‘Aladdin’ (PG)
It’s a whole new world for Genie and company with “Aladdin,” Disney’s latest live-action adaptation of one of their animated classics. It’s a tall order considering the late Robin Williams’ legendary voice performance as Genie in the 1992 original, yet Will Smith ably steps up and makes the role his own, flanked by the equally capable Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott, who have a wonderful chemistry as Aladdin and Princess Jasmine. It’s far from a perfect world for this new troupe of players, but for what it is, “Aladdin” is entertaining enough to keep kids’ and adults’ toes tapping, smiling ear to ear and laughing for the duration of the film’s 2-hour, 8-minute runtime.
Disney’s new initiative of making live-action adaptations of their animated fare, which dates back to 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland,” have taken two different approaches. Some of the films have used the animated films’ plotlines as springboards to new stories (a la “Maleficent” and “Dumbo”), while others have kept the original framework of the animated material intact while expanding upon the story (“Cinderella,” “The Jungle Book” and “Beauty and the Beast”). “Aladdin” best fits in the latter category, although there are no doubt differences from the animated film will that will become increasingly apparent as the film rolls on.
Interview: A look back at animated “Aladdin” with Aladdin and Jasmine voice stars
Framed within a tale told by Genie to two young children, “Aladdin” begins in familiar territory where the street rat Aladdin on the streets of Agrabah befriends who he believes is the handmaiden to Princess Jasmine, but turns out to be the princess in disguise. Their attraction to each other is immediate, but it’s a union that’s never meant to be since Jasmine is bound by the kingdom’s laws to only marry a prince. Aladdin’s fortunes change, though, when he is ordered to recover a magic lamp that he soon discovers contains the all-powerful Genie, a shape-shifting blue being who can grant him three wishes — with the exception of creating love and bringing back the dead.
AUDIO: Tim reviews “Aladdin” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM.
Desperately in love with Jasmine, Aladdin asks Genie to make him a prince, but with the transformation the one-time thief with a good heart begins to lose a sense of who he really is, which clouds his judgment. Making matters worse is that the Sultan’s (Navid Negahban) right-hand man, Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) is onto Aladdin’s plans, and is looking to seize the lamp to fulfill his monstrous ambitions.
While the visuals in the film are no doubt spectacular (the Magic Carpet actually feels like it has a personality), the success of “Aladdin” truly hinges on the performances of Smith, Massoud and Scott, especially considering the huge shoes they are stepping in. Yes, their predecessors were animated characters, but there’s no question Williams in particular set bar so high that audiences simply must settle for the fact that it’s a performance that can’t be topped. Smith, who still has a magnetic presence after all these years, though, is engaging as Genie, and thanks to the aid of some whizbang visuals, he does his best to try to capture the magic brought to the table by Williams and his dizzying improvisational skills.
The only place Smith is really lacking is in the vocal department, as his performances of the classics “Friend Like Me” and “Prince Ali” sound more like sing-talking (not rapping, even that’s his forte), peppered by enough of Ritchie’s visual razzmatazz to distract you from his lack of singing skills.
Fortunately, Massoud and Scott are well up to the task (Scott, in fact, sings professionally), to make the magic carpet ride soar with a memorable version of “A Whole New World.” Massoud and Scott also get new tunes courtesy original composer Alan Menken (who brings “La La Land” Oscar winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul in for the lyrics), with Scott’s being the standout number with the anthem of independence “Speechless.” But as powerful as Scott is with the tune, it just feels too modern and doesn’t fit in with the original songs from the animated movie.
While director Guy Ritchie, who also wrote the second draft of the screenplay after scribe John August, gets an A for effort and the guts to take on such a daunting project, there’s no question “Aladdin” has its share of missteps. Perhaps the biggest is not bringing in an actor as charismatic as Smith to play the famed Disney villain Jafar (the relative unknown Kenzari got the daunting task) , simply because he can’t seem to muster enough presence to feel like a threatening villain. True, the film does take on a dark tone in its third act, but when all you give the bad guy is a set of glowing eyes and shimmering staff, it’s hard to feel like he’s the sort of villain who is looking to upend the world when he gets his hands on the magical lamp.
From a filmmaking standpoint, “Aladdin” seems to fit the bill, that is, unless you’re even vaguely familiar with Ritchie’s work. That’s because for a director who’s largely known for such stylish hits as “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and the criminally underrated “Rocknrolla,” “Aladdin” may be the most non-Guy Ritchie feature the filmmaker has ever done.
True, there’s a lot of visual pizzazz throughout “Aladdin” (the film is at its best with such show-stopping numbers as “Friend Like Me,” “A Whole New World” and “Prince Ali”), but rarely does it feature the inventive camera work and edits Ritchie is known for. Non-fans of his work likely won’t care, but with only quick flashes of his signature style here and there, fans of Ritchie will be begging for much more of the filmmaker’s cinematic magic.
Lammometer: 7 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.
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