Moana 2

 Movie Review: Moana 2

Back in 2016, Disney worked its animation magic and delivered the endearing film Moana. This week they went back to the well to deliver its sequel, Moana 2.  This time around, after receiving the call from her sea faring ancestors, Moana must assemble a crew and journey to the far seas of Oceania.  I again, hit the theater to check it out on the big screen.

Not surprising the animation and visuals are stunning. The colors and textures really leap off the screen.

 The world building both figuratively and literally works well. The expansion of cultural elements, myths/stories, and themes lend themselves to the storyline. The returning characters/actors are on point. I do wish, however, Moana and Maui reunited sooner. The pacing and direction are fine. Plenty of music including a couple of real bangers. 

All good, right?

Well, here's the thing. Moana 2 was originally conceived as a television series in 2020, with plans for the series to air on Disney+. In February 2024, the series was transformed into a theatrical sequel. A move I think caused Moana 2 to fall a bit short overall.  

All the beautiful animation and other positives aside, Moana 2 is watered down.  

The new characters are underdeveloped and definitely feel like they were meant to be explored and fleshed out over a longer period of time. The hour and forty-minute runtime don’t do justice for so many new characters. So, they’re sadly generic and don't add much depth to the story.

While the song offerings encompass something for various musical taste, their execution is uneven and many lack the spirit and “wow” factor. There's also a certain lack of cohesiveness to the score.

The humor is more hit and miss. Some of the running gags have grown stale. There are still good laughs to be had though. 

Moana 2 gives an overall impression of being a prequel or a series spinoff, especially given the mid credit sequence (stick around for that) than a full-fledged standalone film. But, given that Disney pivoted on this, it’s understandable. Speaking of Disney, fair warning, they do go dark and some of the action sequences get intense for younger/sensitive viewers. 

My take, while Moana 2 isn’t as inspired as the original, it is still a delightful and colorful adventure worth seeing on the big screen. The feels don’t run as deep, but they’re there and the film finished strong and left me curious and wanting more.

Moana 2 gets a 7 from me.

#Moana2

Wicked part I

 

I’ve always been one to enjoy a good musical. My mother imparted in me a love for theater as well. Thanks, mom. And the twist-ory that comes with deconstructing a familiar tale is a special treat that never grows old. So, it’s unexpected given all these things that I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing/hearing the tale that is Wicked. I’ve been interested in the stage production for years but never had the opportunity to see it. Never heard a single song. And never saw more than the initial teaser and original trailer for the film.  To say that I’ve been stoked to finally see a version of Wicked on the big screen is an understatement. The excitement was enough for me to once again break protocol this weekend and venture to my local theater, along with half the city seemingly, to pop my Wicked cherry.

I enjoyed the film, but upon reflection I must admit I wasn’t blown away as much as I expected or hoped to be. Based on what’s in the movie and having no other basis for comparison, I’m sad to say I'm left a bit underwhelmed.  

The commitment to practical sets and a reduction in green screen technology is noticeable and it does create a more engaging look to the film. The costumes and set design are rich and textured. The musical numbers solid and well-choreographed. There’s a lot of fun and charm with a nice touch of whimsy. Good direction and cinematography.  

The surprise passing of the torch was a welcome, happy bonus.

The casting.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda are a mixed bag for me. Both definitely have the singing chops without a doubt. But for me Grande’s acting didn’t exactly blow my skirt up. There are definite moments that really work for me, but overall, there’s just something flat and superficial in her performance I found off putting. Cynthia Erivo's performance is one of the most effective things in the entire film and the contrast between the two upset the film’s balance and undercut the chemistry between the two actors/characters.  It could’ve been much worse, but I wish it had been better.

The biggest issue with Wicked by far is the length and pacing. The two-hour forty-minute runtime is excessive. Especially given this is part one of two films.  I’m fine with long films if that’s what’s needed to effectively tell a story. But here there’s a lot of padding with little payoff. More character development, less fluff. 

Please and thank you.

The editing in Wicked was done with love rather than with an eye to creating a tight film. There were many scenes that would have benefitted from some cuts, without losing any of the overall delight and making for a better narrative altogether.

For instance, the plot points around the animals and also of Elphaba wanting to meet the wizard, just didn't carry as much weight as they should. There was just too much time between the emotional beats of the story due to the added run time, which lessened their impact. You easily forget about these, and they become more throwaway than story. The connective tissue doesn’t hold up as well as it could as a result.

