Aladdin Review: 4 Ups & 5 Downs

By Jack Pooley /

2. Guy Ritchie's Direction...Isn't Great

Disney

If Aladdin makes anything abundantly clear, it's that Guy Ritchie is absolutely a director better-suited to lower-budget filmmaking.

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Between this and his previous film, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, he clearly struggles to have his voice heard over the machinery of a blockbuster production, making for an awkward end product.

The first act in particular feels extremely messy editing-wise, with choppily-cut action sequences and messy dialogue scenes that were blatantly cobbled together from numerous ill-fitting takes.

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Much like the writing, there's really nothing memorable here direction-wise: everything gives off an extremely rote and soulless vibe, while the hit-and-miss production values occasionally evoke the feeling of an expensive panto.