Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Aladdin (2019)

After all the controversy over Will Smith’s portrayal of the Genie and all of the stuff that was talked about with this film it’s a pretty fun film! Sure it’s a shot by shot remake of the original but it is a fun remake to enjoy as Smith carries this film on his shoulders and delivers a charismatic portrayal of the Genie. It also has great breathtaking cinematography with gorgeous set design all through this film including amazing vocal work from its cast as well. It isn’t the best Disney live action film but it isn’t Beauty and The Beast bad either. 

First off, This film had so much going against it as it was retelling one of Disney’s most iconic and loved films they’ve ever done. It was no easy feat as it got judged and called out the moment the first few images came out from this film. It had a lot of expectations to surpass and a lot of pressure was on it for the film just to be good as all the promotion for the first few images and trailer wasn’t that promising but as the press tour went on and more and more trailers and marketing things of the film were coming out it helped show me at least a little more confidence that the film will be alright maybe not amazing but alright and I was fine with that if that’s what the film would ultimately be. Now like I said before it is a fun movie it is definitely one of Disney’s more stronger live actions are their things I enjoyed you bet their are but theirs also flaws too and I’ll break that all down for you. 

The thing I enjoyed, so what I thought was the strongest aspect of the film was Will’s performance now I’ll say this his performance was the one if he didn’t nail it a certain way it could of been career killing due to the fact that the character he’s portraying was played perfectly by the great late Robin Williams. And that performance and character is held in such a high regard that if you don’t bring the charisma and specific energy to the role it will make people pissed because their so attached to the original which a lot hold near and dear to their hearts and I’ll say this Will dose a great job some people may disagree with me and that’s fine that’s their opinion. But why I enjoyed it was because I was the person that was hesitant to see if it would be good for that reason that someone has to try to match the energy of Robins amazing work. Will doesn’t try and imitate Robins portrayal of the character or try to reflect him but he makes the portrayal of the Genie his own and it’s a different execution then Robins but hear me out try not to compare Robin to Will’s portrayal because if you do you won’t have fun because then you’ll be comparing the entire time and we know it’s not the original it’s a retelling of the story for the next generation and he can’t be Robin no one can be Robin Williams their will only be one and the only thing he can do is try to honour the legacy and impact that Williams brought to that film and that is what Will does. He brings a different flavour and style to the character that is very enjoyable and trust me he’s so entertaining in the film you’ll have fun with his performance for sure. The other great things in the film was also Naomi Scott’s portrayal of Jasmine was fantastic as well as she brings a very emotionally gripping and very different and new attributes to the character which is nice as she shows fantastic range of layers and emotion through the film which I didn’t expect to be as emotionally affective then she was able to do I was pleasantly surprised by that. Lastly of things I did like was the cinematography and the set design I thought that was gorgeous. The sweeping shots through the desert and the city was amazing especially the camerawork during the musical numbers were very impressively done too and the costumes and sets really brought the tale to life and really immersed you into this world and really captures the place that it’s telling so greatly through its magnificent so that was beautifully shown onscreen and needed to be recognized as it brings a great layer of realism to the screen is through the costumes and set decoration as well. 

The Things I didn’t like, First off their are some minor side plots to the story that detracts the original story at hand I understand side plots within a film but since this film is a shot by shot remake why not stick to the original layout of the story I get you also want to try new things and inject new things in a story that’s already been told I get that. But that’s also a gamble for the reason that then your tampering now with a story people are already familiar with and going on a limb and trying new things to bring to the story which could be to some people’s liking and some may not like so it is a fine line to walk between but for me I felt like it slowed the pacing down as their are things they bring that I do like that’s new and some stuff I didn’t care for that much. As this film does show some fun new aspects to the story and then theirs stuff that was unnecessary filler just to stretch the screen time as theirs a new love story side plot and new characters some were fun but some was just not needed and if some of the stuff that was in it didn’t go into the story it wouldn’t of changed it at all that’s what I mean some of the side story’s were meaningless as it didn’t affect the overall situation and story for its characters so that was one of the things the next was the third and final act of the film was poorly done. I know I said I wouldn’t compare the original to the remake but that aside from a storytelling point of view the final act of the film was supposed to be this tense kind of scary final act that has wonderful suspense and thrilling action none of that was felt or shown to it’s full potential as it felt as if it was all done in a single set and they just did a paint by numbers of the final act I never felt like the characters were in any sense of danger which I should feel which I didn’t as it did leave me underwhelmed as I felt it could of been improved on massively as also the special affects were also not done well at all at the final act either it was a muddled mess with the hero and villain battle and it could of been done by some fine tweaking but overall the final action sequence and last half of the final part of the film was definitely weaker then the other parts of the film which is disappointing. 

Overall, This film is still a fun filled retelling of classic story with a great new take on the Genie brought to life amazingly well by Will Smith giving his great fresh take on it while also bringing great chemistry within the cast and tremendous music sprinkled all throughout and breathtaking scenery that will amaze you. Aladdin has great strength but also has some flaws to but as an overall film and the amount of expectations it had I think for the most part it delivered a solid retelling and is a pure fun film to enjoy and watch. I recommend people check this film out. 

This film tells the story of a street thief named Aladdin who has a heart of gold and when he’s brought to bring a lamp to a person for their own gain he discovers a genie a magic carpet and so much more then he thought possible. 

