Better than expected, but still lacking some of the original's heart

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2019)

Aladdin (1992) is my favorite Disney animated film, so I was very much intrigued by this remake. Thankfully, the live-action film isn't as bad as promotional material would lead you to believe. The first half of the film is great and really recaptures much of the original's magic. The Friend Like Me sequence is fantastic and I'd be lying if I said I didn't get goosebumps when A Whole New World started. They smartly avoided trying to replicate Robin Williams' iconic performance as Genie and instead let Will Smith be Will Smith, and honestly it worked.
Where the film falters a bit is its second half. Jafar is pretty badly miscast. He is nowhere near as menacing as the original and it's hard to take him seriously as the villain, especially at the end. While I understand wanting to update the film for modern times, Jasmine's "wokeness" feels terribly out of place in the film and could have been handled much better. Aladdin is a dazzling spectacle, but unfortunately can't quite match the magic of the original.