Not at all, absolutely 'spread your creative wings' but a director has to have shown edges or similar qualities transferrable from one film or set of films, there is no through-road at all between cockney geezer stereo-types and him pretending he is (when actually the family of Dukes) and a all singing. all dancing Disney-a-thon.
No they really don't. At least not necessarily.
I don't think anything Ritchie did before Sherlock Holmes indicated he would be a good fit for that. Nothing Speilberg did before indicated that he'd be good for The Color Purple. Nothing Brad Bird did before indicated he'd be good for Ghost Protocol.
I'm not saying it'll always work out. But there's no rule that says a director has had shown similar qualities to make a movie that's outside their wheelhouse
No they really don't. At least not necessarily.
I don't think anything Ritchie did before Sherlock Holmes indicated he would be a good fit for that. Nothing Speilberg did before indicated that he'd be good for The Color Purple. Nothing Brad Bird did before indicated he'd be good for Ghost Protocol.
I'm not saying it'll always work out. But there's no rule that says a director has had shown similar qualities to make a movie that's outside their wheelhouse
Agreed on this. These blockbusters would be mighty boring if they went with the typical or “safe choice”. Taking risks from directors outside of their wheelhouse makes it interesting even if it fails.
So, could someone tell me, if Jafar turns into a giant Cobra fighting Aladdin?
That was the first scene that comes into my mind, when I think of a cool scene in a live action movie.
Hope it is in
Pros:
Despite all the bad press, Will Smith is one of the best parts of the film, especially in the second act when he’s in human /wingman form. I know I normally rag on him for “Aw hell naw/ DAyumnnn” mode but he toned that down and upped his charm more. He raps and sings his songs which are decent. Hes best when hes not doing rote parroting from the 1992 film.
Naomi Scott is giving her 110 percent in terms of acting and singing. She is given more depth in this compared to the original. Her new song is good but just under the original songs
The sets and costumes are great. Admittedly it looks more Bollywood/Indian than Mid Eastern but its lovely nonetheless.
There are two new human characters, Dalia (Nasim Pedrad) and Prince Anders (some white boy). Both are small roles but the former is funny and the latter is trying to be funny.
Neutral
Mena as Aladdin is decent. He exudes a sheepish/nervous air but it seems to extend a bit too long. His singing is good. When he becomes selfish, it doesnt feel genuine.
Special Fx are good in some spots , bad in others.
Cons
Jafar is really flat. I thought they were hiding some grand twist or something to his character, but I guess not. He has a thin motivation to “not be second best” but even his voice is so ineffectual like hes a govt DMV employee. Yes Jafar was a blatant villain in the 1992 film, but he had some menace and creepy/slippery air.
Sultan and Iago are basically throwaway characters. Iago does speak here and there but mostly repetition and a few one one liners. He is involved in one action sequence towards the end.
The final battle has less tension due to changed circumstances. One clear cut case of 1992 being vastly better.
Guy Ritchie sometimes artificially accelerates the speed during certain songs or slows them down unnaturally. Also, the grandeur of certain songs is less than the 1992 film.
Ie There is less kinetic energy or few extras
Sometimes a character is just in frame singing without changes in camera angles or flair.
Overall: 7/10.
It will no way in replace the 1992 film. However, it is nowhere as awful as certain folks are making it seem.
1992 Aladdin - 8.5/10
That would be quite interesting having a parrot sounding like an East London geezer of all things. You'd have to wonder though why the bird sounds so tough, and tougher than the main villain.
Just saw the movie. Lots of thoughts, but I'll say this: I really loved the movie (better than Beauty & The Beast for sure), especially in those times when it added new material to the story - there were some great changes. But I always felt like it wasn't quite enough, like the changes weren't brave enough, big enough:
For instance
they reveal that Jafar was a street thief like Aladdin in his youth - but it's only so they can justify a scene later when Jafar nabs the lamp from Aladdin. I would have loved a more sympathetic picture of Jafar from this movie - because, for a moment, you almost think you might get one, as he talks to Aladdin early in the film, and then he just goes full evil and is never relateable again. That annoyed me.
Another instance was Jasmine and the Sultan - the whole movie, they're building up the idea that Jasmine is going to be the Sultan, and that we'll see her lead Agrabah: they introduce a brief subplot about her mother's native kingdom, and how Jafar wants to go war with that kingdom now, for unexplained reasons, and how she wants to prevent that. From that point on, I was expecting us to get payoff - that the Sultan would die or be killed by Jafar, and Jasmine would take up the mantle. But no. We just get a promise from the Sultan that Jasmine will lead after him. There were a lot of points they could have killed him off and had Jasmine step in, but they never went there.
