ALADDIN (2019) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

ALaddin (2019) movie

Genre              |   Fantasy Adventure

Classification   |   PG

Running time   |   128 minutes

Released         |   23 May 2019

cast

Naomi Scott ... Jasmine
Mena Massoud ... Aladdin
Will Smith ... Genie
​Marwan Kenzari ... Jafar

director

Guy Ritchie

writer

​John August ... (screenplay) &
Guy Ritchie ... (screenplay)
 
Ron Clements ... (1992 screenplay)
Ted Elliott ... (1992 screenplay)
John Musker ... (1992 screenplay)
Terry Rossio ... (1992 screenplay)

cinematographer

​Alan Stewart ... director of photography

music

Alan Menken

film editor

James Herbert

---

box office result

Worldwide               $? million

Australia                 $? million

North America        $? million

---

the best dialogue

Genie: You really don't know who I am? Genie, wishes, lamp, none of that ringing a bell?

Jafar: Bring me the lamp. Your life begins now, Aladdin.

Cave of Wonders: Only one may enter here. One whose worth lies far within. The diamond in the rough.

---

ALADDIN (2019) MOVIE IMAGES

Images

Posters

Images

Posters

ALADDIN (2019) STORY SYNOPSIS

​Aladdin is an upcoming American musical romantic fantasy adventure film directed by Guy Ritchie, from the screenplay co-written with John August, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures.

ALADDIN (2019) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mark Geraghty   |   Review date 23 May 2019

Pop ​Movee Rating

It will be very hard for long-time fans of Disney’s 1992 animated ALADDIN not to draw comparisons between the latest live action adaptation of a Disney classic and its much-loved namesake… Perhaps more than any other of the studio’s efforts to reimagine its animated library, the singular, crowd-pleasing Star-powered vocal performance by Robin Williams as Genie in the original film was always going to make it challenging for a live-action version to entertain in the same, toe-tapping fashion as the original...

Fortunately, the 2019 Guy Ritchie directed version quite wisely decides not to do a scene-for-scene remake of the Ron Clements & John Musker co-directed effort. Ritchie’s film is certainly inspired by the 1992 film, but it delves a little more deeply into the inequalities that confront both Aladdin, played by Mena Massoud, and Jasmine, played Naomi Scott, without getting too bogged down in social commentary.

The 2019 version is certainly not lacking for fun or adventure…

However, the proverbial “Elephant in the room” for ALADDIN is Will Smith’s portrayal of Genie.

Smith, as always, is a consummate professional and is uniquely suited to the role, with his combination of acting, singing and dancing. The only other performer with anything close to Smith’s Box Office appeal with those sort of skills is Hugh Jackman and just trying to imagine him in the role is enough to give anyone a pain in the eye!

So, how does Smith’s performance rate?

Perfectly fine.

Big Willy lacks a little of the “Oooompf” required to belt out the updated versions of the Alan Menken & Tim Rice tunes, but the film’s sumptuous production values, along with copious amounts of backing singers & dancers, is enough to get him across the line without having to resort to outright showboating, scenery-chewing lunacy in order to get the same impact Williams got with his outrageous vocal stylings back in 1992.

While there’s no need to “compensate” for Smith’s lower-key Genie, ALADDIN benefits insurmountably from a much better defined version of both its its titular character and the object of his affections, Jasmine.

Mena Massoud has already created an impressive resume of “Middle Eastern” character performances across both Film and TV, but his role in ALADDIN isn’t just about Disney ensuring that this new film can’t be accused of “whitewashing” the story…

Like Smith, Massoud, and co-star Naomi Scott, is required to do his best Triple-threat, playing Aladdin with enough conviction to make him sympathetic while - almost simultaneously - having the “show off” in elaborate musical set-pieces that require a reasonable amount of skill in both the singing and dancing departments. It’s no mean feat, but Massoud is good enough in all three departments to ensure the viewer never questions the authenticity of his work…

Likewise Naomi Scott.

Besides Smith, Scott is the other main concession the film’s makers have had to make that diverts away from maintaining one hundred percent ethnic authenticity.

Audiences may recall Scott was last up on the big screen in the underwhelming 2017 POWER RANGERS, in which she provided one of the bright spots as Kimberly, the Pink Ranger. Her singing skill made her a perfect choice for the role of Jasmine and she delivers a performance that makes her, by far, the most convincing of the live-action Disney “Princess” characters to date.

While Genie was the biggest concern for fans, Jafar flew under the radar and, unfortunately, Marwan Kenzari is the biggest disappointment in the film. He does his best, but Kenzari doesn’t capture the relish with which Jonathan Freeman delivered his vocal performance in the 1992 film and all the subsequent movies, TV shows and games in which Jafar has featured.

Kenzari also seems a little young for the part. At thirty-five years of age, Kenzari still has a relatively youthful face despite sporting a beard for the role. The animated Jafar was sharply drawn and Kenzari’s more rounded features don’t quite match a character who has been scheming for the best part of his adult life to overthrow the Sultan, played in the live-action film by the wonderful Navid Negahban.

The other big question mark heading into the release of ALADDIN centred around the choice of Guy Ritchie as the film’s Director.

If someone had to draw up a list of people to co-write and direct a live-action adaptation of ALADDIN, Ritchie is not the first name anyone would associate with this kind of project…

Ritchie is not a bad Director, but his resume is filled with rough and tumble, adventure stories that play to a more traditional male-skewing Western audience. He’s also well overdue for a hit movie. It’s been a decade since the first SHERLOCK HOLMES movie hit screens and, despite high entertainment value, neither THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (2015) or KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD (2017) set the Box Office alight…

Ritchie’s direction on ALADDIN feels relatively assured and, despite this being a Disney film, where free reign is not exactly the order of the day, he manages to create some visually dynamic sequences that make the viewer feel like his trademark “Action” style hasn’t been completely suppressed. Surprisingly, Ritchie’s handling of the film’s elaborate musical numbers, including some big dance numbers, are among the most impressive work that he and Director of Photography Alan Stewart stage.

ALADDIN doesn’t reel the viewer in like THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016); arguably the best of the recent liver-action adaptations to date. It has heart and charm, thanks largely to the chemistry Massound and Scott manage to generate. It’s not an “instant Classic”, but it has more than enough entertainment value and differentiates itself enough from the animated film for the finished product to be worth the effort.

The film should resonate with audiences, but, there has been a substantial negative cyber campaign waged against it, especially in relation to Smith’s Genie…

The finished film does not deserve this kind of negativity.

Yes, Robin Williams can never be replaced, but, based on what’s on offer in ALADDIN’s 128 minute running time, it was never anyone’s intention to emulate his take on the character. This is a case of a remake shifting its focus from an original that had one outstanding, defining element and repositioning the new film so its message is appealing for a different type of audience and, dare it be said, allowing the 2019 version to open itself up to a whole new world...

ALADDIN MOVIE (2019) USEFUL LINKS

Aladdin (2019 film) - Wikipedia
​Aladdin (2019) - IMDb
​Aladdin (2019) - Rotten Tomatoes​

digital updates delivered

facebook

instagram