He makes a less quippy and in some ways pricklier Genie, less inclined to coddle Aladdin and more prone to doling out the kind of romantic advice that might remind you of the professional love guru Smith played in “Hitch.” Smith builds on that approach, affecting the diva-like attitude of a demanding fashion designer. If anything, it’s the stage Genie whose influence comes through, for it was on Broadway that the Genie was first played so flamboyantly (James Monroe Iglehart earned a Tony for that fresh interpretation). His infectious personality shines throughout, and he even manages to infuse his martini-swilling Genie with moving emotional moments. Smith, faced with the impossible task of living up to Robin Williams’ iconic voice performance, easily makes the role his own. “A lot of people talk a lot of trash about this movie, and after watching it for myself tonight: You owe Will Smith an apology.”Īnd Smith himself succeeds at making the Genie his own whenever he’s allowed to play the character as, well, Will Smith in a top-knot and turban. (Photo by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
While early looks at the film - especially scenes that focused on Smith turning on the bravado with a vibrant song-and-dance - were received badly enough that both Ritchie and Smith were asked to respond to the critical jabs, within the context of Ritchie’s warmly silly film, they work. Here’s what critics are saying about Aladdin:Ĭall it “Aladdin and the Fresh Prince of Ababwa” - which could well have been Ritchie’s pitch for a still largely stereotype-driven project that seems to work best when it’s not directly emulating the cartoon that came before. But according to the critics, fears about the Smith Genie are misplaced – he makes it his own – and there is plenty of magic still to be found in Agrabah and the story of its parkour-loving street rat and independent-minded princess. Not everyone is enamored with this 2019 Aladdin, which infuses a hip-hop sensibility into some of the musical numbers and gives Jasmine a stronger arc, and there are signs of live-action-Disney-remake fatigue. Could the team possibly pull off a live-action version of a tale that got so much of its verve from the possibilities of animation – and the performance of the late Robin Williams? The first word in from critics is that they have – mostly. Disney’s latest remake, Aladdin (2019) 57%, arrives in theaters on Friday riding a lava wave of hot-takes and head-scratching curiosity: the first images of Will Smith as a “blue genie” left some fans skeptical, and the choice of British director, Guy Ritchie, who got his start making kinetic gangster flicks, seemed either odd or inspired, depending on your bent.
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