Aladdin (2019)
1/4
Starring: Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad
Rated PG for Some Action/Peril
Animation provides more energy and flexibility than even the most visionary filmmakers can ever dream up. Lighting, perspective, movement and other tools of the trade can be toyed with in ways that are just not possible with live actors and cameras. So without a radical new vision, any live action version of a film that relies heavily on the animators for effect is going to come up subpar. Armed with that information, I went into this new version of the 1992 classic without high expectations. Even on that level, Guy Ritchie's new version is a disaster of epic proportions.
The plot is almost a carbon copy of the original. Ritchie tweaks some things (usually to cut down on time), but the movie is more or less the same, which makes this misfire look even worse. Aladdin (Massoud) is a street urchin who steals to survive and helps out a pretty girl named Dahlia who gets into trouble after stealing bread for starving kids. They fall in love, but she has to return to the castle, as she is one of the princess's handmaidens, What Aladdin doesn't know is that Dahlia is actually Princess Jasmine (Scott) herself. While they pursue each other, Aladdin is spied on by the nefarious vizier, Jafar (Kenzari), who desires to replace the Sultan (Negahban) and expand the empire. To make his ambitions a reality, he kidnaps Aladdin in order to retrieve a magic lamp. Of course, this backfires when Aladdin finds the lamp and uses the Genie (Smith) inside to become a prince, and...
You know the rest. Which makes the only reason to create this movie is to cash in on a brand name. That presents a problem: Robin Williams, whose performance as the Genie is as iconic as Anthony Perkins in "Psycho," is no longer with us. The original film was great fun in its own right, but there's no denying that a huge part of its success is because of Williams. Disney decided to rectify this problem by hiring Mr. July himself: Will Smith. Smith is a charming actor and charisma personified, but he has been tasked to do the impossible. No one could replace Williams, and it's unfair to ask Smith to try. The actor gives it his all, but it's a fruitless attempt.
As bland as Smith is, his co-stars are worse. Mena Massoud is gives a woeful interpretation of the title character. He's like a photogenic teen idol with all the baggage that carries. He's flat and uncharismatic, and worst of all, boring. His co-star, Naomi Scott, is better, but not by much. She's given little to do other than pout and be wimpy; her worst moment is when she is forced to sing a "powerful" ballad that serves no purpose. Not only is the song awful, it's filmed like a music video and ruins a heavy dramatic scene. Navid Negahban is wasted in the role of the Sultan; the powerful and versatile Iranian actor deserves better than to spend the movie looking befuddled. Only Nasim Pedrad, who plays the real Dahlia, generates any interest. The movie would have been better served if they had killed everyone off in the first reel and concentrated on her (it's hard to imagine it being worse).
The leads are miscast, misused or just plain horrible. But the coup de grace of why this movie doesn't work is the performance of Marwan Kenzari, who is so awful that he all but ensures he will never, ever, ever set foot in front of a camera ever again. He doesn't bother to imitate Jonathan Freeman's colorful performance in the original, but instead goes for real menace. It doesn't work. He spends half the time foaming at the mouth like he's in some student film. The other half he looks constipated.
What genius thought that Guy Ritchie was the right man to bring this new iteration of a classic to light? Ritchie is a has-been wunderkind whose spark has long since gone out. He had two hit movies: "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch," and quite frankly, those weren't all that special. Yeah, his "Sherlock Holmes" movies made money, but that really had more to do with the fact that Robert Downey Jr. was in the lead role than anything Ritchie did. And may I remind you that he directed "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword," two franchise starters that went nowhere (for good reason)? The best I can say about his work here is that he keeps his attempts at being "hip and offbeat" (read: showing off in the worst ways) to a minimum, but there are times when he can't resist, and when he does, it feels out of place.
Remaking "Aladdin" as a live action movie was a bad idea right from the start due to the nature of the material and the fact that no one could possibly replicate what Robin Williams accomplished twenty-six years ago. Even worse, they continue to make mistakes all the way through. Iconic moments don't land because the cast members can't make them work, or they're skimmed over and robbed of any sort of payoff. At times it's so bad that watching this movie is akin to listening to someone scratch their fingernails on a blackboard. Moments that aren't pale imitators of the original are few; there's a scene involving a case of mistaken identity that would have been funnier had it not gone on for so long, and there's a chase scene between the magic carpet and a giant bird that has some thrills, although it's a pointless scene.
There is a lesson to be learned here: animation has qualities that are not possible when filming in live action. It was true of the "Beauty and the Beast" remake, and it's certainly true here. Everyone here feels like an imposter of characters we have known and loved for more than two decades. This feels like a "Saturday Night Live" sketch that won't end. Only there's no sense of satire or humor.
