Aladdin (2019): Movie Review

Controversial or not, there's no stopping the live-action remake train that Disney has decided to go full steam with. With its early and recent previews having negative backlash, "Aladdin" needs to do a lot to really prove itself worthy compared to the 1992 animated classic. Fortunately, the film pulls it off having its own kind of charm and spectacle that can only be experienced with the whole film in tow.

Aladdin (Mena Massoud) is a thief who barely lives by stealing. As fate would have it, he meets a mysterious young lady whom he helps and falls in love with. The young woman turns out to be, Jasmine (Naomi Scott), the princess of Agrabah. Caught by the palace guards inside the palace, Aladdin is forced by Jafar (Marwan Kenzari), the Sultan's most trusted adviser, to retrieve a lamp in the Cave of Wonders - a lamp that holds a genie (Will Smith) who can grant its owner three wishes. When Aladdin accidentally becomes the owner of those three wishes, he finds himself on a quest to not only get his true love but to save Agrabah from Jafar's evil plans.

To compare the live-action remake of "Aladdin" to the original would be a great folly. In the first place, the remake was designed to be more inline with more current events and pop culture. While some of these elements failed to really integrate well into the overall plot, there is no denying that this remake actually turned out to be an awesome spectacle overall. The biggest issues we had with the film were quite minor. The new elements like a white prince (played by Billy Magnussen) or Jasmine being a more independent and vocal princess felt forced at times. In fact, the film could have easily removed Billy Magnussen's character without much effect. Additionally, the first half hour or so was a struggle as the film takes its time to get into the fun bits - with the Genie. Speaking of the Genie, we actually loved Will Smith's performance. It's a different kind of portrayal from Robin Williams but definitely in a good way. Will Smith was able to make an interesting rendition of Genie that was still funny and fun. He also had incredible chemistry with Mena Massoud as Aladdin and had us quite emotional even knowing how the film (or those three wishes) eventually turn out. As for the soundtrack and visuals, those were a mixed bag. Our favorite was "Prince Ali" while "A Whole New World" lacked pop. The final sequences were breath-taking and action-packed. Overall, "Aladdin" was a very solid remake for Disney. It was still able to capture the original film's magic and emotional oomph.

Rating: 4 reels




Why you should watch it:
- there was great chemistry from the main leads
- the effects were spectacular as a whole

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the new elements felt forced
- the first half hour or so was somewhat slow

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