Disney's venture into their back catalogue for popular properties to remake continues, despite the mixed success such a practise has thus far produced. Aladdin is the latest in a string of animated classics to undergo the transformation, with a lick of live-action paint bringing the story based on the Middle-Eastern folktale to a new audience. Is Guy Ritchie's interpretation of the musical-fantasy a cave of wonders worth exploring, or is this whole new world not worth traversing?
"Diamonds in the rough" street thief Aladdin finds himself in the possession of a lamp, the genie who lives inside granting wishes and a magic carpet. Trying to win the affection of Princess Jasmine and escape the sly Grand Vizier, Jafar, who led him to his new-found wonders, Aladdin finds himself at the centre of a storm concerning the future of the desert kingdom of Agrabah. With a stacked ensemble featuring Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine and Will Smith as the wish-granting Genie, is this a worthy rejuvenation of the beloved 1992 animation?
As with the majority of Disney's live-action efforts, the biggest issue plaguing the film is a question of necessity. At no point in its bloated 128 minute runtime does it strike you as anything other than a cash-grabbing exercise, bringing little new to the tale of Aladdin. Despite working with an additional 38 minutes, it fails to really justify its existence, absent a new spin on the story which could have worked in its favour. While it's not the tepid remake suggested by those abysmal trailers and widely-condemned marketing pieces, the cynical side of me questions whether it may have been a ploy to temper audience expectations, turning a 'it's not bad' into a 'wow, what a pleasant surprise!'.
Empty spectacle forms the foundations of Guy Ritchie's Aladdin remake, which provides bare minimum entertainment value - if little else. Frankly, Ritchie, typically known for operating within the action/crime wheelhouse, is a very odd choice for director: his proclivity towards the rapidly-edited and slow-motioned is here polished to within an inch of their life, feeling very out-of-place in a family-targeted setting. It lacks flow and cohesion: a set-piece-by-set-piece effort that mutes some of the impact, particularly by the time we reach the big finale.
Still, visually bright (for better or worse), thanks to its inspired costume and production design, there is a certain dazzle to it, with its Bollywood-inspired routines feeling like a strong celebration of culture. Alan Menken's score may not reach the heights of his original, but is suitably enchanting, with the recurring musical motif of 'A Whole New World' especially effective in highlighting the film's strongest element: the romance. It is, quite surprisingly, where most of the magic happens, with Aladdin's second act (including the iconic rug-soaring moment) its most impressive stretch - where the film settles comfortably in tone and energy.
Mena Massoud brings a boyish charm to the role of Aladdin. Vocally flat but otherwise perfectly-suited to the role, Massoud takes the role of the street urchin in his stride. Naomi Scott is solid as Jasmine too; a newly-written song, Speechless, is a lovely addition to the soundtrack and sung wonderfully - but it does feel shoehorned in, as if to make up for the half-hearted attempt to infuse modern context regarding evolved gender roles. Will Smith's Genie will be a crowd-pleaser; while he's no Robin Williams, he never tries to be either, which is the smartest thing he could have done to set his blue, nigh-omnipotent being aside. Smith's chemistry with Massoud is great, with a palace-set sequence casuing them to squabble over jams particularly humorous.
From a storytelling level, Marwan Kenzari's Jafar is the film's biggest disappointment. Jon August, co-writing with Ritchie, undoes the compellingly cunning nature of Jafar in the original for something far more on-the-nose and formulaic here, with one botched character beat in particular bitterly underwhelming. As such, the supposedly climatic finale is surprisingly muted, without the effect of a large, compelling personality looming over. It's very difficult to nail down exactly where the extra runtime has gone in actual fact, with the extended scenes doing little to enhance the story.
While the original film was nominated for five Oscars, it would be a real surprise if this 2019's Aladdin managed anything - although Speechless may be in with a shot at Best Original Song. Frankly, it's yet another pointless recycling effort from Disney, bleeding dry their resources to favour commerciality over creativity. Guy Ritchie was the wrong choice to bring the material to live-action form and is able to bring little new or exciting to the beloved classic. For some, the spectacle will be enough but those wishing for something more may want to file a complaint with the Genie's HR department.
5.5/10
Summary: It fails to bring us a whole new world, with the latest interpretation of Disney's Aladdin instead feeling like a cash-grabbing effort whose lick of live-action paint is unable to bring anything new to the story -- but in its barest form, it's entertaining: aggressively fine, but entertaining nevertheless.
"Diamonds in the rough" street thief Aladdin finds himself in the possession of a lamp, the genie who lives inside granting wishes and a magic carpet. Trying to win the affection of Princess Jasmine and escape the sly Grand Vizier, Jafar, who led him to his new-found wonders, Aladdin finds himself at the centre of a storm concerning the future of the desert kingdom of Agrabah. With a stacked ensemble featuring Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine and Will Smith as the wish-granting Genie, is this a worthy rejuvenation of the beloved 1992 animation?
As with the majority of Disney's live-action efforts, the biggest issue plaguing the film is a question of necessity. At no point in its bloated 128 minute runtime does it strike you as anything other than a cash-grabbing exercise, bringing little new to the tale of Aladdin. Despite working with an additional 38 minutes, it fails to really justify its existence, absent a new spin on the story which could have worked in its favour. While it's not the tepid remake suggested by those abysmal trailers and widely-condemned marketing pieces, the cynical side of me questions whether it may have been a ploy to temper audience expectations, turning a 'it's not bad' into a 'wow, what a pleasant surprise!'.
Empty spectacle forms the foundations of Guy Ritchie's Aladdin remake, which provides bare minimum entertainment value - if little else. Frankly, Ritchie, typically known for operating within the action/crime wheelhouse, is a very odd choice for director: his proclivity towards the rapidly-edited and slow-motioned is here polished to within an inch of their life, feeling very out-of-place in a family-targeted setting. It lacks flow and cohesion: a set-piece-by-set-piece effort that mutes some of the impact, particularly by the time we reach the big finale.
Still, visually bright (for better or worse), thanks to its inspired costume and production design, there is a certain dazzle to it, with its Bollywood-inspired routines feeling like a strong celebration of culture. Alan Menken's score may not reach the heights of his original, but is suitably enchanting, with the recurring musical motif of 'A Whole New World' especially effective in highlighting the film's strongest element: the romance. It is, quite surprisingly, where most of the magic happens, with Aladdin's second act (including the iconic rug-soaring moment) its most impressive stretch - where the film settles comfortably in tone and energy.
From a storytelling level, Marwan Kenzari's Jafar is the film's biggest disappointment. Jon August, co-writing with Ritchie, undoes the compellingly cunning nature of Jafar in the original for something far more on-the-nose and formulaic here, with one botched character beat in particular bitterly underwhelming. As such, the supposedly climatic finale is surprisingly muted, without the effect of a large, compelling personality looming over. It's very difficult to nail down exactly where the extra runtime has gone in actual fact, with the extended scenes doing little to enhance the story.
5.5/10
Summary: It fails to bring us a whole new world, with the latest interpretation of Disney's Aladdin instead feeling like a cash-grabbing effort whose lick of live-action paint is unable to bring anything new to the story -- but in its barest form, it's entertaining: aggressively fine, but entertaining nevertheless.