So much potential, but sadly so poorly done

Rating: 6/10 (26 May 2019)

I really, really wanted to love this movie. It had such great potential, but the end result was messy and poorly executed.
The casting, in my opinion, was excellent. Massoud and Scott were a convincing Aladdin and Jasmine, though their chemistry was best at the beginning of the film. Once Prince Ali appears, the dynamic gets confusing, with Jasmine often still reacting positively to Ali/Aladdin despite some incredibly awkward and embarrassing moments, not to mention a blatant broken promise, egotistical behavior, and degrading remarks. Their early chemistry disappears and their relationship is so sidelined that I wasn't even sure I was rooting for them to end up together.
Will Smith portrays a fresh Genie that was very enjoyable. He's not Robin Williams but doesn't try to be, and gives depth and likability to the character. My only complaint is the decision to make him blue, which brings me to my next point...the CGI.
I don't know if the CGI was lower quality than I have grown used to or if it was just so pervasive that it became noticeable, but every time I saw it I was taken out of the story...and I saw it a LOT. Abu. Iago. Carpet. Raja. Genie. Building-jumping Aladdin. Magical creatures can be inserted effortlessly into an animated film, but perhaps they should have been pared down for the live-action. Do we really need three animal sidekicks? I would argue that Raja at the very least could have been dispensed with, since the character of Dahlia was introduced, giving Jasmine someone else to interact with.
The screenplay was full of jokes, but they sadly fell flat again and again.
I was often the only one chuckling in the theater, and this was driven more by my desire to enjoy it than actual enjoyment. Rather than this movie making me laugh or cry (both of which Beauty and the Beast succeeded in), what I found myself doing most often was covering my mouth in embarrassment trying to ride out the awkward and uncomfortable scenes. Some of these are intended to be funny, but drag on for far too long to be anything but miserable.
The colors and cinematography throughout are bright and engaging, but somehow fall short of their true potential; for instance, the scene where Jafar steals the lamp in the midst of waving yellow banners was lovely, but confusingly cut. The camera angle choices during the palace dance scene also felt sloppy. And the occasional slow motion scene was just plain strange and unnecessary (Aladdin slow-mo screaming is not particularly pleasant to look at).
Speaking of strange and unnecessary, let's talk about Jasmine's final song, "Speechless." I cannot begin to understand what the train of thought was that produced that. Placing an extended song in the middle of an intense climactic scene was a questionable choice to begin with. Then to choose to have people disappear one by one was additionally confusing, and I'm not the only one who was questioning whether this was supposed to be happening only in Jasmine's head or if something else was going on. This was obviously supposed to be a climactic, emotional scene, but it felt out of place. Placing it literally anywhere else in the movie would have improved it.
Lastly, the additional subplot of Jasmine wanting to be sultan left me with mixed feelings. I am 100% in favor of women being leaders, but watching a main character chase power is never attractive, and I wish this had been presented differently. There's also a pretty far distance between "don't speak at all" and "be the ruler of our people," and it seemed slightly unrealistic that Jasmine could jump from one expectation to the other relatively easily. (Though maybe I shouldn't be complaining about things being unrealistic in a film with a genie and magic carpet.) The additional sultan subplot just added to an already messy-feeling movie that couldn't quite decide what it was about. Is this about Aladdin learning to be honest? Aladdin's and Jasmine's relationship? Defeating Jafar? Setting the Genie free? Or empowering Jasmine to be sultan? The answer seems to be: Yes!
All in all, though, let's be honest, the real tragedy of this movie is that they didn't work in the line, "And your beard is so.....twisted." Damn you real Jafar and your boring beard!