While Wicked I wasn’t the slam dunk hit, I hoped for, it’s good and worth seeing on the big screen if you’re interested. You’ll definitely want/need to pace your beverage intake to make it through comfortably.  While I’m not really sure why they split this one into two movies short of a money grab, I’m glad I went and look forward to seeing what they do in part II. 

For this previously uninitiated movie goer Wicked gets a 7 from me.

#Wicked

Gladiator II

 

Twenty-four years ago, Ridley Scott brought his epic sword and sandal film, Gladiator, to the big screen.  After numerous attempts to write a sequel, writers David Scarpa, Peter Craig, and David Franzoni have delivered the newest installment, Gladiator II to the franchise. This week, the story of what happened in Rome following the sixteen years since the death of Maximus.  Scott once again takes the helm as director, and I headed to my local theater to check out the result.

Gladiator II is definitely a companion piece to the original. Yet, you can’t help but be reminded and compare every element to its original. Complete with returning characters, flashbacks in the form of original film scenes, continuing themes and setups.   Here they’ve taken the original and doubled down. Hard. To the point of having twin emperors. The comparisons quickly make it clear that while Gladiator II is solid, it’s by no means Gladiator.

Gladiator II while solid, just isn’t epic.

It’s engaging. It’s entertaining. It’s also generic. We’ve pretty much been there and seen that at this point. Combined with an overall lack of depth to this film’s characters and storyline, Gladiator II is rather bland. If the film were a meal, it needs more salt, oregano, or something. 

The battles are brutal, thrilling with plenty of carnage to spare, but somehow never come across as being high stakes because most of the characters are merely underdeveloped background characters, largely expendable, and unremarkable. With a two-hour twenty-eight-minute running time, you know nothing is going to happen to the main character until the end so there’s very little tension to create drama. 

They don’t establish the identity of the main character early enough in the movie and that also works against the overall story. I knew going in but was left feeling blase towards whether or not he lives or dies because it all felt so inconsequential the way the movie unfolds. Peter Mensah plays Jubartha and without giving away any spoilers the attitude of his character sums up the feeling I had toward the film as a whole.

While the sets, costuming, cinematography, direction, and score are homeruns, some of the CGI work is bad enough it distracts and takes you out of the story. 

Something that very well be a “me” issue this time around is the politics. While politics was at the heart of the first film, this time round it’s the primary focus. I wanted/expected it to be more of a backdrop to a film about a gladiator, but it was front and center and shoved down our throats at every turn.  

Gladiator II looks and feels expensive. It’s visually impactful and exciting. But struggles with the character development and storytelling aspect.  There are sparks of gravitas here and there, just not enough to truly satisfy. 

Maximus once posed the question, “Are you not entertained?” After much consideration, my answer is somewhat. 

Gladiator II gets a 6.5 from me.

#GladiatorII

Red One

After an absolutely horrendous week that left me feeling gutted and the holidays barreling down upon us, I needed a mind cleanser. So, I made the rare decision to hit my local theater over the weekend.  Opting to rip the holiday band-aid off early I checked out Red One’s early access release. Starring Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson, Red One is the newest film from Amazon, originally intended to be released on streaming,  

I went into this one with no expectations and while I wasn’t blown away, I did find the film enjoyable, nonetheless. 

The pacing is slow at the beginning, and I feel they really dragged out the who/what aspect of the plot much longer than necessary for my tastes, but the storyline is there and works. The dialogue and some of the acting is a bit on the “meh” side and is hard to get past and the two-hour three-minute runtime definitely felt longer. 

While watching Red One there’s quite a bit that’s cut and paste from various other films, but the packaging with Evans and Johnson makes for a fun watch. Added bonus of good, if underutilized casting with J.K. Simmons (wanted so much more of him), Lucy Liu, Bonnie Hunt, and Kristofer Hivju. 

The humor isn’t rib tickling but is solid. Some of the CGI work gets a bit messy here and there but is easy enough to ignore.

The biggest and brightest aspect of Red One for me is all the behind-the-scenes, technical aspects, and imagination of how Santa and the North Pole operations really work. The creativity and execution are joyous.

Speaking of joyous. The theater was packed with a good mix of young kids (even a baby) up through grandparents. All were engaged and no one seemed fussy or bored.  The elderly woman sitting next to me was laughing, clapping, and bouncing with joy. Seeing her reaction made me happy.

I personally wasn’t as enamored with Red One, but that may just be me being in a funk personally. It’s generic and derivative, but appealing. Not necessarily a need to see in the theater film, but a I don’t regret having done so film. Make sense? Ultimately, Red One has it flaws. But it also has enough pluses, so it isn’t a total waste of time.

Red One gets a 6.5 from me.

#RedOne