a chance to stand on its own as the filmmakers are over reliant on the animated film’s imagery, music, characters and story structure. Director Guy Ritchie is merely giving a poorly advised modern update to a beloved film and at several points relies on our memories of 1992’s Aladdin to fill in the gaps of the poor storytelling and distract from the imperfections of the execution.
The films strongest element comes from the three leads, Will Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott performances as Genie, Aladdin and Jasmine all have their moments to shine. Scott especially who is given a chance to bring a new depth to Princess Jasmine’s motivations, Aladdin doesn’t have many favourable additions but Jasmine’s reimagined agency within the story is definitely one of the them. Will Smith brings the film out its slump at many points with his comedic and musical talents and for the most part is allowed to be his own Genie instead of a Robin Williams impression. There are points where the comedy wants that same zany antics from before but for the most part, Smith brings his own style to the role.
Now while the three leads are able to manage on their own, the rest leave much to be desired notably Marwan Kenzari as the villainous Jafar. Due to the Disney’s insistence of having so much of the film resemble the 1992 film, the unfavourable comparisons to the far superior animated version are unavoidable. Kenzari’s Jafar lack of intimidating presence and authority makes the dramatic finales of the story less compelling and lessens the stakes for the heroes. These resemblances goes through to the films core, from the character arcs, musical numbers and scene design. The additions and subtractions made to allow the film to feel “different” have mixed results, with certain plot points feeling rushed and others dragging for too long. The overall pacing of the film works against itself, with the ebbs and flows making the most important first and third act scenes and revelations go too quickly while the second act filler sequences go on far too long.
Aladdin while boasting many vibrant musical numbers executes them in the most visually apathetic manner. For a film filled with bright colours, costumes and settings, the cinematography somehow makes the cinematic palate as bland as possible. This cinematography combined with the film’s distracting framing and visual effects makes some of the films most important moments unsettling. The performances of the songs both old and new are enjoyable with “Prince Ali” and “A Whole New World” being highlights and allow for occasions of both favourable and unfavourable nostalgia.
Disney and Guy Ritchie do what they need to remind audiences of what they liked about Aladdin, they throw in a new song or character to make it seem “different” enough and stretch the story out with some new unimportant subplots so it can meet the desired runtime. This film is a pale imitation of far superior work and makes no effort to do anything really original or substantial with the material. Naomi Scott’s Jasmine may be the only revision that stands out as an improvement but faults in the rest of the script and filmmaking fail at any attempt to allow Aladdin to become its own adaptation.
Director: #GuyRitchie
Cast: #WillSmith, #MenaMassoud, #NaomiScott, #MarwanKenzari, #NavidNegahban, #NasimPedrad, #BillyMagnussen
Release Date: 22nd May 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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