ALADDIN – A Review by John Strange
When I saw the first announcement for this film I was worried. The animated feature was amazing. How could they possibly expect to top it? And Will Smith trying to follow in the footsteps of the late Robin Williams? That’s just nuts!
Disney showed me that they are smart. They wisely kept the major story points while adding a few scenes that I truly enjoyed, giving the story a slightly different flavor from the classic version. The base story of Aladdin gaining the genie’s lamp, falling in love with the princess, and their story of love is basically intact.
Like the film’s predecessor, Aladdin is a musical film complete with the songs you love, performed beautifully by the new cast. We all knew Will had a great voice but it was wonderful to hear Naomi Scott (Princess Jasmine) and Mena Massoud (Aladdin) singing some of my favorite Disney songs.
The visuals of this film, the special effects and cinematography, are excellent and Guy Ritchie’s direction is superb. This film will do very well because it works on so many levels. Good music, great visuals, and a story we grew up on.
Jafar, played to a “T” by Marwan Kenzari, is really more evil than bad. I love that we get more backstory on why he is the way he is. Mena and Will play well off each other. This is also something I feel that the new version did a better job of than the animated one. But perhaps it is because this one felt a bit more adult than its predecessor. It is still a wonderful film for the kids but adults will enjoy it more!
I watched it in IMAX and it was wonderful. Take your kids to see Aladdin. Heck, take your siblings and friends and your siblings’ friends and your friends’ siblings to see this film! Everyone will love it!
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Cast: Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Billy Magnussen, Alan Tudyk, Nasim Pedrad, Marwan Kenzari, Numan Acar, Frank Welker, Navid Negahban, Nikkita Chadha, Ocean Navarro
MPAA Rating: PG (for some action/peril)
Selig Rating: A+
Runtime: 128 Min.
Movie Site: movies.disney.com/aladdin-2019
The Selig Rating Scale:
A – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
B – Good movie
C – OK movie
D – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
F – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
