Aladdin

The anticipated failure turned out to be a commercial hit, praised by audiences and critics alike, and apparently no one expected that. Guy Ritchie has the direction firmly in hand and serves up the fairy tale of my childhood with an excellent Will Smith as the Genie (quite possibly the best performance of his career), a beautiful Princess Jasmine with a voice like Adele, and a very likeable Aladdin. It's beautifully colourful, suspenseful, fun and most importantly for the whole family. The dance numbers and songs are reminiscent of the best of Bollywood. Disney is making me happy this year. 80%! (06/18/2019)

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)

Who had the terrifying idea to turn Aladdin into a musical? It’s like watching a three-hour long Bollywood opus and enjoying how everyone is dancing and everything around is incredibly colorful. The only good thing about the movie is Will Smith, even though some people might protest that a genie shouldn’t be black. However, Will Smith is the only reason for which this film is even worth watching. All the rest (apart from the opening show jumping scene) is too horrible for words. (01/27/2020)

Aladdin lags behind the animated version in many ways, but even so, watching the film is mostly a pleasant experience, particularly thanks to the expensive and colour-rich spectacular expedition with a slightly inconsistent concept, influenced by just about everything. The film’s Arabic elements are joined by Bollywood influences (including a dance number at the end) and the aesthetics of Brazilian carnivals. Unfortunately, the film also has breakdance and beatboxing. In terms of plot, it is not an exact copy, as several passages and two new songs have been added, and in some scenes their order has been reversed and their content changed (sometimes for the better, sometimes worse). Will Smith manages to be playful, funny and touching in the role of the Genie. Compared to Smith, Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott in the roles of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine have a more difficult time gaining audience sympathy, and with his leather expression and lack of charisma, Marwan Kenzari is downright tragic as the villain in the role of the Sultan's advisor, Jafar. (10/03/2020)