Aladdin (2019)

Aladdin (2019)

5/10

Starring

Will Smith

Mena Massoud

Naomi Scott

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Here is how Aladdin felt: Disney had checkpoints of what the movie will entail and just did what they can to get to those checkpoints without caring what how it will look. Another way to say this was, the director and screenplay writers did not deliver the goods on this one.

One thing that caught my eye was that the production had a thing with space management. The Prince Ali scene in this film, when he is coming to introduce himself – seemed done in the most limited space they could find. Then in the ending when Jafar wished to be a sorcerer, all of that was done in the most confined environment. That is how it looked in comparison to the animation to which this movie is being dubbed from.

The movie is a live action adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film of the same name. Both are based on the Middle Eastern folktale from One Thousand and One Nights. Aladdin was a street rat (a name he is described by in both adaptations), a young man who lived in the streets stealing to eat.

He one day ran into a lady, who got herself into trouble when she helped some young children to food which she could not pay for. Aladdin seeing her challenge came to her rescue, using many of his street talents of stealing and distraction to rescue her.

His love for the lady he met, as she told him she worked in the palace made him break into the palace to try and see her. Unknown to him the lady was the princess Jasmine. While he was leaving he was kidnapped by Jafar who then used him to retrieve a magic lamp from a cave. Things did not go according to Jafar’s plan and Aladdin wounded-up with the lamp and upon robbing it, out came a genie who gave him three wishes.

Aladdin now knowing that the lady he liked was princess Jasmine (learning this from Jafar), he wished to be a prince because only a prince can marry a princess according to the law.

It was this wish that begun the journey into this movie, where Jafar sees through the whole facade, and goes after Aladdin and the whole kingdom, in search for ultimate power.

You will enjoy the chemistry between the pair of Aladdin and Jasmine (played by Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott respectively). Will Smith as the genie, his performance was a 6 out of 10. It would have been better with a better director. And the man who played Jafar was just awful.

I could careless for the new songs added to the movie, I was left wondering why they were included. Also, the movie didn’t make do of all the visual elements that was present in the animation, like the movie had a limited CGI budget and just could not make the best of it.

Disney is not stopping in the live action adaptation of their animated classics. Lion King is coming out soon. Disney managed to make The Jungle Book (2016) and The Beauty and The Beast (2017) (live action adaptation) seem scene for scene perfect with the music and all, is the same way they should have done with this Aladdin.

I had better fun seeing the animation than I did seeing this movie.