Hani Dahshan

Aladdin was the first movie I ever remember watching, which makes it a major part of my childhood memories and a source of inspiration for me. I couldn’t imagine a remake of the original movie altering my own perception of the film and its characters. So I had high expectations. Unfortunately this movie didn’t meet my own expectations for the following reasons: 1. A very small part of the art was ‘Arabian’ that it looked like we were watching a Turkish soap opera with an Ottoman setting. Agraba looked like Istanbul and the wardrobe for the main characters looked like they were in the Ottoman court, very little to do with Arabian culture. 2. Naomi Scott who plays Jasmine is gorgeous, okay, but a bad actress. She is better off as a stage actress or in soap operas. 3. Will Smith’s attempt to bring out his Fresh Prince act was too limited by his Genie CGI. He was funny and there were scenes that were hilarious but you can’t help but notice that he could’ve done better. 4. The actor who played Jafar was the WRONG CHOICE. He is a good actor with intense psychotic features, but he completely ripped Jafar off of his class and elegance...and his voice!! Ugh! He sounded like a sis. Oh and no he doesn’t turn into a giant snake in the final battle. Instead, his staff almost comes to life as an extension of his rage during that final dialogue between him and Aladdin, which is.....justifiable I guess. He was also way too serious throughout the movie. The real Jafar has a sense of humor. 5. Bollywood! There were so many moments in the movie where you can tell that the production wasn’t creative enough to avoid making the dance scenes like they were right out of a Bollywood movie. There are a lot of great things about the movie like the A Friend Like Me scene. It was dazzling to watch. The music was modified to sound more Middle Eastern. Know that Will Smith is not Robin Williams, that means that he isn’t better or worse than Robin Williams, he is his own thing, so be prepared to accept what he had to offer the Genie. I’d give it a 7/10.