Avoid this stinker like the plague.
Starring: Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad
Rated PG for Some Action/Peril
Animation provides more energy and flexibility than even the most visionary filmmakers can ever dream up. Lighting, perspective, movement and other tools of the trade can be toyed with in ways that are just not possible with live actors and cameras. So without a radical new vision, any live action version of a film that relies heavily on the animators for effect is going to come up subpar. Armed with that information, I went into this new version of the 1992 classic without high expectations. Even on that level, Guy Ritchie's new version is a disaster of epic proportions.
The plot is almost a carbon copy of the original. Ritchie tweaks some things (usually to cut down on time), but the movie is more or less the same, which makes this misfire look even worse. Aladdin (Massoud) is a street urchin who steals to survive and helps out a pretty girl named Dahlia who gets into trouble after stealing bread for starving kids. They fall in love, but she has to return to the castle, as she is one of the princess's handmaidens, What Aladdin doesn't know is that Dahlia is actually Princess Jasmine (Scott) herself. While they pursue each other, Aladdin is spied on by the nefarious vizier, Jafar (Kenzari), who desires to replace the Sultan (Negahban) and expand the empire. To make his ambitions a reality, he kidnaps Aladdin in order to retrieve a magic lamp. Of course, this backfires when Aladdin finds the lamp and uses the Genie (Smith) inside to become a prince, and...
You know the rest. Which makes the only reason to create this movie is to cash in on a brand name. That presents a problem: Robin Williams, whose performance as the Genie is as iconic as Anthony Perkins in "Psycho," is no longer with us. The original film was great fun in its own right, but there's no denying that a huge part of its success is because of Williams. Disney decided to rectify this problem by hiring Mr. July himself: Will Smith. Smith is a charming actor and charisma personified, but he has been tasked to do the impossible. No one could replace Williams, and it's unfair to ask Smith to try. The actor gives it his all, but it's a fruitless attempt.
As bland as Smith is, his co-stars are worse. Mena Massoud is gives a woeful interpretation of the title character. He's like a photogenic teen idol with all the baggage that carries. He's flat and uncharismatic, and worst of all, boring. His co-star, Naomi Scott, is better, but not by much. She's given little to do other than pout and be wimpy; her worst moment is when she is forced to sing a "powerful" ballad that serves no purpose. Not only is the song awful, it's filmed like a music video and ruins a heavy dramatic scene. Navid Negahban is wasted in the role of the Sultan; the powerful and versatile Iranian actor deserves better than to spend the movie looking befuddled. Only Nasim Pedrad, who plays the real Dahlia, generates any interest. The movie would have been better served if they had killed everyone off in the first reel and concentrated on her (it's hard to imagine it being worse).
The leads are miscast, misused or just plain horrible. But the coup de grace of why this movie doesn't work is the performance of Marwan Kenzari, who is so awful that he all but ensures he will never, ever, ever set foot in front of a camera ever again. He doesn't bother to imitate Jonathan Freeman's colorful performance in the original, but instead goes for real menace. It doesn't work. He spends half the time foaming at the mouth like he's in some student film. The other half he looks constipated.
What genius thought that Guy Ritchie was the right man to bring this new iteration of a classic to light? Ritchie is a has-been wunderkind whose spark has long since gone out. He had two hit movies: "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch," and quite frankly, those weren't all that special. Yeah, his "Sherlock Holmes" movies made money, but that really had more to do with the fact that Robert Downey Jr. was in the lead role than anything Ritchie did. And may I remind you that he directed "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword," two franchise starters that went nowhere (for good reason)? The best I can say about his work here is that he keeps his attempts at being "hip and offbeat" (read: showing off in the worst ways) to a minimum, but there are times when he can't resist, and when he does, it feels out of place.
Remaking "Aladdin" as a live action movie was a bad idea right from the start due to the nature of the material and the fact that no one could possibly replicate what Robin Williams accomplished twenty-six years ago. Even worse, they continue to make mistakes all the way through. Iconic moments don't land because the cast members can't make them work, or they're skimmed over and robbed of any sort of payoff. At times it's so bad that watching this movie is akin to listening to someone scratch their fingernails on a blackboard. Moments that aren't pale imitators of the original are few; there's a scene involving a case of mistaken identity that would have been funnier had it not gone on for so long, and there's a chase scene between the magic carpet and a giant bird that has some thrills, although it's a pointless scene.
There is a lesson to be learned here: animation has qualities that are not possible when filming in live action. It was true of the "Beauty and the Beast" remake, and it's certainly true here. Everyone here feels like an imposter of characters we have known and loved for more than two decades. This feels like a "Saturday Night Live" sketch that won't end. Only there's no sense of satire or humor.
Avoid this stinker like the plague.
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