Movie · 2019 · Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Family · 2h 7m · PG · English
Curator score: 1.9/10 (976.7K ratings)
Choose wisely.
Overview
A kindhearted street urchin named Aladdin embarks on a magical adventure after finding a lamp that releases a wisecracking genie while a power-hungry Grand Vizier vies for the same lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.9/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.05/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 57%
Metacritic: 53
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Guy Ritchie
Production
Walt Disney Pictures, Rideback
Cast
Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen, Numan Acar, Jordan A. Nash, Taliyah Blair, Aubrey Lin, Amir Boutrous, Omari Bernard, Nathaniel Ellul, Sebastien Torkia, Buckso Dhillon-Woolley, Ceara Batson, Vinani Mwazanzale, Demii Lee Walker, Elena Zacharia
Where to watch
Disney Plus, fuboTV
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, crowd-pleasing remake with strong production design, a few lively performances, and enough musical sparkle to keep it entertaining, but it also feels overlong, overmanaged, and too often less magical than the animated original it is copying.
Best for
Viewers who want a familiar family fantasy with big studio polish
Fans of musical spectacle and colorful adventure
Audiences open to a light, undemanding crowd-pleaser
Skip if
You dislike live-action remakes that closely shadow the original
You want inventive storytelling rather than nostalgia packaging
You are sensitive to bloated pacing or heavy CGI
Overview
This remake has the bones of a fun studio fantasy: bright sets, catchy songs, romance, and a genie performance designed to carry the whole show. When it clicks, it’s easygoing and charming, with Naomi Scott giving the film a real pulse and the central chemistry doing more work than the script often deserves.
Worth noting
But the movie is also trapped by its own reason for existing. It keeps returning to the original’s beats without finding many new ones, and the added material tends to slow things down rather than deepen the story. Guy Ritchie’s style occasionally injects energy, but it can also feel awkwardly applied to a property that wants warmth more than swagger.
Bottom line
The result is a polished but uneven family blockbuster: entertaining in spots, frustrating in others, and best approached as a glossy rerun rather than a fresh take. If you’re in the mood for a big, colorful wish-fulfillment movie, it can work; if you want the magic to feel newly discovered, this one is likely to disappoint.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Alex IHE (0.5★) · 2352 likes
Most pointless waste of time of 2019 so far.
Ben (2★) · 2100 likes
The song that plays over the credits is by DJ Khaled feat. Will Smith and that’s all you need to know
manslikekai (2★) · 1740 likes
A-h shit here we go again
L-ong movie
A-nd will smith was will smith
D-ont watch this
D-o watch the original
I-ts rewind time
N-o really that's actually in the movie
rach (4★) · 1573 likes
just as i thought, this was so much fun and y’all are just mean. will smith as the genie was absolutely perfect, i couldn’t have asked for anyone better! and it was so funny, why is no one talking about that?! and mena massoud was great as aladdin also, and i can’t wait to see what he does next!
ash (2★) · 1092 likes
What was good:- Naomi Scott is great as Jasmine. Her singing voice is splendid- I liked the addition of Dalia- The non-CGI sets looked pretty good- Aladdin and Jasmine have some chemistry that saves A Whole New World from making me feel literally nothing
What was bad:- Guy Ritchie's directing. Stop with the slow mo. Stop with the dumbass partonising flashbacks to an event from 3 minutes ago- The third act is entirely changed… more