Film Review – Moana (2026)

      Moana, 2026.

      Directed by Thomas Kail.

      Starring Catherine Lagaʻaia, Dwayne Johnson, Rena Owen, John Tui, Frankie Adams, Jemaine Clement, Emma Puahi-Shapazian, and Amaya Masoli.

      SYNOPSIS:

      Moana heeds the Ocean’s call and for the first time sails beyond the reef of her island, Motunui, accompanied by the notorious demigod Maui, on a memorable quest to restore her people's prosperity.

      “It’s disappointing” – Dwayne Johnson, reprising his role as the Polynesian demigod Maui, articulates our frustrations while watching this lackluster live-action remake of Moana. No critic finds pleasure in criticizing a film (at least, those worth paying attention to don’t), so it’s disheartening to have to be brutally honest about a movie that seeks to embrace a culture and mythology, which does provide opportunities for actors and crew from underrepresented backgrounds. This is the sole positive outcome of Dwayne Johnson's push for Disney to create a live-action adaptation while he can still physically take on the role, whether it’s through newcomer Catherine Lagaʻaia as the titular village daughter, bearing high expectations from her father, Chief Tui (John Tui), or other supporting characters trying to inject a feeling of vibrancy and community into the island.

      Nonetheless, that does not suffice to justify the film’s existence. Perhaps if director Thomas Kail (who has previously collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda on music, including directing the film version of Hamilton on Broadway), along with screenwriters Jared Bush and Dana Ledoux Miller, both of whom contributed to the original two animated films with the former directing, had an interest in imparting their unique vision onto the material rather than delivering the uninspired shot-for-shot remake we typically see in such reboots, there might have been something worthwhile to salvage. Given that the original film is just shy of ten years old, it hasn’t existed long enough for anyone to develop a fondness that would lead them to be excited or interested in this live-action version, regardless of their feelings towards the relentless commercial endeavor that keeps producing derivative films. Worse, it also suggests that viewers are likely to recognize every shot from the original even more clearly this time, as it remains fresh in those minds who have seen it recently, if not multiple times.

      The narrative does not change, yet this execution diminishes its effectiveness. Suddenly, there are no fish left to catch on Motunui, prompting Moana to disregard her father’s wishes for her to prepare to become village chief and instead follow her wayfinding family's legacy, urged by her encouraging grandmother (Rena Owen) to venture beyond the island's reef for investigation. Accompanied only by a neurotic CGI chicken, she seeks the legendary Maui, who is partially responsible for the disappearance of a forest goddess. If they can reunite the goddess's pounamu stone heart, they may restore balance to the world. This journey involves deterring a treasure-obsessed crab (again voiced by Jemaine Clement) to retrieve Maui’s magical fishhook and overcoming a fire god.

      Moana certainly ranks as the dullest among these live-action adaptations. This becomes even more frustrating and offensive when each remake releases with the same criticisms that I could easily plagiarize from my own reviews of previous remakes to make a point. To begin with, this particular remake is either stripped of color or excessively dark, resulting in digital visuals that appear garish rather than vibrant and engaging, which for some inexplicable reason requires the inclusion of CGI animal characters that lack the charm they originally possessed when interacting with real actors. Visually, everything seems off, and the blending of live action with CGI lacks any kind of seamless integration. The only exceptions to this are Maui’s moving tattoos, which retain sentience, and occasional animated backgrounds during musical scenes.

      As with its predecessors, this remake finds itself in a challenging position, with no one seemingly aware that recreating the exact same animated film alters the context a bit. It aims to present a live-action cartoon without considering that watching Maui continuously hurl Moana overboard while passing up chances to correct past mistakes and become a hero isn’t cute but rather oddly absurd. One might expect an experience in such an uncanny valley to offer a morbid curiosity entertainment factor, yet aside from Dwayne Johnson's absurd hairpiece (along with a bodysuit that seems more focused on highlighting his muscular physique reminiscent of his WWE days than morphing him into anything like his animated version), Moana feels lifeless and only comes alive when the beloved songs play.

      Catherine Lagaʻaia performs admirably, belting out songs about embracing her own fate as a voyager, and Dwayne Johnson remains charismatic during his performance (though I suspect he isn't actually singing live and that the pre-recorded track was simply laid over