Will Smith's Genie is legendary

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2019)

As many movie-goers know, live adaptations of animated films rarely fair well. Thankfully, Aladdin is an exception. One of the biggest question marks coming in was how Will Smith could possibly fill the shoes of Robin Williams. I think it is safe to say that they have been filled and expanded, because Smith's genie was phenomenal. The entire "You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me" scene had me glued to the screen in awe and wonder. I have to imagine a quarter of the budget was dropped in that 2 minute window. The only thing better than the effects was the costume design, which I believe is deserving of any number of nominations. The one gripe I had with the film, albeit a minor one, is that it could have stood to cut 10 minutes out by eliminating the "Speechless" songs. It ultimately added nothing to the story and the second song felt like I was watching some weird fan flick. Don't count this film out!