I was pretty surprised that this movie got so much promotion in Indonesia and it even got the Advance Ticket sales event which was quite rare and normally given to major blockbuster movies such as those superheroes films. Anyway my wife and I bought the tickets since last weekend for its premier date show. Even if there was some chaotic moments due to the heated political condition in Indonesia particularly on that day, our studio was still packed with audience, though some studios in the area of demonstrations were not so lucky as they had to cancel few or entire show for the day. OK enough of that stuff and let's just get on with this movie.
Brief Story Line
In the kingdom of Agrabah, a petty thief named Aladdin (Mena Massoud) and his pet monkey called Abu was quite infamous for his acts. One day he somehow met and became attracted to princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott - Power Rangers the movie etc). As he was trying his best to be close to her, Aladdin found himself trapped in the political struggle masterminded by the evil Prime Minister Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) to become the most powerful person in Agrabah.
Aladdin later on went inside a treasure cave to acquire a magic lamp. But due to a bit of luck, he ended up being the master of the lamp including the Genie (Will Smith - Independence Day, Suicide Squad etc) who allowed Aladdin three wishes. Aladdin realized that the wishes could help him get the love of his life Jasmine.
So what would happen to Aladdin and the Genie? Could he be happy with all his wishes? Find them all in this fun and entertaining musical fantasy movie.
End of Brief Story Line
To my surprise, I found myself enjoying this movie than I anticipated. I knew this was a live-version remake of the 1992 animated movie which was hugely successful back then. But to be honest, I never saw the complete film as I only watched bits and pieces on TV when it was shown. The only thing that I remembered fondly was the lovely song A Whole New World that was sung by Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle. The rest of them were only vague memories to me. When the first few minutes already got a song, I thought "oh another musical Disney movie". However that first song (titled Arabian Nights) was quite familiar to me and it was a catchy song that lifted my mood.
Then when Aladdin appeared and met with Jasmine, I thought it was quite nice. I loved both of them as I thought they really suited the roles. Mena Massoud was charming as Aladdin while Naomi Scott was convincing as a strong woman ready to become a leader. However, I somehow personally felt that the actor playing Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) did not really leave a wonderful impression. Another person who really really was fantastic was definitely Will Smith as the talkative, fun, expressionist Genie. I really like his performance in here as I could picture a 1000 year-trapped Genie would act like him after being freed. Not to mention his singing was actually pretty awesome (my wife's most favorite was when he sang Prince Ali).
Aside from the wonderful performances of the three main cast, there were also other supporting characters but one that caught our attention was Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia (played by Nasim Pedrad). I also loved how the story progressed quite smoothly and the pace was pretty consistent. There was rarely any dull moment, and the best of it all for me, even though it was a musical, I thought the songs were not that many compared to other Disney musical movies. And even if there were, mostly they were nice songs or short few verses songs. This might be an unpopular opinion since a musical's main attraction should be its scores and songs, but not for me. One thing that I was a bit unsatisfied was my favorite song A Whole New World which to me felt just so so (and even worse for the version sung by Zayn & Zhavia Ward). Sorry to say but the original 1992 was still my favorite.
The special effects were pretty decent, with the best of them involving the flying magic carpet. I thought the setting of Agrabah was pretty well made and they were not too obviously computer made. It should be so, especially with a huge budget for this movie. The sound effects were good, and supposedly better in Dolby Atmos but we enjoyed it as much in the standard studio near our home (it was a good choice as well since we did not want to be going too far due to security reasons). The film had a 128 minutes duration (which did not have mid or post end credit scene) and it was well worth it for us. My wife who had seen the animated version multiple times years before was very satisfied with the movie and it had many moments which got her teary eyes as well, seeing the animation came to life, plus of course listening to lots of the original songs again. There were also few amusing moments (particularly when Genie was involved).
Overall my wife and I enjoyed this movie quite a lot. It's got great performances from the main cast with some nice songs, pretty decent visual effects and a lovely romance. If you love the original animated, then you can see this as an animation brought to life with mostly similar story & plot and few alterations to keep it interesting. But if you come here and expecting something original or a better version of the songs, then you just have to remember that this a live version remake afterall, so similarities would come with the territory. Except for brief kissing scene, I thought this is quite a family friendly movie, safe for all ages and it should also bring a nostalgic feeling to those who have seen the 1992 animated version.
Happy watching!
Mike's movie moments rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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