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Aladdin

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 Aladdin is a spectacular and dazzling real-life remake of the animated film of the same name from 1992.

I was really looking forward to this movie since it was directed by Guy Ritchie (the director of classics like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, as well as, more recently, the Sherlock Holmes series with Robert Downey Jr. and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), and it didn't disappoint. The film has some of Ritchie's trademarks like great action scenes, shots in slow-motion and amusing comic. Overall, it does justice to the original.

Image result for aladdin hd poster
Before I move on, let me assert that Aladdin is a musical (with a lot more songs than I remember from the original, but I was really young then); there is action and comedy, but at heart, it's a musical, so don't expect anything less.

Both Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott are very good. You can see that Massoud really enjoys playing Aladdin and Scott has some really brilliant moments. Will Smith too is very comfortable playing Genie, and though, initially, he seems a bit out of place (being African-American and all), he grows on you. Jafar, however, should've been cast better because Marwan Kenzari just doesn't have the same creepy effect as the animated version (see the side-by-side comparison below from popsugar.com).

Image result for jafar 1992 vs 2019Disney movies tend to leave no stone unturned in special effects and production design, and Aladdin is no exception. The visuals were marvelous, be it the cave, the palace or the songs like "Friend Like Me" and "Prince Ali", both of which were remade sensationally. Abu (the monkey), Rajah (the tiger) and Lago (the parrot) were also created really well. The other songs also - both remakes, like "A Whole New World" and "One Jump Ahead", and originals, like "Speechless" (Scott sings breathtakingly in this; click here to watch the music video) - are amazing, making the soundtrack one of the highlights of the movie. Furthermore, the remakes all have a modern twist added to them, while retaining the original charm; for this, credit has to be given to Alan Menken, the music composer for both this film and the 1992 one.

Apart from the Jafar miscast, there are a few other slight drawbacks of the movie. For one, as one of my friends mentioned, it was missing a scene with the iconic Jasmine-in-the-hourglass part. Also, I felt that a few of the impromptu, a capella singing parts didn't fit in too smoothly. But these are mere trivialities.

All in all, Aladdin is a vibrant musical spectacle that will transport you to a whole new world...as long as you haven't grown up too much.


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