By: Keaton Marcus

The ads didn't work out for you, or trolls think Will Smith's Genie looks cheesy--well forget the teaser trailers, and prepare yourself for a swashbuckling fun adventure full of enjoyable musical numbers, dazzling visual effects, and a fresh, young cast filled with chemistry. Yes, it's long, occasionally laughable--and maybe a little unnecessary--but audiences, especially the younger ones have much to dive into. Smith's Genie works, the film is full of laughs and the remainder of the leading cast, especially Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott's banter as Aladdin and Jasmine, work like a charm. The faithfulness to the animated counterpart, released in 1992--is up to the task, and while the live-action imagining may never match to the classic--it really never needs to, if you're there to have fun with yourself, this "Aladdin" reboot will give you everything you need.

The new film has occasional differences, but generally, filmmaker Guy Ritchie follows the basic storyline of the original, and what made it so fun. At the beginning of the stuffed picture, we see Aladdin, with his monkey, Abu (now CGI'd) stealing all sorts of jewels--they exchange some banter, the cuteness of the creature especially stands out. Then, however, the street-thief meets the princess in disguise, Jasmine--immediately the two have a connection. From there its all chemistry between a fantastic Massoud and a spunky Scott. In one of the first numbers, "One Jump Ahead" (from the original), Aladdin swings through the dusty streets of Agrabah with grace, while singing the catchy song with gusto--he's an acrobat, and it's very fun to watch, no matter how laughable. Of course, the villain, Jafar shows up here and there, tempting Aladdin to fetch the lamp from the "tiger-cave" of sorts--and then, well tricking him. The lamp, containing the wise-cracking Genie, and the cave hiding the titular magic carpet. Lost by now? Well, the plotting is a little much, you may scratch your head here and there, but usually--not much thinking is required. Instead of longing for love, Jasmine desires to be Sultan--and forget the sexist rules of the kingdom--this plot twist gives the story a touch of feminism, but not too much to make you cringe. The few changes generally work.

We must talk more about the songs. Composer Alan Menken captures all of the numbers from the original, "A Whole New World" which has Aladdin and Jasmine going on a magic carpet ride, and Naomi Scott's voice will win over audiences. The music department also does not forget the likes of "Arabian Nights", (opening theme), "Friend Like Me" (a classic, this time sang by Will Smith, instead of Robin Williams)--Additionally, we see many more, including a new song titled "Speechless" which gives actress Naomi Scott a thrillingly written solo, and another chance to showcase her beautiful, proud voice that topples the stereotypical original princess. The three main characters, Smith's Genie, Massoud's Aladdin and Scott's Jasmine all flow with the dazzling music, and it's more than enough to get the audiences to sing along.

Another vital thing about the film is Will Smith's live-action Genie. Does it work? (yes) Is it much too uncomfortable? (occasionally) And can he sing? (hell yes). It may be hard for some to compare the rebooted variant to the classic, very fun Robin Williams' animated counterpart--but for most, the jokey, irresponsible CGI take is enough for the pleasure of the younger ones. Also, mentioned before, the actor gets his share of music, including "Friend Like Me" and "Arabian Nights", both cheesy, and ludicrous, but oh, so appealing. Smith also shines in many clever scenes, including a lavish party, where he instructs Aladdin on how to talk to the princess, using all sorts magic to make the "fake prince" dance and be charming. Furthermore, he also has winning chemistry with Jasmine's handmaiden, Dalia (played by a fantastic Nasim Pedrad)--who he falls in love with (there is no notable servant in the original). Smith has not done a blockbuster in a while, and he's back, awoken after years.

There are things that don't work, as there are in many Disney live-action reboots. First off, the villain, Jafar--disappoints. Played by Turkish actor Marwan Kenzari, this live-action imagining of the iconic antagonist may be more charming, handsome and more appealing than his curved-nose animated original--but the looks have nothing on the poor writing for the character, and over-the-top performance. On the bright side, he's not the face of the film, and generally--the cast performs very well surprisingly. So while the villain rarely works, and the storytelling is a little over-complicated, it's still all good, family-friendly fun.

The final verdict is: Disney's live-action "Aladdin" reboot is occasionally over-stuffed, and a bit too lengthy--but, generally, the excitement-filled children's picture delivers a terrific cast, dazzling special effects and musical numbers full of enjoyable songs...$TREAM IT

By: Keaton Marcus

Box Office Info:

Opening Weekend: 91.5m

Domestic Total: 355.5m

Worldwide Total: 1.050 billion