Aladdin  ★★★

I’M still not sure what Guy Ritchie did to upset the critics so much.

The English director of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, two Sherlock Holmes adaptations and a Man from UNCLE remake was generally lauded until a few years ago.

Granted his films have always been an acquired stylistic choice, but something happened that turned many against him.

His recent King Arthur and Robin Hood adaptations were slammed even before they came out and the knives were also being sharpened well in advance for his live action remake of Disney’s Aladdin.

Ritchie’s usual kinetic, in-your-face directorial style did make him an unlikely choice to helm a family favourite.

But Disney and the Brit must have reached a clear understanding beforehand because the result is a perfectly harmless and generally entertaining effort.

The film is of course almost required to follow the classic story and does so in a visually appealing way with lots of vibrant colour and movement  throughout.

The one concession to current times is the obligatory strengthening of the femal character, Princess Jasmine, to make her more of a modern role model.

The two leads, played by Egyptian Mena Massoud and Brit Naomi Scott, look th parts, have nice voices and work well together in the key scenes.

Will Smith was never going to better Robin Williams’ celebrated voice performance as the genie in the original animated version, but he gives it all the energy and charisma he can muster.

Dutchman Marwan Kenzani is suitably villainous as Jafar.

Ritchie also co-wrote the screenplay with frequent Tim Burton collaborator John August, and it nips along at a good place, much like the original text.

I’m not a huge fan of the Disney live-action remakes, but this one bettered some of the previous efforts.

Still to come are The Lion King, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, Pinocchio, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and even The Sword in the Stone.

All fine I guess, but what happened to originality?