My Review of Aladdin (2019) · 9:40pm Dec 31st, 2020
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
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Here it is, folks! My final review/blog for this atrocious year 2020! I just hope that 2021 will become a slow but steady restoration for all of us. Things won’t recover in an instant, but it will take time—plenty of time for things to get back the way they were before. It’s up to us to make things right and to make a difference. Anyway, for today’s review, I will be talking about the Aladdin remake! After watching the movie online, I gotta say... it’s mostly better than the original one. Why do I say this? Well, let’s talk about it:
1). First of all, Will Smith actually carried this entire film; without his masterful performance as Genie, this movie would have been pretty dull. His version is as equally as funny as Robin Williams’ version, but this Genie also actually has that serious yet sassy mentor personality. To me, that makes this Genie more unique as a character and not trying to be a copycat. That’s what I love most about Smith’s Genie: he acts and behaves more like himself and not like the late Robin Williams. That’s something that most actors and voice actors often forget. The more you be yourself in your acting career instead of copying the acting style of someone else, it will make you stand out more, and the audience will notice that. So Will Smith was awesome, hilarious, and talented in this as he is in other films. He’s one of my favorite actors of all time.
2). Mena Massoud wasn’t that bad as Aladdin. In fact, he was a little more interesting than the original one mostly because he isn’t annoying and unbearable. I didn’t like the awkward moments he had in the movie, but I’ll get used to it eventually.
3). The CGI looks very well done, and the soundtrack is literally breathtaking! For instance, the opening scene is by far, and so far, the BEST opening scene in a live action Disney movie! Listen to this:
It is so epic and goosebumps-inducing. Will Smith can really sing it! It is so much better than the original one. Oh, and props to Frank Welker for voicing the Cave of Wonders! Is it just me, or did I really hear his Bayverse Soundwave voice a bit? Mmm-Hmm, that’s definitely the latter.
4). If there’s one major thing I didn’t like in the movie, it’s this version of Jafar.
As far as his appearance is concerned, he is actually handsome and good-looking unlike the skinny animated Jafar. That’s what they got right: making Jafar really attractive (no homo).
As far as his character is concerned, he fails hard. No disrespect to Marwan Kenzari but his voice does not reflect his evilness, nor is he actually threatening. He tries way too hard to be intimidating aside from his dark apparel. Although I have to give the writers credit for giving him a smidgen of a backstory; I like how he doesn’t disguise himself as an old man when talking to Aladdin for the first time and actually compares himself to him... basically like an evil version of Aladdin. Besides, why would Jafar disguise himself as an old man in the original? The original Aladdin has never seen him before, so was the disguise even necessary?
Also, although I was disappointed that Gilbert Gottfried did not reprise his role as Iago, I was somewhat impressed by the performance of Alan Tudyk as the said parrot. His parrot voice is passable at best.
5). Most of the songs are great such as their version of Prince Ali, and I really like some of the changes/differences they made in the story. The Sultan acts more like a protective and thoughtful father instead of being a goofy, bumbling idiot like the original; Jasmine looks more adult and doesn’t kiss Jafar during the marriage scene (she was 16 in the original which makes it more creepy); Genie actually can turn into a human and has his own love relationship with a woman (Dalia); they actually gave the captain of the guard a backstory and character development unlike his animated counterpart; and the climax was... good at best. I find it rather odd that they chose a giant flying parrot (Iago) in place of a giant cobra, but I suppose that it would require a lot of CGI which can be very expensive. They probably did it to save money. So... I can’t complain.
Overall, this is a very satisfying and enjoyable movie. I will give it a solid 8/10. It has some issues, but there are more positives that can overshadow the negatives. Like I said, it is quite better than the original one. Just my opinion.
Thank you, guys, for sticking with me throughout this year, and may you all have a great happy New Year 🎆🎊🎈!!!!
You know Genie made a good point in the movie.
5425776
He made plenty of good points.
5425815
I mean about the Gray Areas.
Do you plan on doing an analysis of the original animated film?
Also, I do agree. Out of the many live-action remakes that Disney dished out, this was one of the most enjoyable by far.
The only element I didn't like was the casting of Marwan Kenzari as Jafar. When it came to playing the character, I thought that he certainly tried his best, but he was overall completely miscast. It was hard to take him seriously as a villain in this movie compared to the version in the animated film, and it would've been better if they had cast someone way older than Aladdin like in the former.
5427645
Already did, my friend.
5427646
Thank you.
How about the live-action Lion King film? You plan on reviewing that movie?
5427647
Yep, that as well.
5427649
Great!
I can't wait to see it.
You want to know who I personally think would've been a better casting choice for the part of Jafar?
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For me, Jonathan Freeman should’ve been the choice since he voiced him in the original and also played as him in an Aladdin broadway.
But sure, who would’ve been your choice?
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Ben Kingsley. He’s a terrific actor, and he’s capable of taking on any kind of role he's given.
5427740
YESSSS!! I love that guy! He’s one of my favorites!
Looking back on the disguise element, I think the biggest reason Jafar disguised himself as an old man is because Aladdin likely would’ve known just by mere reputation. After all, being Royal Vizier to the Sultan surely made him quite famous and recognized by all.
5521145
I know this is a late reply, but I still find that action questionable.
That could have been the reason, but what harm would come if he didn't disguise himself? As this remake demonstrates, nothing.
5533065
To be fair, both Aladdin and Jafar met in entirely different locations. In the animated film, they met in the dungeon, and the disguise would quite honestly be necessary since he likely didn’t want the guards to be alerted to his presence. In the live-action film, they met in the desert, and so Jafar obviously didn’t have anything to worry about.
Besides, despite Aladdin knowing that Jafar was the one who hired him in the live-action film, he likely couldn’t tell the Sultan or Jasmine because for fear of giving himself away as not really being a prince.
Make sense?
5533370
Why would he worry about them being alerted to his presence? He was the very one who ordered Aladdin's arrest in the first place, so he could have just said, "I must have a word with the prisoner." Thus, a disguise would not have been necessary at all.
5533413
Again, I don’t think he wanted to be recognized by Aladdin since he’d likely know him by reputation. I’m not sure why, but I thought the disguise was a smarter course for Jafar to take, as well as a great way of not alerting suspicion to himself.
5533433
That really doesn't make any sense or explain anything. How would Aladdin recognizing him by mere reputation harm his plans? How exactly is the disguise smart on his part? Can you actually explain that?
5533436
It’s hard to say.
In retrospect, as much as I enjoyed the moment where Aladdin and the undisguised Jafar in the live-action film converse for the first time, I just found Jafar disguised as an old man in the animated film while meeting Aladdin to be quite an entertaining and fun element to watch. It certainly got me interested in seeing where things would be going in the story, and I thought that it was a nice reflection on Jafar’s intelligence and craftiness.
5533438
We all have our biases, friend. Other than that, I really enjoyed this conversation, so I appreciate hearing from you.
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Thank you.
On the subject of the Jafar in the live-action film, I did like how they expanded on the character some and made him a sort of alternate to Aladdin. But, I didn’t think it aided him in being a threatening antagonist either because of him being close to the same age as Aladdin and Jasmine. As a matter of fact, the backstory made me question how he even became Royal Vizier to begin with and his age made me wonder how long he had been working for the Sultan.