I’m sure I’m not the only one who had some reservations about the live action Aladdin directed by Guy Ritchie, that hit theaters this past weekend. The animated classic featuring the late Robin Williams as the voice of the Genie was about as perfect a Disney film as there ever has been. Now enter Wil Smith who has a large lamp to fill. Warning, spoilers ahead…
The live action retelling stays pretty close to the source material and in certain areas, actually improves on them. Aladdin (Mena Massoud) is a hustling “street rat” who is used by the evil Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) to retrieve a lamp. This lamp and its contents would give Jafar power beyond his dreams. When things go wrong for Jafar, Aladdin ends up with the lamp and frees the Genie (Will Smith) within. Genie then grants Aladdin three wishes. From this point on, the film hits all the points from the original. This includes a very cool musical sequence when Aladdin now “transformed” into the charming Prince Ali as he enters Agrabah in an attempt to woe Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott).
The reservations I talked about earlier had more to do with the casting of Will Smith as Genie than the film itself. Both Massoud and Scott make for a very cute Aladdin and Jasmine. As much as the film may be about them, it’s all about Smith. More accurately, his interpretation of Genie. People are eager to compare his live action performance and Williams’ animated one. It’s kind of unfair but it’s a natural thing to do. Truth is, it doesn’t appear Smith is channeling Williams for the portrayal. Instead, Smith puts his own style to which was probably the best approach. In a lot of ways Smith was in a no win situation. As I’m watching it unfold on the big screen, I rather enjoyed his take on the character.
Much like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin doesn’t replace the original. The animated classics are exactly that… classics. It does however stay fairly true to the magic and charm that made the originals so special. This version of Aladdin may not be a classic but its far from a disaster.
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, Marwan Kenzari, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, Navid Negahban and Alan Tudyk
PG 128 Mins
ALADDIN – *** (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
