Aladdin

It's fine... A very straightforward, big spectacle musical.

The new telling brings little that feels essential, and the missing elements-chiefly, the controlled chaos and unbridled comedy of the late Robin Williams' vocal performance-have given the film's candy-colored visual palate a homesick pall.

In short, it's a whole old world.

Marwan Kenzari snarls it up as the villainous Jafar, while Nasim Pedrad is endearing and funny as Jasmine's handmaiden and best friend Dalia...

There are efforts made, whether through good faith or just market savvy, to update Princess Jasmine into a people's champion who might prefer ruling to romance. Enough to make you wish the Disney people had gone whole hog and just called it Jasmine.

With "Aladdin," they've done the leveling with just enough style and pizazz that most moviegoers won't care that it's a retread, and the leads are good enough to make you hope they'll go on to something real.

Sure, it's almost exactly like the animated version, but they gave Jasmine the feminist edge that was sorely lacking in the cartoon.

This live-action version of the Disney animated classic does a very good job capturing most of what made the original magical ... while expanding on the story and the characters.

Will Smith puts a fun spin on proceedings. He brings his "A" game, which we haven't seen in some of his recent outings.

Aladdin shows superior technical craftsmanship in so many aspects of the film, but its failure to reckon with a change of medium, bungling of story, and underwhelming characters, means that it is ultimately unsatisfying.