It was stuff like that, that really annoyed me, because there's a lot of potential - in fact, the whole time while I was watching, I was thinking that this movie could be a really impressive drama. There's a lot of stuff in the movie that, if it were expanded upon, could have really made the film unique. But instead, it kind of gets lost amid all the rest.
Naomi Scott is the standout performance - oddly, she never quite felt like Jasmine from the original film: she was better. Far better, I'd say. I've heard a lot of people saying Jasmine's song felt out-of-place but I genuinely loved the way they did it. Her song "Speechless" is incredible - I'm going to have it stuck in my head for days.
Speaking of the songs, the musical numbers are without a doubt the best parts of the film - "A Whole New World" is fantastic (though I thought it felt rather short: did anyone else feel that?). The dance number at the beginning, in the marketplace, was really quite good.
I could have done without Aladdin reminiscing about his dead mother, and the song she used to sing to him, and then Jasmine saying it was the same song her mother sang to her...I know it's a hallmark of Disney movies, but that whole section of the film felt like a copy-and-paste from Beauty & The Beast to me.
Mena Massoud, very solid performance. A lot of his dialogue is a bit cringey, but I think it's more the script's fault than his.
Jafar, as I said, could have been very sympathetic due to certain changes, but failed to be. I wasn't crazy about the actor, and his voice still bothered me.
One thing from the trailers that did not bother me in the final film was the Genie - Will Smith is superb, hilarious, and entirely his own. Never once did he feel like he was doing a Robin Williams impression. I LOVED a certain plot twist in his story, and thought it did a lot to humanize him.
Yeah, I really enjoyed it, honestly, though it had its flaws. Probably a 7.5/10 for me.
Naomi Scott sounds like she would be the Disney singer chosen to sing the song at the end, because her voice has that sort of quality to it. It's great that she is the singer in the movie. Do they have someone else singing it at the end as a pop version like they did with Demi Lovato for Let it Go in Frozen?
Jafar wasnt that bad to me. When it comes to Disney villains transitioning between cartoon and live action people dont know what they want. For example, critics complained Gaston was too cartoonish but I thought he was spot on in the live action remake
Now they went a different approach with Jafar, it's a problem.
And baring only 4 lines dropped from a trailer fans are already condemning my man Chiwetel because he doesnt sound like Jeremy. Which I'm really finding hard to find anything wrong with Chiwetels voice.
I can understand getting another singer instead of Mena, but Zayn sounds like he's mumbling the words.
And why wouldn't they get Naomi Scott for the pop version? She sounds better than the other woman and like a proper pop singer herself, and her voice is more soaring. The pop singer sounds more like if they got someone for the movie who couldn't quite sing as well, and then Naomi would be the better, more professional singer they get for the commercial version, but it's the other way round here.
I can understand getting another singer instead of Mena, but Zayn sounds like he's mumbling the words.
And why wouldn't they get Naomi Scott for the pop version? She sounds better than the other woman and like a proper pop singer herself, and her voice is more soaring. The pop singer sounds more like if they got someone for the movie who couldn't quite sing as well, and then Naomi would be the better, more professional singer they get for the commercial version, but it's the other way round here.
The Zayn version also pales in comparison to the pop version by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle version from 1992. I thought they'd do something more similar to that for the live action end credits but with Naomi Scott instead.
Just got back from seeing this. I dunno about you lot but this was WONDERFUL. Definitely a must-see this weekend! The music was well-handled and Will Smith was PERFECT for the Genie. Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott are both gonna be huge stars after this. THIS is how you remake a classic, against all odds!
As for the concerns about Jafar, i think they were a little unfair. They were trying to make him come off more subtle yet cutthroat like Scar from the Lion King. Bear in mind, in the original movie, Jafar was far more unsubtle and over-the-top in his behavior and that might not have worked here. I think some of these views were more to try and "compensate" that Iago didn't talk or act more like he does in the animated movie. That's a more tricky thing admittedly, but milage may vary.
Looks like despite critics reviews, Aladdin is the box office money maker Disney was hoping for. I think nostalgia is key for audience and this weekend it's going to be a huge success financially.
Looks like despite critics reviews, Aladdin is the box office money maker Disney was hoping for. I think nostalgia is key for audience and this weekend it's going to be a huge success financially.
I mean...the reviews aren't bad. They're not stellar and they are mixed but it's not like it's in the 20s-40s.
I never thought the reviews would mean anything for this movie. Again if it was like in the 20s-40s it'd be different
And I really don't think reviews matter much. Especially for a film like this. There are plenty of movies with dwindling reviews that make money or are somewhat successful
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