Disney's newest trend of bringing some of their all-time classics as live action films hasn't been the most popular idea for many of us out there. While 'Cinderella', 'The Jungle Book', and 'Beauty & the Beast' are fine films with lots of entertainment value, it just feels all too familiar and far too safe for a studio that was known for taking risks in bringing us all truly memorable and magical memories. The remake of 1992's 'Aladdin' sadly shows that this trend won't be ending anytime soon. While it shows high production value and is overall a competent and entertaining film, it will soon fade away in the sands while the original still stands high.
I won't be going over the plot because I would hope by now that you fine readers know what 'Aladdin' is about so let's just get straight to the point. I enjoyed this film while I watched it, but it has so many problems that are hard to ignore beyond your usual nitpick here or there for those of you who loved the original such as myself. The character of Jafar is so dull and not intimidating in the slightest. He is too soft spoken, when he isn't overacting like he's in a Shakespeare production and really just repeats himself to the tune of "If you're not first, you're worse". Iago isn't a character this time around, but little more than a CGI prop on Jafar's shoulder. The world of Agrabah is very well done but the film attempts to expand the universe in which the story takes place. It constantly brings up various countries and discussions about warring or allying with them. This is just one of the many story elements that just pad out this film to a ridiculously long running time of almost 2 1/2 hours.
However when it comes to recreating classic scenes from the 1992 film, they just gloss over them or leave them out entirely which just baffles me. This film takes almost twice as long to tell the same story for absolutely no reason with way too much filler and subplots thrown in. It was as if Guy Ritchie didn't think the movie was good enough so he threw in everything he thought would make it more engaging but it just brings the whole movie down. The film also changes the entire third act and for a movie with a much higher budget than the original and with modern technology being so much more advanced, you would never guess that they actually made the climatic fight with Jafar more grounded and less fantastical but they did. I won't spoil anything but I have to say that its a much weaker action piece than the original.
My last real gripe here is the singing, but not because of it being bad necessarily just slightly inconsistent. The songs themselves are all good, with the same composer returning and they of course have their slight changes from the original that aren't too intrusive and I'd pick up this soundtrack and have it proudly placed next to the others. The inconsistent parts come mainly from the actor playing Aladdin who does well with songs like 'A Whole New World' but then you have a slightly off version of 'One Jump Ahead' that throws you off. It's very similar to 'Beauty & the Beast' but overall it's the same music you all love. They did throw in a couple of new songs given to Princess Jasmine though these feel a bit forced with their lyrics and theming. It always seems these new tracks just don't fit as well when it comes to these live action variations but that may just be me.
So after all that...what did I like? Well, funnily enough Will Smith whom everyone (including me) felt would be the film's biggest downfall ended up being great in his own way of course. He had an impossible task and he knew it so he just ended up doing his own thing and it was fine. The blue CGI version of him is still as horrendous as the trailer but he is funny and fun without going overboard with it. While I said I didn't care for his singing too much, Mena Massoud does have the same charisma and kind heart of his animated counterpart and he overall did great as the character. Naomi Scott is also a very good Jasmine, though as I mentioned the script kinda pushed the 'strong character' element a bit too hard which is no fault of the actress and I enjoyed her performance. Marwan Kenzaras I said is too hammy as Jafar and has no intensity or scary aspect to him.
The film looks gorgeous and yes I know that most of it is computer generated but the physical sets of the palace interiors and the Agrabah marketplace are very well made and the film uses the "Bollywood" ascetic, using many bright colors such as pink and yellow. There's even a fun dance scene during the end credits, much like a Bollywood movie and overall the film's look and feel shows a lot of energy and effort was put into it and it keeps the audience's attention throughout. It's just a shame that most of the special effects here are pretty obvious or look slightly unfinished (Genie CG) and we couldn't get more of these beautiful physical sets. It really bums me out that I didn't enjoy 'Aladdin' as much as I wanted to but it's too hard to ignore the overall bland feeling of it all. It all just feels unnecessary and it doesn't have that special Disney magic to it. If you have kids or younger ones I do recommend it but I suggest you also have the original handy as that one will truly stay with them when they grow up. In the end, there's nothing whole or new about this new Aladdin's world.
5/10
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