Song lyrics and placement aside, Smith, Massoud, and Scott all have exceptional vocal talent.įor me, Smith stole the show.

Jasmine was also given her own solo song called Speechless which felt forced and disrupted the flow of the movie. Whether this was intentional or not, it was distracting.įor a music-centric film, the songs and scores did not exude the same “wow factor” as previous live action adaptations. At certain points, backgrounds would compress or stretch as the camera focus changed. Having to build an entire city near a desert for a movie is improbable, so naturally some of it was computer generated. There was no question as to who the villain was, for anyone who had not seen the original. These colors also followed the characters, with Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) dressed in blacks, and Jasmine in bright teals and pinks. A clear shift could be seen between the busy street, and the isolated cave of wonders due to the clever contrast of bright pinks, yellows, and greens with deep purples, blues, and reds. The busy streets with their plethora of colors and music was both true to the original, and inviting to any viewer. Jasmine was made more intelligent and independent, and song lyrics were interlaced with more relevant topics like climate change. The plot still followed Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and his transformation from rags to riches at the hands of his Genie (Will Smith), as he tried to win over the heart of Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), but writers, John August and Guy Ritchie, put a modern spin on the old tale. While the new version was reminiscent of the animation, many parts exceeded my expectations while others were disappointing. The Disney animated classic Aladdin returned to the big screens as a live-action film.

Aladdin rubs lamp