This isn't the "Aladdin" from our childhood. There is more of a backstory of the characters, and Genie is actually human in this. Jafar is megahot (Marwan Kenzari). But the chemistry between Jasmine and Aladdin is amazing (Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud). Will Smith's version of Genie actually works too.
I was surprised by how much I liked this movie because from the trailers I didn't. I will give this 4 stars out of 5. Worth seeing even though it's a little dark. BUT one thing I love that was different....Jasmine isn't just a princess. Because the sultan only had ONE child and that child was a girl, Jasmine is DETERMINED to become sultan. Jasmine is SO much stronger of a character in this version. And also Genie is Aladdin's human servant during 50% of the movie so he's not always blue.
Typically I love John August's writing. But instead of honoring the source material, he tried to go bigger than it. Not cool, John! I do love the celebration of Indian culture and female empowerment, but it's not perfect.