Why bother?

Rating: 4/10 (23 January 2020)

ALADDIN is the latest Walt Disney cartoon to be given the live action treatment, although so much of it is heavily CGI animated (from the backdrops to the monkey) that you wonder why they bothered. An improbably good-looking lead works his way through a hackneyed plot with heavily-telegraphed supporting roles (the romantic interest, the evil black-clad villain) with no depth or intrigue anywhere in sight. The action is monotonous and mindless, with no realism or attention to the basics of physics, and a blue-skinned Will Smith, although out of place, becomes the most interesting thing about this (alongside a handful of songs). Otherwise, it's yet another wasted opportunity.