Saw it yesterday evening. I loved it! I’d put it about even with B&tB. I have a feeling they'll always be swapping back and forth in my head when it comes to which I like more. I’d put them both below The Jungle Book still.
***SPOILERS***
The only musical number I was disappointed with was “One Jump Ahead.” It was anticlimactic and nowhere near as much fun as it should've been, about like “Be Our Guest” in the live-action B&tB. "Speechless" was just okay, although Jasmine overall is so much better than in the animated film; I always sort of hated the character in the original film and this was a huge improvement. Mena had a weaker voice than I expected. Like Emma Watson, he talk-sings through most of it, but, also like her, he was perfect casting for the character otherwise. Will Smith was great as Genie, but that didn’t surprise me. The only real surprise was that Jafar and Iago actually weren’t bad. After all the worrying over the character, Kenzari gave a good performance, imo; I liked that they made his backstory so similar to Aladdin's, and that he stole the lamp from him like a common thief in the marketplace. I only wish his staff had looked better. Rajah, Abu, and the Magic Carpet were all perfect, imo--thankfully the Magic Carpet didn't look as weighed down during the flying scenes in the movie like he did on the poster

--and the addition of a handmaid for Jasmine and love interest for Genie was a good decision. The climax had as much tension as the original's, even if it was almost entirely different. I could feel Jafar as a threat, and that either Rajah or the Sultan might die during the takeover. Massoud did a great job when he was banished to the ends of the earth and I didn't feel like the movie was missing "Prince Ali (reprise)." I thought I'd read the Sultan was supposed to die in the film for Jasmine to become Sultana, but I like the way they handled it here anyway. And I liked how they ended with Aladdin stealing Jasmine’s mother’s bracelet to force her to come after him again. That was cute. I'll definitely pick it up on Blu-ray.
I don't think I'll see TLK in theaters, but who knows. I doubt I'll enjoy it as much going by the previews. And I'm sure TLM will be even worse. I am looking forward to Mulan so far.
DisneyFan97 wrote:
The Sultan was very well played. But i wishhe was older. Really miss Jago. Nomin and Mena are very good singers.
Good point. I thought the Sultan was well-done here, too. He's another character I never liked in the original either.
Quote:
Agrabah looks really impressive and the costumes are great . Jasmine has some fabulous dresses.
I agree. Especially when Aladdin breaks into the palace, he looks really cute in whatever it was he was wearing. Naomi Scott is beautiful and Jasmine's outfits here are all better than the animated character's green outfit.
D82 wrote:
I don't think "Speechless" feels so out of place among the rest of the songs either. I agree that it has a more pop sound compared to the others, but the original songs have also been modernized for this film, and "Friend Like Me" includes hip hop. At first, I didn't like the song much either precisely because it sounded too pop, but I soon fell in love with it when I heard a longer snippet and now I don't mind that at all.
That's true--most of the songs have been given more of a pop or R&B flavor.
nomad2010 wrote:
I’ve read through most of the reviews, and I’m going to be honest, this is one of the most unfairly reviewed films I’ve ever seen. Most of them that are negative focus on how there is no point in this film existing. Instead of reviewing the movie at hand, they’re too busy comparing it to the original and questing it’s existence. And honestly, if one movie tries hard to capture the originals essence, it’s this. You can tell watching it that it was made with love and care whether you like it or not. So for it to be degraded by some of these critics to the level that it has been, it shows they aren’t doing their job correctly.
Yes, I think
Aladdin is bearing the brunt of anger over the existence of the remakes at all.
Aladdin itself is a great film. No, not as good as the original, but it's its own thing.