Aladin Movie Review

We all know the story of the classic Disney character, don’t we? Aladin, the magic lamp and those 3 wishes. In a conscious effort to make it different from the original animated film, Sujoy Ghosh the director of our very own version of Aladin, has changed the storyline. Here Aladin (Ritesh Deshmukh) hates his name, hates lamps and doesn’t make any wishes i.e until he falls in love, typical Bollywood style, with Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez). Genie is now Genius (Amitabh Bachchan) and we also have a vicious villian – The Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt).

Produced on a huge scale with talented actors and a good director at the helm, we expect a fantasy thriller from Bollywood that not just tries to match Hollywood standards in Visuals but also in content. Does it? Read on

Aladin Review

Some positives

1. The visuals are good. Not the best we have seen from Bollywood, but one amongst the best.
2. Amitabh Bachchan is slightly over the top in the first half, but at this age, to have done everything that he has done in Aladin, requires a lot of energy and passion.
3. Ritesh Deshmukh – Whether its the role of the under-dog Aaloo, or while romancing the ravishing Jacqueline.. Ritesh in a lead role as Aladin is fantastic.
4. Jacqueline Fernandez looks stunning, throughout apart from the introductory scene. The girl from Sri Lanka has enough potential and screen presence to be the next big thing after Katrina Kaif.
5. Kids would enjoy some parts of the film.

Negatives

1. The director seems confused. Neither does the movie have enough to appeal to the kids, nor is it gripping enough for the adults. While a combination of romance, thrill and fantasy in an underdog tale – in short, masala – is too hard to resist for a Bollywood director, its the faulty execution of the already flawed script.. that makes it such a disappointing experience.
2. Too many songs – 3 in the first half alone. Do we still need 5 – 6 songs in each film? What a waste of time and money!
3. The second half including the climax is yet another perfect case of the writers taking the viewers for granted. Sequences like Sanjay Dutt in disguise revealing the secret behind the death of Aladin’s parents, followed by Ritesh confronting Bachchan to the climax when Bachchan looses his power only to eventually get it back.. isn’t convincing and frankly, quite stupid.
4. The movie gets too predictable too soon, and just when you gear up for the last action filled battle, the director disappoints you with a lame ending. Wish the money and runtime wasted on songs, would instead have been invested on more action.
5. Sanjay Dutt is wasted.

Overall, Aladin disappoints big time, if you must watch it for the VFX and good performances. We recommend you skip this and if Hollywood isn’t your cup of tea, watch Koi Mil Gaya and Mr India instead.

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