Aladdin (2019) – Review

First and foremost this movie is a absolutely a Guy Ritchie film. Secondly it doesn’t hold a candle to the original Aladdin movie, but who are we kidding… It was Never going too.

Brace yourself for some over the top Agrabah style action. Will Smith completely sold me as Genie (yes I know the teaser was horrible, with his first appearance but it works in the movie) and the cast is fantastic. I really liked Noami who played Jasmine, she surprisingly was given more than just a 2-Dimensional princess character. Mena also did a great job as Aladdin, his banter and conversations with Genie are fun to watch, and he has great chemistry with Jasmine.

Jafar played by Grand Vizier, very forgettable, not even close to being as menacing as the original Jafar from 90’s. 

The new addition to the world building rules and how they work are nice updates, but not very necessary. It could have gone just fine with how the magic world of the Genie works but hey it’s here for some who care.

The biggest differences to the story are laid in the film’s themes, the core messages of being yourself and “with great power, comes great responsibility.” Which now includes feminist and anti-authoritarian subtext to Jasmine and Jafar’s story-lines. Whilst these ideas are welcome and don’t damage the overall story, they are handled in a very on-the-nose kind of way. It’s not so much you have to tell us these are core new values, it’s how you treat the audience, and make them feel like you’re talking down to them, which can take them out of the movie.

Alright on to the good stuff, the best parts in this movie are the dance numbers. Yes the music is fun, up beat, and truly stylistic! Guy Ritchie seems like he was more concerned with giving us great Musical numbers rather than his typical action. Which honestly I’m fine with cuz it works. 

In the End. I recommend it, has its own flavor and story telling style. Not as good at the original. But who are we kidding… This movie was never going to be.

8.5/10