Review:
*Originally written May 22nd, 2019*
Yeah, I'm pretty much done with these live-action Disney remakes now. I had a soft-spot for a couple and I really liked Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book, but after the mediocre Dumbo and now this incredibly bland and cynical remake of Aladdin, I'm over it. I just wish I turned on these films faster, because in all honesty, they deserve it.
What makes a little of these films great is how tight, fun and entertaining they are. The original Aladdin is even one of my favourite of Disney's animated classics and this re-imagining brings absolutely nothing new to the table and does so very little to justify its existence outside of printing money for Disney. A company I'm very quickly beginning to despise.
The problem I have with this and earlier this years Dumbo is just wasting the directors. I'm not the biggest fan of Guy Ritchie, but I give him credit when it comes to style, he has own unique sensibilities that feel present in all of his films, for better or worse. His films can be very obnoxious at times, but there is some entertainment in his quick-witted dialogue and incredibly stylised action. His films feel like his own. If I had no idea Guy Ritchie directed this and then afterwords discovered this, I would have thought it was a joke. Aside from two very brief moments, there is not a single ounce of wit or style that makes this feel like a Ritchie film.
It once again feels like a film directed by a corporate machine with no flair for the cinematic. So much of this feels flat and lifeless. Some of the songs are obviously very good, as they were in the original and the updates of these songs are absolutely fine, but everything just lacks energy, making it seem like some tiring chore. It's amazing to me that a film with a budget this insanely high can feel so uninteresting and dull. There seems to be a lot going on screen with these musical numbers, but the way its shot makes it seem so damn boring.
It's a shame too, in hindsight, an Aladdin film from Guy Ritchie actually sounds like an interesting idea. The style from his early British crime films could have actually merged well with the story of a young street rat here, but it's so safe and uninteresting. They do not take a single risk with this update and it shows. It honestly made me wish I was watching Ritchie's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, one of his biggest flops and a film that was panned left, right and centre, but that still displays more creativity and unique style than anything onscreen in Aladdin.
It's not all bad though. Even with the horrific marketing, Will Smith somehow managed to be the best thing about this. He brings a lot of charm and charisma to the role, despite the questionable character design. His performance in this is very much Will Smith being Will Smith, but by the time he joins the film, it was a welcome addition. Relative unknown Mena Massoud also gives a fairly solid performance as Aladdin, he's not amazing, but he carries the film well enough.
Marwan Kenzari's Jafar is a big miss. A completely one note and boring villain who's motivations are nothing more than "He's evil", it's just annoying. If they're going to spread these stories out for an extra 40 minutes from their animated originals, they could at least try and use this time to expand on character, but instead they just add filler between the plot beats we already know in order to get the film to around the 2 hour mark.
There's so little to say. It is what it is, a deeply cynical cash grab with a solid Will Smith being himself and a few moments of fun from songs you remember from your childhood. Too competently made to be called bad, but so deeply unoriginal and pointless to be called good. I can't believe I'm saying this, but what a waste of Guy Ritchie....
5/10 Dans
Aladdin is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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