A vibrant & grand, if a bit bland rendition of the animated classic

Rating: 6/10 (18 June 2019)

Aladdin (2019) has had a lot of problems going into its release. A poorly-received initial trailer/teaser was the starting of a press run that frankly, made me nothing but uninterested for the film.
Needless to say, I wasn't planning on watching it but due to certain circumstances, I ultimately wounded up seeing the movie dubbed in the local language with a couple of my friends.
So.....was it worth the $5? Umm, kinda.
You see, it's a Disney live-action film through and through. It's a crowd-pleasing cash grab. The Mouse has made sure that your eyeballs are glued onto the screen for most of the runtime. It offers enough musical interludes and dances to sustain the attention of the 12 year olds that comprise the movie's target demographic. There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the film per se, but I cannot help but notice the sheer amount of hard work that has been done by the production department. The costumes, props, etc. were all A+. But that's all a given considering it's Disney money.
The director has done an 'okay' job and the actors are all pretty fine. (pun intended)
Interestingly enough, Will Smith was probably one of the best things in the movie. He has the perfect amount of charisma and bravado to pull off the role of the Genie!
The writing is sloppy and the story runs out of steam rather quickly as the villain is so poorly-written, in comparison to the Jafar of the original Aladdin, who was so much more menacing. The ending doesn't have the required tension and emotional weight, either. Really bland, imo.
Regardless, Aladdin (2019) is clearly a good business decision on Disney's part as live action remakes seem to be their thing as long as they keep doing well at the Box Office.
Ultimately, it's a good time with the family and has enough frills and fancies to keep those little ones engaged.
PS:- Don't watch the original before going to the cinema. You would only be disappointed with how certain elements don't really pan out well in the live-action.