Rated PG : for some action/peril

Will Smith : Will injects incredible energy into such big shoes he had to fill. Will was taken with the task to portrayal in a new retelling of Aladdin cast as one of if not the most well known and iconic comedic character in a Disney film ever to Grace the screen. He had a lot of expectation and pressure riding on his performance and he does a fantastic job at bringing this iconic character to life. Will was perfect as he has a very specific style that he brings to the screen as he is able to showcase in the film Elements Of drama, romance, comedy, dance and singing all wrapped into a single role and that could be intimidating to take on for the reason it’s a lot of layers to execute and do justice and Will made it look so effortless as he doesn’t use Williams performance as a blue print to how he’s going to do it he puts his own stamp and style onto the character and crafts his own depiction of the character which I thought was great. He brings a very laid back and multi dimensional take on the character what I mean by that is he’s able to be a human form of the character but also the magical and whimsical version of him too so he has to play both counterparts of himself which is tricky as he has to be over blown over the top endless energy when he’s blue and magical but then when he’s human he tones it down and is still able to show that funny witty side of the character but not be to out front and loud about it comedically which I thought was fantastically well done. He could also shed great lengths of dramatic strength through the performance two which he does a few times in the film which was emotionally effective due to the great talent of Will Smith and his ability to show such depth to his performance of the character and keep the audience entertained to the very end. He captures the sheer energy of the Genie in the film but also the more human elements of himself as well which I liked he doesn’t play it one sided he works his ass off to really get the audience to love his portrayal as he knows it’s such a legendary role to take on and he does it justice. He has great comedic timing and moments in this film that never felt forced or awkward he was great with that and also was able to know when to show more then just his comedic talent and that’s what kept it entertaining was he never just used one aspect of the role he used as much as possible and it worked greatly as it showed some parts of the character we haven’t seen explored before and it was done magnificently by Will. He brings the charisma and the energy but also the human aspect to the character and brings great respect and heart to the role that makes it such fun with also endless amounts of fun to be had watching his performance it’s a different portrayal of the Genie and I’m fine with that as Will does a splendid job at the character. 

Naomi Scott : Naomi brings a very different approach to the princess that I didn’t expect! Naomi has slowly been making more and more of a splash in Hollywood with her most recent work being The Power Rangers film and now this she’s a tremendous actor that’s come a long way since Lemonade Mouth. She was also a Actress I didn’t know if she was able to do the character not justice but just be able to present the character in a way that was loyal to the animated film and I’m so glad she was in it after seeing her performance because she brings a richness and a emotional punch to the character that I didn’t expect but worked so well in the film. She’s able to be so flirtatious and also very serious as well he has many different shades to her that she sheds through the film and she also brings a fantastic amount of empowerment to the role that just roars through the screen. She’s able to bring such a rawness and serious element that sure was touched upon in the original but nothing on this level she presents the character as in this telling of the story. Theirs a moment in the film well actually a great handful of moments that got me emotional but theirs one in specific she really shines not just acting wise but also showing the character in such a magnificent and emotionally raw light which is when near the end of the film she sings a song called Silenced and it’s a powerful moment in the film and probably my favourite pertinence of any of the songs in the film as she is able to show such raw angry and heartbreaking emotion in that moment which makes it come alive so much. Naomi dose a wonderful job at bringing princess Jasmine to life with her great delivery and amazing energy brought to the screen that in my opinion outshines Aladdin as I think her performance really is the most emotionally impressive performance of the entire film as she works so hard to give this character the portrayal she hopes people will like as she has to be so charismatic and charming but then also be very serious and also then have moments of sheer love and romance she goes on a roller coaster of emotions and her character arc and so well set up and amazingly executed by Naomi she’s given a performance that little girls everywhere around the world will look up to and be inspired by for a new generation and I love that. Naomi you did a magnificent performance. 

Guy Ritchie : Guy you have redeemed yourself! This man gave one of the worst films of 2017 with King Arthur : legend of the sword. That was a terrible film and I was so afraid when I heard he was going to be directing one of Disney’s most loved and iconic films ever. And you know what he does a pretty good job I’ll say that I never thought that the guy who directed Snatch would go on to direct a live action version of Aladdin but here we are. He was able to bring the story and everything people came to love so much about not just the film but the story to life in great form. From the music and the sets and the visual spectacle he presented it onscreen to be was incredibly well crafted and well shown in a way that still had that mystical and magical aspect to it that we had come to love not just from the original but from storytelling. He is able to bring the great visuals but he doesn’t use the style over substance he’s aware and knows when to stop the whimsical aspect and really get to the heart of the story and these characters. He brings a great cast to the full front all of whom give great performances and yes it’s a shot by shot retelling of a film but he was also able to show aspects to those characters that may of not been fully fleshed out in the cartoon and explore them more In ways we hadn’t seen before so that was greatly nice to see. He also captures the amazing energy and magic between the two leads and their spark and magic they have onscreen is amazing their onscreen chemistry is amazing. Guy has redeemed himself on a massive way from showing great strength with his execution and direction of this live action. He doesn’t just show the pure icing fun but also the dramatic Elements and Romantic parts too he shows many sides of the story and really explores them to its full capacity. I did like that as then it’s showing that their more then just one sided their multi layered and he brings that to the screen. This film is a magical fun filled retelling they the new generation will love and now will be able to discover the magic of what made the story and the original such fun and Guy brings the heart humour and magic to the film and really gives a entertaining retelling of this classic story.