Magical and better than the orginal

Rating: 8/10 (26 July 2019)

I didn't go with great expectations to watch this movie because of the average-good ratings but I have been, hooked and amazed from the first scene to the last.
First I salute Guy Ritchie's directing. He made a great job for directing all the actions/VFX scenes, making the camera flit around like a margic carpet. The romantic and emotional scenes were well-directed too.
The first strong point of the movie is its great visuals thanks to the budget and artistic choices : The film sets and costumes were great and the CGI were amazing. All the scenes with the genius were truly fantastic especially in his first appearance scene (I particularly like a sequence where he breaks the fourth wall like it has never been done before).
The second strong point is the musical performances. Most of the songs are remake of the original ones but singers are great (even in the French version) and the orchestral parts are great. There are maybe six or seven musical scenes, efficiently presented and not invading at all.
The third strong point is the actors : Mena Massoud was OK, but I particularly love Naomi Scott who was stunning and truly revealed by this role.
Will Smith is also perfect as a genius, playing a great side kick, wingman and friend for Aladdin (he looks very young for a guy at 50). I think that's his best role since "The Pursuit of Happiness" and he could use his singing/dancing skills for the role. On the other hand, Jaffar looked less evil than the original one and does not even has his own song, but maybe it was to make him more serious.
Finally, the dialogues are quick-witted like in most of Guy Ritchies' movies, and funny especially in the romantic scenes. The film also had themes of high drama like impossible love or the restrictions of patriarchal societies.
Aladdin won't be remembered as movie of profound and philosophical meaning reflection, but it is great entertainement that I would like to advise you to look in a theater because of the visuals and sounds (music and souns). For me, it's the best blockbuster of the year up to now, even better than Avengers : Endgame and it is a big surprise.
I rate it 8/10 (modified)