Starring: Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Alan Tudyk, Nasim Pedrad, Marwan Kenzari, Nurman Acar, Navid Negahban
Director: Guy Ritchie
Release date: 22nd May 2019
Our voyage begins on a small ship, out in the middle of the ocean. A man and his family are onboard, and he is telling them a story…. A young man named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) lives in a city called Agrabah. He does what he needs to to keep himself and his pet monkey alive. One day he meets a beautiful girl (Naomi Scott) in the market who gives some bread to a small hungry child. Unfortunately she doesn’t have any money to pay the market trader and so she and Aladdin have to escape through the city streets. Unbeknownst to Aladdin, the young woman is actually Princess Jasmine, who has managed to slip secretly out of the royal palace. The pair form a bond but Jasmine continues to hide her true identity. Jafar is the Sultan’s personal advisor but he is not all he seems… One day he takes Aladdin captive and transports him to a cave in the desert. Aladdin is told that he must venture into the cave and retrieve a particular item for Jafar… What does he want that is so valuable?
This is the newest take on the Aladdin story, with the last major one being released back in 1992. That time it was a fully animated story, but now with advances in technology we are gifted with a live action version. The story is the same all singing-all dancing one that we all know and love, but now with added Will Smith as the Genie. You tend to forget that he had a music career a good while ago and it does feel a little weird to hear him singing initially.
The movie is colourful and entertaining from start to finish and has a modern twist. Will Smith will never be as good as the much missed Robin Williams, but he is great none the less. This will be a bit of a re-birth for the Aladdin story, though those of us old enough to remember will always have a soft spot for the 1992 animation and it’s heartfelt story.
A whole new generation can now be introduced to this vibrant story of a street urchin made good and his Princess Jasmine. A cheeky flying carpet and an even more cheeky little kleptomaniac monkey named Abu make this a movie that families can go to for a little bit of bonding time and anyone who loves the Disney brand is sure to come out after the film with a smile on their face.
Overall: 8.5/10
