Aladdin

The thief Aladdin would like to seduce the princess, but ends up in the hands of the villain Jafar, who wants to use him to bring him a magic lamp. But Aladdin discovers a Genie living in the lamp who grants him three wishes, and he decides to pursue the princess with his help. But Jafar doesn't give up... Guy Ritchie directs a brisk and visually arresting family fairy tale that brilliantly combines humour, suspense and romance and features a very likeable cast. The problem is that it's too similar to the animated original and doesn't bring much new to the story. How much of a problem that is is for everyone to figure out. But the craftsmanship is more than good. (05/23/2019)

If the main character and the main villain weren't such bland and uninteresting misfits, this could have been a reasonably enjoyable musical, because unlike Tim Burton's Dumbo, which I turned off after fifteen minutes, I didn't have such a problem with Aladdin. It's good to see that everything about the cast isn't digital, but that the filmmakers went to some trouble with sets and set design in general; Will Smith is very good as the genie (even in his much-criticized blue form), and the story was quite interestingly developed. And a great job by Alan Menken, who made his own excellent music for the animated Aladdin even better. However, if it weren't for the credits, I wouldn't have thought for a second that Guy Ritchie directed this. (01/25/2020)

Disney put it together like Bata's trainers, but it has nothing to do with full-blooded movies, the kind that appeal to me. This is nothing but CGI cartoon, tiresome, stupid, standing in a shop window next to a McDonald's burger and chicken strips from KFC. A factory product on demand that is far from proper craftsmanship. Its success is certainly a signal that Mickey will continue to delight us with this kind of digital mess, but I won't be there anymore. Artistic statements as well as mid-budget auteur ambitious films go to shit, they don't pay in theaters, Disney will buy us all. Honour the rare exceptions that make big money without having to compromise on their auteur vision (Villeneuve, Nolan, Fincher and others). (09/12/2019)

I was the one who objected the most loudly that Aladdin didn't need a live-action adaptation because it could already suffice as the epitome of the adventure genre in the animated version. And yet Guy Ritchie's direction turns the chase scenes in the marketplace or on the carpet into an impressively exciting spectacle, the bond between the main protagonist and the perfect Jasmine (Naomi Scott is the most amazing princess, and I want to see her everywhere now, thank you very much) is perfectly believable by fairytale standards, and the added subplots with Jafar's motivations or the breathtaking song "Speechless" make Prince Ali not only a great summer blockbuster but also the best live-action Disney movie, for me surpassing even the unmatchable Beauty and the Beast. (07/06/2019)

The mere mention of a live-action version of Aladdin has long terrified me. It is not an inspired story, but a retelling of the classic Disney story, which is a completely useless endeavor. And yet all it needed was a little more and we would have gotten an equally interesting new fairy tale adventure, like in Alice or Maleficent. But wouldn’t you know it, even with such poor prospects, Guy Ritchie managed to make a crazy colorful film that rushes by very quickly and almost amusingly toward its prescribed happy ending. It is not something I would recommend to anyone, but it’s also not the expected disaster. (01/31/2020)