Nerdly » ‘Aladdin 3477- I: The Jinn of Wisdom’ VOD Review

23rd Apr2025

‘Aladdin 3477- I: The Jinn of Wisdom’ VOD Review

by Jim Morazzini

Stars: Tony Miello, Irfan Shiekh, Aaron Golematis, Erik Steele, Cassidy Fahling, Jerry Hayes, Christi Dumar, Robert Forte Shannon III, Lin Zy | Written and Directed by Matt Busch

The story of Aladdin is an ancient and often retold one, with everyone from Disney to The Asylum getting in on the act. Now, former Lucasfilm concept artist turned filmmaker Matt Busch (Conjure, You Can Draw Star Wars) has given us Aladdin 3477- I: The Jinn of Wisdom, the first in a trilogy of films that set the story in a dystopian future where, much like in Shadowrun, magic and advanced technology coexist.

It’s the year 3472, and Harshad (Tony Miello) and Pradeep (Irfan Shiekh) venture to Angkor Watt to consult the robotic seer Darshana Shailaja, voiced by Lin Zy, about the whereabouts of the lamp containing The Jinn of Wisdom (Aaron Golematis; Technically Alive, Bellator: A Southeast DC Story). They locate it, but things don’t go as planned.

Fast-forward to 3477, somewhere within the sprawling metropolis of New Kowloon, Hong Kong. Aladdin (Erik Steele; Apollyon, Quik Money) and his robot sidekick FIDGI are on the run from law enforcement officers who bear an uncanny resemblance to Imperial Stormtroopers, both in appearance and in their inability to hit their target. It seems he’s stolen a valuable relic from his former lover, Jahli (Cassidy Fahling), and she’s not in the mood to be forgiving.

Meanwhile, Sultan Shivali (Jerry Hayes; Betrayed, Who Will Move the Stone) is in a rage, the kind of rage that gets henchmen killed. His daughter, Princess Kamala (Christi Dumar, Vampire Madness, Search for Love Lost), has vanished from the Taj Mahal, which is now a majestic floating city in the sky, and his forces have been unable to locate her.

You can likely guess who does manage to find her and who also develops a rather unhealthy obsession with her. Unfortunately for Aladdin, this leads to him being falsely accused of murdering one of her guards. So, when he encounters a familiar-looking man who wants his assistance in retrieving a lamp, he sees it as the perfect opportunity for a quick getaway to Cambodia.

Aladdin 3477- I: The Jinn of Wisdom is a very mixed bag of a film, something that makes it frustrating in some points and adds a nostalgic charm to others. By discarding the traditional Middle Eastern setting, the original version of the story – it’s worth noting, is actually set in China – would have given it a fresh look if the film had actually been shot on location. Instead, it was mostly filmed in Michigan, which looks nothing like the shots of the region used as backgrounds for the many green-screen shots.

The film’s budgetary constraints are also evident in many of the sets. For instance, Shivali, despite having transformed the Taj Mahal into a flying city, presides over a stark, barren throne room, his throne appearing to be constructed from plywood.

Normally, such shortcomings would be detrimental to a film’s success. However, when combined with the various troopers, bounty hunters, and other characters sporting armour that looks like it came from a galaxy far, far away, and FIDGI, who looks like V.I.N.CENT, the cute robot from Disney’s The Black Hole, it works, though probably not in the way Busch intended.

Rather than evoking the grandeur of Star Wars, Aladdin 3477- I: The Jinn of Wisdom frequently reminded me of the campy Italian knockoffs of the franchise, films like Starcrash, or Luigi Cozzi’s version of Hercules, where the world’s strongest man battles robots in Ancient Greece. And within this realm of cheesy B-movie entertainment, the film possesses a certain undeniable appeal.

The visual effects, depicting the various robots, aerial vehicles and holographic characters, most notably Aladdin’s buddy Pich (Robert Forte Shannon III; Strain 100, Faceless), range from passable to blatantly green-screened, which increases the similarity to those films.

However, they can’t help with the film’s most significant flaw, its protagonist. Aladdin is intended to be an anti-hero, a charismatic rogue in the mould of Han Solo, but he doesn’t even come close to hitting that mark. He’s an unsympathetic con artist and thief who isn’t above playing Peeping Tom, either. He’s also an absolute asshole to the mysterious Oomi, also played by Lin Zy, who keeps saving his ass.

I understand that the character arc is designed to give him room to grow and evolve throughout the trilogy, and I’m hopeful that this transformation will materialise in subsequent instalments. However, for much of this film, his actions make it difficult to care about him, which makes it hard to stay invested in the film itself.

That being said, the film does get better as it goes on. If you’re a fan of this brand of low-budget filmmaking and can stick with it through the plot’s rougher moments, there is a fair amount of fun to be had from the film’s more inspired moments of low budget lunacy, including a mention of the Star Wars franchise and a conspiracy theory attached to it.

As long as you don’t take it too seriously, something the filmmakers clearly didn’t, Aladdin 3477- I: The Jinn of Wisdom offers a perfectly acceptable way to kill a couple of hours.