Aladdin and the Death Lamp

this is the worst film I've ever seen so bad i fell asleep i watched an hour watch felt like a century seriously if you don't want your memory of Aladdin ruined don't watch it 1 out of well nothing else should be an option do not watch really hard to get though its the worst just trust me if you want to look for something else

I hate a vast majority of the Sci-Fi Channel movies with a passion, but I still watch them because there is something compulsively watchable their awfulness. Aladdin and the Death Lamp as far as Sci-Fi Channel movies go is a bad movie, but it is not a truly terrible one, at least to me. It does have some good things, Eugene Clarke is commanding and his voice has the ability to boom out in the most majestic of ways and Kandyse McClure has a sensual beauty that is at its best in the ending. The opening song set the setting and tone of the film well and the scenery was striking. Conversely, Aladdin and the Death Lamp does suffer from a lot of the general problems that Sci-Fi Channel movies have. The special effects look half-finished and don't mesh well at all within the surroundings, the genie creature is little more than a blurred giant lizard. While I liked the opening song, I do think that generally Aladdin and the Death Lamp could have utilised the incidental/background scoring better and made it more interesting than it was. Again, not terrible, just nothing special at the same time. At least the costumes have some authenticity, though some like McClure's are so ridiculously over-sized that they make their bodies/figures unflattering. The dialogue doesn't sound very natural in how it flows either and is so cheesy that it is unintentionally funny, Khalil's warning(s) for example is/are incredibly vague.

On top of that, the story(no matter how seriously or not you're taking it) is a bunch of nonsense, the premise with the lizard genie is a decent one but never expanded on how and why it came to be that way, and there is even a scene where the hero is hitting the genie with his sword and it just looks ridiculous. I wouldn't say it was a dull movie, but it is a rather predictable one and one that has a lot of unintentional humour, and I was also struck by how little children were in the orphanage and how lame the hiding-place of the genie was. The characters are too bland or obnoxious to really care for them, and you never learn that much about them. The lizard genie had potential, but nothing is done with it. Khalil was the only one that came close to being remotely likable. Aside from Clarke and to a lesser extent McClure, the acting is really stiff. Some like Darren Shahlavi are too serious and over-earnest and give the feel that they're way out of their comfort zone(seeing as Shahlavi specialises in martial arts he was definitely out of his depth here). And then there is George Ghali, who overacts so badly that he looks and sounds as though he's in a different movie altogether. Overall, Aladdin and the Death Lamp(strange title don't you think?) is bad, but not enough to be bottom-of-the-barrel quality. 4/10 Bethany Cox

Aladdin and the Death Lamp has an interesting premise for an adult rendition of Disney's classic. Away with the music and in with the gore, this film is a dark fantasy and definitely grim in many aspects. And while it holds promise, it is still a VERY flawed film.

Firstly, the presentation. The art direction and cinematography is not all that bad. The locations are presented well and there are some well shot sequences for the most part. The costumes look good and the props are authentic. But that's the thing: this movie's real assets are great, until the digital assets come in. The CGI and VFX are terrible. Absolutely terrible. The way it interacts with the actors and the world is very off-putting and makes everything look extremely cheap. While the geanie (Jinn) is the best use of the VFX - which isn't saying much - other VFX like JPEGs and PNGs for environmental backdrops just comes off as EXTREMELY cheap.

Lastly, the narrative. The premise is good and an intriguing twist to Disney's iconic character - albeit, there's no link, which allows for a more original story. But the story's development doesn't do the premise justice, in terms of actually fleshing out the world and the Jinns. The script itself is actually fairly decent. The dialogue in the first half of the movie is not bad. It's snappy, filled with character and clever at times. The way scenes are set up also warrants some credit. Performances from the main cast are also not too bad, with Darren Shalhavi (Aladdin) presenting a fun energy to the character, and his supporting members doing their characters some justice. But the second half of the movie starts to fall apart a bit. While the plot is fairly consistent - even with some predictable plot points - the characters become very stale and the dialogue becomes very one note. It's a shame because the character building in the first half of the movie was actually decently done and served its purpose for a good set of character arcs. But the end of the movie ends up turning these characters and their dialogue into generic tropes.

Aladdin and the Death Lamp is good on paper and has an entertaining start, but becomes one note and generic near the end. The script could've been fleshed out more, but it's decent for what it is. The performances from the main cast is also pretty good, until the second half becomes overly serious and the direction feels lackluster. The VFX are embarrassing and cheap, but the art direction and costume designs help to redeem the visual aspect a bit.

What this movie could've done right was to reduce the spectacle - because its budget clearly wasn't up for it - as well as further develop the main characters with more dimensional arcs. If the script kept its consistency from the first half and maintained it throughout the film, this wouldn't have been as terrible as film. And if the VFX had more effort and time for polish - or at least if it was implemented in a way that works for the budget and still works for the film - the presentation wouldn't have felt wasted.

An old tale. A reasonable djin. And nothing more. The story did not exist, the acting is pure ...fiction.Not exactly a bad film but a deep naf one, mixing cliches and childish twists, predictable and unrealistic against fantastic pieces. So, good option for a boring afternoon.

Let's see..

• Terrible acting? Check.

• Terrible dialogues, story-line and no character development? Check.

• Plot holes and "why did/didn't they do that?"? Check.

• Protagonist (Aladdin) that seems like a secondary character? Check.

• Only one babe and they cover her up until the end moment? Check.

• Awful, AWFUL, CGI? CHECK, CHECK & CHECK.

• Movie takes place in "old times" but feels like it's taking place in modern times? Check.

The modern times bit especially. They could've actually shot this movie in some backward middle-eastern place and it would've still looked more authentic than what they re-created in this movie.

Not to mention, this movie is worse than watching LOTR and wondering why Gandalf never uses his super-awesome power most of the time to banish the Orcs.