Aladdin Review

May 27, 2019 at 8:25pm
By Tasha Locke

Aladdin is a live action remake of the 1992 film. There are many similarities between the two movies but also some differences. Aladdin is a movie centered around a charming street rat (thief) who you guessed it, is named Aladdin. He's been alone and living on the streets of Agrabah most of his life when one day he meets the beautiful princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), in disguise and that changes his life forever.

While sneaking around the palace he is caught by the Vasir to the Sultan, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) who kidnaps Aladdin because he has found his "Diamond in the rough". Through this he comes into contact with a magical lamp that houses a very special power. A GENIE! This Genie (Will Smith) grants Aladdin three wishes. With Genie's help Aladdin seeks to become a prince because that is the only way him and Jasmine can be together. As this is happening Aladdin, Genie and Jasmine must find a way to stop the sorcerer, Jafar from overthrowing the kingdom, before time runs out.

This story has many similarities to the original with a few differences. This live action remake focused quite a bit on Jasmine’s role. While going about the original story line Disney was still able to make her a strong, empowering female lead, and a woman who demanded to be heard. I feel like the cast had amazing chemistry and worked very well together. However, I did not like the casting of Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) not just his acting, but his script as well. It seems Disney tried to make him more of a mediocre bad guy instead of this big bad villain.

Sure, by the end of the movie he became more frightening, but he wasn't someone who I felt should be feared, more like someone to feel sad for. Robin Williams was the original Genie, with Will Smith stepping in for this remake. He had big shoes to fill, and I feel he did a very good job. He brought his own to this character and had fun with it as well. The CGI was not done in very well in some parts with Genie’s legs being the most obvious sign. I love all the songs in the film including the solo “Speechless” by Naomi Scott, but they didn’t flow very well with the acting, it felt a bit forced.

The Conclusion

With that said, this is a movie I’d bring my whole family to. Yes, some parts were iffy but all in all a very enjoyable film. It had the whole audience laughing and signing along. Competing with the original was a hard task but I feel like this version held its own. I would have liked to see more destruction and chaos from Jafar, at least as much as the original but the other roles were played extremely well.

Aladdin Review at Theater with Standard Viewing
Screening Provided by Disney

Rating Overall: 7.0