[Movie] Moana Live Action _ A Very Good Copy But Still A Copy.

So I finally watched the live-action Moana, and let me just say I am not a stranger to this story, I watched the animation first, loved it, knew every twist, every song, every dramatic moment, so going into this one, I already had something to compare it to, and that is not always a good thing.

But let me be honest with you , it is not bad, It is actually not bad at all.

The first thing that hit me was how familiar everything felt, and I mean everything, the story is the same, the songs are the same, the emotions they are trying to pull from you are the same, If you have watched the animated version before, you are basically watching it again but with real people and more expensive special effects, Is that a bad thing? Depends on who you ask, for me, it felt like a very good copy, not a fake, not a disaster just a copy, a well made, well dressed copy.

Dwayne Johnson as Maui though I have to give it to him, the man carried this film on those big shoulders of his. His energy, his charisma, the way he moves through every scene like he was born to play this character that part did not feel like a copy at all, that felt original, there is a certain scene where it is just him and his charm doing all the heavy lifting and honestly, that alone was worth watching, also, fun fact that huge body you see? Partially a bodysuit, The Rock himself confirmed it, he came straight from another film and did not have the time to build Maui's physique, I found that oddly funny.

Catherine Laga'aia as Moana was a pleasant surprise, she is a new face, young, and she held her own next to someone like Dwayne Johnson which is not a small thing, she brought something fresh to the character even though she was working with the exact same script essentially, you could see she understood the assignment.

The visuals are stunning, I will give Disney that, the ocean scenes, the colors, the costumes it looked beautiful, there were moments where I just sat back and appreciated how much effort went into making it look that good, Live action always has the advantage of real texture and depth, and they used that well here.

My only issue and this is the issue I have with almost every Disney live action remake is the question of why, why make this? The animated version was perfect, It told the story perfectly, the music hit perfectly, everything worked , So when you remake it this soon and this faithfully, what are you really adding? A bodysuit and better cameras? It sometimes felt like Disney is just going through a checklist, Animated hit? Remake it, animated hit? Remake it, They are not asking if they should, they are just asking when.

But even with all of that, I sat down, I watched it, and I was entertained, I did not check my phone every five minutes, I did not get up, I stayed, I watched, and by the end I felt something even though I had felt that same something watching the cartoon years ago.

So if you are asking me whether to watch it yes, watch it, go in with the right expectations though, do not go looking for something new, go looking for something familiar done well. Because that is exactly what it is.

A very good copy, but a good copy still.

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