Aladdin: Film Review

Aladdin: Film Review

Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari
Director: Guy Ritchie

As the House of Mouse continues to plunder its own back catalogue for a seemingly never-ending list of live-action remakes, Guy Ritchie's Aladdin emerges as the latest contender.

Following the 1992 story down to a tee, it's the tale of street rat Aladdin (Massoud, largely wooden other than in interactions with the genie) who parkours through the bazaars picking up goods where he can to exchange for food.

When Aladdin meets Princess Jasmine (Scott, given a moment of empowerment towards the end) he's smitten. But before he can act on this, he's stolen away by the villainous Jafar (Kenzari, muted, but for reasons that are obvious next to Smith's genie) to steal a lamp from a mysterious cavern....

Guy Ritchie and the team behind Aladdin don't do anything to radically tamper with the formula, instead adding embellishments and Ritchie's patented slow-mo action sequences to street escapes.

The slowing down and speeding up of portions of the action (such as it is) adds to a sense of style and individuality that 2019's Aladdin has. The arrival of Prince Ali is more OTT Bollywood reveal now, and the costuming pops with colours and vibrancy.

But the film's nothing without its genie. And in truth, Will Smith delivers a different performance than Robin Williams' iconic and much-loved Genie. Less Williams, more Fresh Prince-cum-Big Willy style, Smith's charismatic in the role, and cartoony when needed. He elevates every scene he's in, and certainly Massoud, while looking the part, sparkles more in his interactions with the genie than through the rest of the film.

It's not damning Aladdin's 2019 iteration to say it's all right - while some may lament Jafar's apparently less villainous outing this time around, it's hard to go up against the energy of Will Smith's genie and not suffer. Anything OTT for the villain would have rendered this cartoon-like and that's not what the live-action films need to be - they need to have their own individuality.

At its heart though, Aladdin is a family film that hits the fun needed and is never better than its original songs like Friend in Me, which have stood the test of time.

It may not be a Whole New World for the audience familiar with the original, but it does offer a chance for a new audience to engage with it and while it's a little overlong at 2 hours, it's largely entertaining popcorn family fare throughout.