Aladdin (2019) - Movie Review
1"Aladdin" (2019) directed by Guy Ritchie is actually kind of a banger despite Disney's bad track record with live action adaptations. I went in prepared to hate it but I can't deny how well executed it was for the most part, especially in comparison to the other ones.
Street urchin / thief Aladdin (Mena Massoud) meets a beautiful princess named Jasmine (Naomi Scott) and the two instantly hit it off with each other. Jasmine is being forced by her royal family to marry into another prince's family however, but she can't get over her feelings for Aladdin. Aladdin is recruited by one of Jasmine's court members named Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) who has a secret sinister plot to usurp the throne, and he wants Aladdin to go into the Cave of Wonders to seek out a magical lamp containing a Genie (Will Smith) which can grant one 3 wishes. Aladdin uses the power of the Genie for himself to turn into a prince to try and win over Jasmine, but she does not appreciate this deception and wanted him for who he was.
The live action Aladdin was perfectly casted and performed by the actors extremely well. The songs induced goosebumps from me multiple times and I was personally falling in love with Jasmine myself she was so perfect. Will Smith was a very suitable replacement for the Genie now that Robin Williams is sadly no longer with us. The CGI gets pretty bad during the climax at the end but I will give some props for making blue flying Will Smith actually look pretty decent, and also while the animated version is obviously superior, as is always the case, I will say that the human faces were able to capture quite a bit of emotion in this and could be argued as a unique strength.
Even though the movie is exactly 2 hours it actually somehow still managed to feel rushed. While I love both Aladdin & Jasmine and was rooting for them both, their relationship is pretty funny just because of how swift and unearned it is. The CGI sorcerer version of Jafar and the "battle" nearly killed the movie's end for me because it's a generic out of place action set piece in a musical that is supposed to be focused on good messages and emotional impact. Aladdin's "turn to the dark side" also feels too hasty and unbelievable at times.
Aladdin is pretty solid especially compared to the other ones. I would gladly see it again as it has a lot of heart, positive messaging and good jokes and songs.
Video by Rainy Nights.
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