Aladdin - Movie Review

Starring Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Nasim Pedrad, David Negahban, Billy Magnussen and Numan Acar.

Written by John August & Guy Ritchie.

Directed by Guy Ritchie.

★★★ 

This movie balances nicely between being its own creation while also staying true to the original. The songs are all still here, there are many scenes that could be considered shot-by-shot remakes of the animated original, but it’s more comfortable in fleshing out some scenes and being a more fluid story when dealing with live-action/CGI elements.

First, how was Will Smith’s Genie? He was good. He wisely does not attempt to ape Robin Williams, but he makes the Genie his own. He gets the most laughs, as it should be, and he keeps things bouncing along. I also liked how they gave him a love interest, a new character: Dalia, Jasmine’s handmaiden, played by SNL alum Nasim Pedrad.

Second, how was the rest of the cast? The real standout of the movie was Naomi Scott as Jasmine. She has a great voice, and the character herself has been upgraded and given more to do, including her own new song. Mena Massoud (Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan) is good as Aladdin. Marwan Kenzari is a very different Jafar, but on its own level, I thought it still worked. 

Some of the humor of the original is edged away. The Sultan isn’t as bumbling, and Iago is creepier and doesn’t have any laugh lines.

Guy Ritchie does a good job of fleshing out Acraba, giving Aladdin plenty of buildings to jump from, and the musical numbers like “Friend Like Me” and “Prince Ali” are fun to see with real people dancing in them. They change some lyrics in the opening “Arabian Nights” number to justify people of all ethnicities (besides white people) in one city.

So yeah, I thought it was going to be terrible based on the original trailers, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked it more than the live-action Beauty & the Beast.