Average at best

Rating: 4/10 (31 May 2019)

I have liked the remakes they have been doing quite a lot, some I find superior to the originals, but this one has me baffled. I think this movie does a lot of things right, so let's start with those. I enjoy the cast, and the singing is great. Some nice changes on old tunes, and a new one tossed in to add some much needed Jasmine character development. Jasmine as a whole I think is much more compelling in this one over the original, being more than just a plot piece for Aladdin. She has her own desires and motives in this. Our animated buddies like Iago, Abu, Raja and Carpet are a hoot, easily the best part of the film for me. Aladdin is played very well. I even think Will Smith makes a great Genie. When I heard he was cast, unlike most, I was quite eager. He is a really funny actor and I think he coulda put an excellent twist on the character. But here's where we get into bad...
The writing was weak. I saw glimpes of brilliance in the performance the cast was doing, but I just feel the writing side was lacking. A lot of subpar comedy. The jokes felt forced, including a Jam one that persists the entire duration of the film that is just awful. They pull a lot from the original without changing the dialogue, and it felt out of place and awkward at times. I think they could have changed more to be honest.
I am not a fan of Jafar, although the little backstory they build is nice. He just seemed to mellow of an actor for such a dynamic villain. I expected low manipulative tones and crazy maniacal peaks, and his performance overall was quite monotone.
The pacing was so weird. Some character development and believability is extremely rushed. Then some moments were slowed down and gave so much depth, what we should have got throughout. There is a developing new subplot that I thought was an interesting twist on things, but toward the end it wraps up in like 20 seconds where I was left feeling like it was a cancelled show trying to shove a season in an episode.
And the fact that the Cave of Wonders doesn't physically talk made me sad. (but not docking points for that, just made me a sad boi)
Overall I just felt it was a slightly below average movie, which is why it lands on 4 for me. Some new things I really enjoyed, but a mix of bad jokes, weird pace shifts and awkward moments. Kids will love it, fans will enjoy the nods to the original, but for me personally, it just felt odd.