Review of Aladdin (2019) by Hanksamuels — 31 May 2019

Another year, another Disney remake.

They aren’t always bad, but they aren’t always good either. I haven’t seen them all, but I’d say The Jungle Book is probably the gold standard here, recreating and re-imagining the 78-minute animated flick into a thoroughly enjoyable and inventive adventure. Cinderella (yes, that existed) was definitely a by-the-numbers remake, though Lily James’ charming performance elevated it to a must-see. And the rest fall in line. Beauty and the Beast added nothing (though it had some magic) and I haven’t seen the Tim Burton remakes Alice in Wonderland and Dumbo (sorry, kinda).

Now we have Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie, surely a strange choice to direct a remake whose original is bursting with color, music, and light-heartedness. Ritchie’s best known movies are the heist movie Snatch, the Robert Downey Jr. led Sherlock Holmes and its inferior sequel, and the famous box-office bomb King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. None of them have any color, and though I am a fan of Downy as Sherlock, none of them are especially good. So how does Aladdin fair?

Not well, unfortunately. It’s more or less the same as the 1992 version without what made it so good. The original was a tight-paced 91-minute movie with Robin Williams at the height of his comedic powers and great visual effects for its time. But here the movie is stretched to a poorly-paced 128 minutes, without Robin Williams, and the visual effects aren’t up to snuff. We’ve come so far with the computer graphic imaging technology that gives reason for these remakes (showcased perfectly in The Jungle Book), but it’s evidently too much to hope for in Aladdin. The CGI of Genie looks weird, the magic carpet ride during “A Whole New World” (that song still slaps) looks like someone did it on photoshop, and the look of Rajah does not compare to Shere Khan.

Will Smith tried really hard to be the OG Genie, while adding a little Fresh Prince flair, but it was too much of an imitation: Robin Williams is untouchable here, and it didn’t work for me. Mena Massoud’s Aladdin was plainly fine, but it’s Naomi Scott’s performance as Jasmine that was a standout. She was the most natural and organic, giving her own performance as opposed to going through the motions of 1992’s version. Her new song was laaaame, though. (Here’s a better showcase of her talents from back her in Disney Channel days). The movie did have good choreography, and at least there is a lot of color, so props to Ritchie for going against type. After that though, the desert well runs dry.

I know I’m being harsh, but Aladdin is my favorite Disney movie, and I’ve seen it eleventy-six times. But some movies perhaps shouldn’t be remade, especially if they work better animated. Disney has obviously tapped into the zeitgeist of nostalgia and is printing money now. But it’s because we love these old movies, not because they are releasing something special now. Indeed, 2019’s Aladdin is void of magic, originality, and a good reason to exist. 2/5.

- Taken from my personal movie review site: Every Scene a Sonnet.