So far, we've seen enough real-life movies that are re-enacting disney cartoons to know that they don't care much about breaking the mold. It wouldn't be surprising if Aladdin's 1992 classic cartoon was satisfied for the most part that it was within the constraints of the original film. You'll feel like most scenes are familiar to fans of the original movie, so if you're looking to see a movie take a completely different approach, you might be disappointed. What the film offers us here is a spirited and lively adventure with fantastic optics that could have spent more time introducing something new.
Disney has faced a big challenge in re-enacting this film, so how do you reintroduce the character "Jenny"? The unique and very special role played by the late legend Robin Williams? But it can be said that Will Smith's performance as Jenny, with all the controversy he faced as blue before the release, was quite successful. Smith skillfully avoids the only thing that would have failed his performance altogether: trying to imitate robin Williams's cartoon gene character. "Jenny" Williams was an amplification of the actor's famous anarchist character, and Will Smith cleverly distanced himself from trying to match the performance. Jenny depends on Smith's charm and the amount of fun he obviously feels about playing that role. The story also gives Jenny's character here more depth than just a blue and funny "Jenny," giving him an unexpectedly very enjoyable subplot.
But does Smith succeed in magic alone? It depends a lot on your opinion of Boyle Smith himself. While Robin Williams has made dozens of different voices and characters to breathe life into Jenny, in a way that makes us not expect what we'll see from him next, this character's version looks a lot like it's just a blue Will Smith (or Hech's character may be closer to that), so your assessment of the character will vary depending on how willing you are to accept the issue. While Smith does a great job, this great "gene" reliance on Smith's character makes you wonder whether pushing a representative of himself more out of his safety zone might bring him closer to the limitless creativity that made Robin Williams' performance memorable.
Smith's brilliant character eventually overwhelms the young new actor Mina Massoud, who plays Aladdin. Nor does the text, which seems to always be more interested in the characters surrounding Aladdin than in Aladdin himself, help him. This Aladdin, who plays Masood, is a bit shy, and you'll have to offer something new and creative to stand out when she's in front of blue Fresh Prince. Masood performs stronger in his comedic scenes when he plays Prince Ali, and he stumbles in an attempt to attract Princess Jasmine and find new and strange ways to unwittingly spoil things.
Aladdin appears at the beginning of the film doing the work of Robin Hoody, if you will, trying to show us that he is a kind-hearted young man who takes care of the worse people. But when his selfishness to achieve wishful life begins to take control of his decision-making, it seems that it happens only because it's the way the story is supposed to be done and not because the character sought to make us believe that Aladdin could easily become a villain based on what we know about him. This is an example of the film's great obstacle, which is that it is generally always ready to be very similar to the cartoon version. This transition from a good person to someone who only thinks of himself as a cartoon, but here it just reminds us that the film's authors are ready to make only a few changes, and even those changes offer no real shock when they happen. This is disappointing here because, especially with the "gene" here, the possibilities for presenting new and amazing views are endless. The fact that most of the story remains unchanged forces you to feel that the film is missing the opportunity to exploit the potential of this world.
The only aspect that seems to be a clear improvement from the 1992 version is to deepen the character of Jasmine, played by actress Naomi Scott, to the point where the film sometimes seems to be more interested in her story than Aladdin'. The 3D princess with ambitions looks much more interesting this time around. Scott gives the character a kind of prestige and motivation that makes it easier for viewers to hang on to her than the old cartoon character. Both Jasmine and Jenny's characters get vibrant, renewed stories that are a welcome addition, but this highlights aladdin's being an old and predictable figure when compared to them.
The cast is divided between the bright and the weak, and while the two new characters starring Naseem Bedrad and Billy Magnusson offer a lot of laughs, The role of actor Marwan Kinzari is disappointing.
With the exception of a quick dialogue about his hatred of second place, it is not entirely clear why Jafar is planning against the sultan's throne except for the fact that he is only an evil person. Jafar al-Cartooni was a real evil and shadow, but kinzari's character is replaced by a disturbing and sick skin towards power that is not really interesting. But he's the one who stands up to Aladdin and Jasmine, and him, we want them to be together!
Fans will be pleased to learn that the great songs that Aladdin is famous for have been greatly presented here. Although One Jump Ahead sounds like a missed opportunity at the beginning of the film, focusing heavily on chase and action that doesn't quite work, the rest of the songs are absolutely fantastic. Friend Like Me is arguably the visual climax of the film, perhaps the closest re-shot to the magic we saw in the cartoon. One of the coolest surprises in the soundtrack was a new song by Bing Pasek and Justin Paul is Speechless. Scott is a great singer and Speechless is showing off her skills. The song may not win any awards, but it works well in the context of Yasmine's story.
In terms of optics, the film rarely disappoints. The city of Aqraba looks vibrant, especially during the entry of the grand Prince Ali, as well as beautifully depicting the surrounding desert. The cave scene in particular shows Guy Ritchie's skill in making action scenes, and everything about the mysterious danger of that scene, all about the mysterious danger of that scene, to aladdin's jumping into the parkour movements around a scorpion moving at a remarkable pace under his gaze.
The synopsis presents Aladdin's semi-identical re-shot of disney's classic original film, which may be a little disappointing considering that most of the few additions the film offers to the story work wonderfully. The deeper stories of Jasmine and Jenny are very welcome, but more often than not the film wants to focus on what was successful in the original film. However, familiar stories seem immature in the reality film, and it does not help that the actors as the main and villainheroes are sometimes dominated by the roles of their peers. While Aladdin 2019 doesn't offer a whole new world, thanks to the impressive performance of some of the secondary characters and the dazzling portrayal of The City of Scorpion, it's definitely worth watching.
