Logan Sork Film Reviews
Aladdin (2019)
The Disney live-action adaptations show no signs of stopping whether you want them to or not. Ranging from the highs of Jon Favreau’s excellent Jungle Book to the woeful lows of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, these adaptations are very hit or miss. Most of these remakes have so far tackled Disney films that I wasn’t very fond of, so I wasn’t really worried how they would turn out…until now. Aladdin is one of my favorite animated Disney films, so when it was announced it would be remade I was very nervous. The trailers didn’t do anything to calm my nerves (if anything they made them worse) and I was worried that this film would tarnish the original’s legacy. I’m happy to report however that this film is a lot better than it had any right to be. While it made some mistakes along the way, this was one fun ride and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out… for the most part at least.
Aladdin is directed by Guy Ritchie and stars Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott and Marwan Kenzari and is a live-action adaptation of the Disney animated film of the same name. The film follows Aladdin (Massoud), a young streetwise thief living in the streets of the kingdom of Agrabah. One day, he encounters the princess of the kingdom, Jasmine (Scott), who is trying to escape the trials of life as a princess. Despite both of them forming a strong connection, Jasmine tells Aladdin that they can never be together because royalty must love royalty. As Aladdin tries to see Jasmine in the palace he is caught by Jafar (Kenzari), the royal advisor to Jasmine’s father. Jafar tells Aladdin he can help him get with the princess if he carries out a simple task for him. Aladdin agrees and travels with Jafar to the Cave of Wonders where Jafar instructs him to enter the cave and retrieve the lamp inside. As he receives the lamp, the cave begins to collapse, and he is shut into the cave with the lamp. When Aladdin rubs the lamp, he is greeted by a powerful Genie (Smith), who tells him he has three wishes to use at his command. Together, they escape the cave where Aladdin uses one of his wishes to transform himself into prince so that he can marry Jasmine. He must then work to win the princess over without revealing who he truly is.
As some would argue that original film is one of the most visually distinct and energetic Disney animated films, I was keen to see if this adaptation could capture the magic of the original. For the most part, this film succeeds in doing so. The visuals of this film are just as bright and colorful (perhaps even more so) as the original, helped tremendously by the extravagant costume designs and set designs. And while sometimes it may look obviously like a set, they were visually interesting enough to keep me from criticizing it too much. The energetic feeling is also captured in some places as well. There are plenty of great action scenes and great banter moments between the characters to make up for the slow-moving parts the film faces. One department that lacked a certain energy was unfortunately the musical numbers. While the songs sound even better than the original, there’s a distinct lack of energy to be found in the direction of these scenes. There are a lot of moments where it feels like there could’ve been more movement in both the camera and in the subjects on screen. This can likely be attributed to the fact that director Guy Ritchie has never helmed a musical before. Thankfully though, the film has enough energy and charisma in other places to make up for this lack of experience.
One of these areas is the cast and the incredible chemistry they have with one another. Both Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott work to elevate their characters from the original source material flawlessly. To me, these two are far better and fleshed out in this film than in the original and part of this can be attributed to their wonderful energy and chemistry. The other supporting cast members also bring a lot of fun and energy to the film, particularly Nasim Padrad and Billy Magnussen as one of Jasmine’s hand maidens and a foreign prince respectively, whose performances are comedy gold. And while the shoes of the late Robin Williams are impossible to fill, Will Smith does a fantastic job in trying to do so. Not only is his Genie different enough from Willams’ version to stand on its own but he also brings a lot of new interesting elements to the film as a result. The only person who feels out of place in the film is Marwan Kenzari as Jafar. Kenzari fails to bring any of the creepy vile energy that the original character emanated, making for a lackluster and somewhat wimpy villain, resulting in a lack of stakes. Despite this issue, the rest of the cast is wonderful to watch and makes up for the energy where it counts.
As with any adaptation in any media form, changes will have to be made in order to help the translation. Some of the changes for this film work and some don’t. one of the changes that worked well for me was giving the Genie a little sub plot. This helped not only expand on his character but makes his arc more fulfilling in some ways. I also enjoy most of the changes made to Jasmine and her relationship to her title. The film makes an effort to show a princess as someone who does more than waving at people and marrying a prince. The fil emphasizes the importance in leadership and speaking up for the right thing, even if It means putting yourself at risk. The film also has more scenes for Jasmine and Aladdin to bond, making their relationship feel a little more fleshed out this time around. For every change that works however, there is one that doesn’t. The film changes up the order of some scenes. This not only makes no sense but also creates some pacing issues for the first act of the film. There is also a lot of changes made to the character of Jafar that cause his character to become far less intimidating. They resulted in one of Disney’s most iconic villains being downgraded to nothing more than, well, a cartoon character with no weight what so ever. The third act is also changed drastically as well, and without getting into spoilers, I will say that the original is far more thrilling in nearly every aspect.
So yeah, the changes made to the film are hit and miss, but for the most part this movie is a lot of fun. The film makes up for it’s confusing changes and lack of energy in some parts with a pure spirit of energetic fun, stunning visuals and a charmingly wonderful cast. And while this live-action adaptation won’t satisfy some people, it certainly satisfied me, flaws and all.
7/10