Aladdin - 2/5

For some reason, this film feels as if it was cursed from the beginning. From the moment Disney released news about the live action Aladdin, I feel as if it was not met with the best reception. So letting go of all preconceived ideas, how does Aladdin stand up to be? Well let's explore what was good about it first. Actress Naomi Scott as Jasmin and SNL's Nasim Pedrad as Dalia stole the entire film for me. Pedrad was more funny than Will Smith and her comedic timing was impeccable. Let's now explore what was wrong with it. The first problem was that the setting and the story was just tacky! Absolutely tacky. This will always be the problematic element of trying to do a live adaptation shot for shot remake of a cartoon. It is a huge risk, and unless you explore a few concepts to keep adults engaged too, it is not going to work! The next awful bit was the costuming. Some of the costuming looked like it was picked from a $2 shop. Jafar's outfit looked like a botched job, in fact the seamstress from my high school play could have done a better job than that. The next was the set - the set looked cheap and so did the special effects. Doctor Who has better special effects than what we saw in this film. Finally - what the fuck kind of cultural background were they going for? Was it Arabic? Indian? The writers probably settled for "Ethnic." There were moments of hip hop influence as well. The amalgamation was a big mess (and sort of disrespectful) The one thing that was just 'acceptable' was Will Smith's take on the Genie. A bit over the top, unfunny at times and cringeworthy, it was just average and acceptable. You may find this fun, you may like it cause its nostalgic. I really found very little to like about it. Watch it if you like Aladdin from 1992, but wait for it on Stan!