{"id":1112,"date":"2019-05-22T10:59:42","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T17:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/kksm\/?p=1112"},"modified":"2019-05-22T10:59:42","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T17:59:42","slug":"movie-review-aladdin-reviewed-by-jake-hardison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palomar.edu\/kksm\/movie-review-aladdin-reviewed-by-jake-hardison\/","title":{"rendered":"Movie Review: “Aladdin” (Reviewed by Jake Hardison)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MV5BMjQ2ODIyMjY4MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNzY4ODI2NzM@._V1_\"It\u2019s been hard to gauge the level of anticipation for Disney\u2019s recent streak of live-action adaptations. While many reboot attempts such as the recent\u00a0Dumbo<\/i>\u00a0have seen lackluster reception from both critics and audiences, so far none have resulted in a complete box office disaster. So as far as Disney is concerned, there is a legitimate audience for these movies. So whether the truth of the studio\u2019s live-action adaptations up to and including this month\u2019s\u00a0Aladdin<\/i>\u00a0is, at worst, an ill-advised cash grab, or at best, an honest attempt to revive a classic story for a new generation, the fact is that the House of Mouse is continuing to put butts in seats.<\/p>\n

And honestly, I wish I had something more significant to say about director Guy Ritchie\u2019s take on the 1992 classic. I think I stand with much of the general public when I say that my expectations for\u00a0Aladdin\u00a0were low to mediocre. However, in all fairness, I will say that the movie did (though minimally) exceed those expectations overall. My two biggest worries going in were Will Smith\u2019s take on the\u00a0Genie, and any adaptations to the plot and themes. I\u2019m happy to say I was pleasantly surprised by both.<\/p>\n

When it comes to one of the legendary Robin Williams\u2019s most iconic characters, many fans were reasonably concerned with the announcement of Will Smith\u2019s Fresh take (I\u2019m so sorry). Last November, a first look at the blue, rubbery, CGI performance in the film\u2019s teaser didn\u2019t do much to help matters. But while the end result doesn\u2019t necessarily do justice to Williams\u2019s take, it doesn\u2019t completely disrespect it either. In fact, a lot of what Will Smith brings to the character doesn\u2019t seem like its trying to even touch Robin Williams, which is probably for the best. In other words, if there had to be a Will Smith version of the\u00a0Genie, this wasn\u2019t bad for what it was. Where the Fresh Prince could have gone overboard, for the most part he didn\u2019t. Even the most cynical fans will find some degree of fun in this film\u2019s shots at the \u201cFriend Like Me\u201d and \u201cPrince Ali\u201d numbers. If nothing else, both of these are absolute visual spectacles complete with exciting choreography. While some of Smith\u2019s performance can come off somewhat derivative and even lazy, his best moments see him taking advantage of the character\u2019s whacky, cartoonish potential.<\/p>\n

As far the rest of the film\u2019s leading cast goes, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott (Aladdin\u00a0andJasmine, respectively) do about as well as they need to. While the script provides several moments for both actors that miss the mark in terms of charm, there is a lot of legitimate chemistry between the two. This even includes added musical moments that feel blatantly unnecessary. However, Naomi Scott does stick out as a vocal talent in the film, something which was likely intended.<\/p>\n

Personally I would rank Guy Ritchie\u2019s\u00a0Aladdin<\/i>\u00a0above the live action versions of\u00a0Beauty and the Beast<\/i>\u00a0as well as\u00a0Dumbo<\/i>. While it still doesn\u2019t come close to the Jon Favreau\u2019s\u00a0The Jungle Book\u00a0<\/i>(a gold-standard as far as I\u2019m concerned),\u00a0Aladdin<\/i>\u00a0does a better job than its other predecessors at adapting the original story. With many of these reboots, much of their failure comes from the writers adding more to the story than the screenplay can do justice to. This isn\u2019t as much the case with\u00a0Aladdin.While the film has plenty of quirks that are unintentionally laughable, there are also a few legitimately funny scenes. Furthermore, even at the film\u2019s messiest, there is still thematic consistency, exploring the ideas of how pretending to be someone you\u2019re not will ultimately get you in trouble, while being yourself will make you the happiest.<\/p>\n

Where the film isn\u2019t mindblowing, it also isn\u2019t offensively disappointing. Like I said, I wish I had something more significant to say about it, but the fact is it will likely generate enough money for Disney to to justify continuing to adapt its animated classics to live-action. While it\u2019s inevitable for each of these projects to be scrutinized under the comparison to their respective originals, that alone will be enough to get fans to watch them. In fact, maybe that was the plan the whole time\u2026<\/p>\n

Release Date:<\/b>\u00a0May 24, 2019<\/p>\n

Cast:\u00a0<\/b>Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban<\/p>\n

Studios:\u00a0<\/b>Walt Disney Pictures<\/p>\n

Director:\u00a0<\/b>Guy Ritchie<\/p>\n

Run Time:<\/b>\u00a0128 minutes<\/p>\n

Official Website:\u00a0<\/b>https:\/\/movies.disney.com\/aladdin-2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Official Social Media Pages:<\/b><\/p>\n