Aladdin (2019)
The trailer of this movie had raised up a lot of expectations and I was damn excited, after all I am fan of disney and the LIVE ACTION ones too for the experience you get in 3D/4D. Not to say my favorite actor WILL SMITH stars in this as Genie.
I was quite skeptical about how Will Smith do the Genie especially since Robin Williams had made the Genie immortal in the original cartoon. He was the perfect, nothing could get better and it didn't, but Will Smith hasn't done a bad job except that the accent is gone and Genie is well... FRESH PRINCE of Bel Air. The Hip-Hop has in a way screwed up the movie music though they are good as hiphop in general cartoon songs. I will get more into details about this throughout the review.
The movie starts with Will Smith telling the story of Aladdin to his kids who are awed with a big merchant ship passing their small boat. The film moves on the Agrabad the city of mystery. Again, Will Smith is singing good and not to mention he always rapped... but he is singing for the first time. There is not problem with him as a singer but then the feel is lost. The original ARABIAN NIGHTS with an Arabic accent is gone! its an American accent with lyrics changed probably to make them more sober and probably less realistic than the original ones.
We are introduced to the Diamond in the Rough a.k.a Aladdin played by Mena Massoud and he has done an excellent job. He almost looks like the original Aladdin. Jasmine played by Naomi Scott does her job well and so do Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad and others. Jafar somewhat could have been more evil looking than shown in the movie.
The plot is a bit changed in the end of how Jasmine seduces Jaffar to give Aladdin some time to get around, instead in here Aladdin does some emotional blackmailing and Ego flattering to make Jaffar wish for himself to become a genie. The Genie maintains his inability of not being able to make anyone fall in love with anyone. The plot gets a bit boring in the third quarter when you start to wonder whether you are watching a Disney movie or some Bollywood Musical. Unnecessary songs pop up when they are not needed and probably might make you stretch or yawn to be honest.
The music is so differently arranged to suit Will Smith probably, that it doesn't feel royal or symphonic like in the original version. Honestly speaking for a Disney movie it feels cheap. Thankfully the songs are not as distorted from original ones as they are done in THE JUNGLE BOOK. The only change mostly is a little bit of lyrics and the hip-hop flavor which thankfully doesn't seem so intimidating since Will Smith is on the screen.
I didn't understand why the face of the Genie somewhat seems like a cheap animation in many scenes. It could have been as natural as it gets but did Disney try to save some money? The movie would have been more successful if it was shorter than it was. Jasmine's song of inspiration after she is taken away by the soldiers was absolutely unnecessarily. The audience is waiting for an action when suddenly a tear-jerking yet inspirational number pops up.
Overall the movie is must watch for all kids and Disney fans. It will be a treat to watch the movie in 4D3X because no undoubtedly it gives a better experience. The magic carpet ride might take you back into your teenage days making you imagine riding it with your teenage love. This makes it a reason for any couples madly in love to go and watch it, ONLY in 4D3X
