Aladdin

Thanks to its appealing leads and a strong soundtrack, Disney's live-action remake is considerably better than expected, even if Smith's Genie isn't as memorable as Williams' original. With his crooked smile and earnest voice, Massoud is perfectly cast as Aladdin (although it feels like the hair department worked too hard to get that one piece of mussed fringe "just so"). He has a lovely chemistry with Scott's Jasmine, who's much more of a feminist here than in the animated version. Scott also proves to be a fine singer, although Jasmine's new original song "Speechless" feels slightly forced (especially if you know the classic soundtrack by heart). Aladdin and Jasmine's shared songs are well executed, and "A Whole New World" continues to pack an emotional punch. Kenzari is believably ruthless as the ambitious, evil Jafar, and SNL alum Nasim Pedrad is quite good as Dalia, the real -- and amusingly opinionated -- royal handmaiden who catches the genie's eye.

As for Smith, whose role has been widely criticized on social media, let's just say that he's much easier to handle in disguise as Prince Ali's human adviser, rather than as the slightly off-putting blue CGI Genie. And Smith is certainly funny, but his performance of the genie's signature song, "Friend Like Me," can't live up to Williams' kinetic, rapid-fire delivery. The movie's production values are high, but Ritchie isn't in his element directing a musical; he's no Rob Marshall. The action scenes are more his thing, and he even manages to include his special slow-motion shots in a few scenes. Bottom line? Despite the heavy Smith-focused promotion, Aladdin ultimately (and fittingly) belongs to rising stars Massoud and Scott.