Aladdin

Rating: 6/10 (1 June 2019)

This is a pretty good movie as a standalone. But as the live-action version of the beloved original Disney animation, it is sorely lacking in several areas. Firstly, the cast. For one, the whitewashing is pretty bad, such as with the actress who plays Jasmine, and her acting left a little to be desired in the way of portraying Jasmine's initial irritation with Prince Ali. I don't feel Jafar was encapsulated that well at all. The Sultan was a decent choice, and for Aladdin, Mena Massoud was pretty all right, and was at least from the correct region of the world. His singing and performance were pretty good overall, though I still felt something was missing specifically from his portrayal of Aladdin.
The worst part of this movie is it's rushed. It rushes through parts that have the most charm in the original, and Aladdin realizes the errors of his increasingly power-hungering ways far too quickly. There was also no iconic fight with Abu as Aladdin temporarily became more selfish in the original. This leaves the movie feeling like it's missing a lot of heart.
As for Will Smith as the genie... Overall, he's got the spunk for it. But not the theatrics. When he sang "You're gonna love this guy" from the song "Prince Ali", he had none of the jazz-handy finish that Robin Williams did, nor did it even feel close in a lot of moments. He certainly was not a bad choice, and hardly anyone could've done Williams's genie justice, but regardless, it is noticeable that genie just isn't as kooky as in the animated version, and it leaves the film feeling less crazy and lively.
Also, what on earth was with the dancing that genie made Aladdin do? I get it, it's modern and a joke, but break-dancing? Really? It completely ruined any immersion to see such modern takes right after what had been a more old-style dance.
The live-action version of Aladdin is neither here nor there. Ultimately, I'm not a big fan of it as an Aladdin movie, but it stands okay on its own.