Directed by: Guy Richie
Runtime: 128 minutes
Disney, screen media’s ever-powerful giant, has built its entire business model on selling magical experiences for the price of a cinema ticket. As they buy up their competition, constantly break box office records, and cut out the middle man for viewing their content, it is beginning to seem as if the mouse will soon be the lord of all entertainment. I never saw myself as a willing subject in the case of a dictatorship, and in the case of Disney, I have tried my hardest to remain critical of their practices. In particular, their recent drive to repackage and resell their original animated classics in CGI-heavy, live-action style has not sat very well with me. Going to Aladdin, I wished to keep my wits about me; to understand that Disney was just trying to make a quick buck out of my childhood nostalgia. I hated the trailers, became angry at how lazy everything looked, and kept my expectations firmly in the gutter. However, when the lights went off and the music blared… I couldn’t help myself from having fun.
To begin, I will address the elephant in the room: Will Smith. While others at FilmBunker held more hope for the character, I was a definite nay-sayer. In the trailers, his visuals looked awful, and his recent choice of projects made me forget that he can, well, actually act. I can honestly say that, in this regard, I was wrong…. for the most part. Smith seems to have more fun in this film than I have seen from him in a long time, and he settles in to the role of the genie well. He doesn’t try to emulate Robin Williams, and the script is at its worse when it feeds some of Williams’ lines to him. When he plays his own version of the character, he is likeable and charming.
The other performances are just as likeable. Mena Massoud is the perfect fit for Aladdin, and he is a pleasure to watch throughout. Naomi Scott does well as Jasmine, avoiding becoming just a bland love interest. Marwan Kenzari plays a very different iteration of Jafar, and I still believe that the character was miscast. Kenzari does the best he can, however, the villain ends up more irritating than threatening at points. All the performances have a cheesy, tongue-in-cheek edge to them, and it was nice to see that the film wasn’t taking itself too seriously. In fact, the style of the film is what eventually won me over.
Guy Ritchie excels in the direction of this film. After a stunning opening, we are presented with a visual feast throughout the rest of the film’s runtime. I wanted to nitpick this film… to find some reason why Disney were cruelly wasting people’s hard-earned cash. However, by lacing the aesthetic of the film with Bollywood opulence, I found myself having far too much fun to do so. The classic songs, while at points autotuned to a cringe-worthy level, had some stunning dance numbers to counter-act their shortcomings. Richie successfully captured the feeling of listening to a well-loved story that you have heard a million times before, still able to evoke comforting feelings despite knowing how it ends.
Is Aladdin a perfect film? By no means. Is it a shameless cash grab? Probably. Despite this, it’s a hell of a lot of fun, and my cynicism was counteracted by its charm. Disney know how to sell magic, and now it is obvious that they know how to resell it. Sure, the original animated version is better. However, in a film like this, the purpose is not to out-do the film that came before it, but to remind you of its greatness. Aladdin hypnotised me into submission, and I for one welcome our new mouse overlord.
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