Though everything seems routine there’s enough human connect to keep the audience involved. Stunt work and CGI are top notch making this experience amongst the more fulfilling disaster movie experiences in the recent past.

This film might not have managed to hit the emotional complexity that Chazelle intended, but it certainly gets you a dazzling high.

‘Moana’ is traditional Disney, yet has a much more vaunted ambition of imparting life lessons -by going back in time, mining from the ancient folklore of Polynesian culture and myth, never seen before in mainstream Hollywood cinema. The film has an intriguing mythology of demons and demigods, inspiring a creation story with ancient fantasy that’s never been so wonderfully rendered.

Screenplay writer Christina Hodson obviously did not have a clue as to how to connect the big idea with a credible story. So every attempt at generating thrills and scares appears fake. It’s also obvious that the mechanics have been ripped-off from much more assured material . There’s no compelling story here and neither is there any involvement. But for the heightened atmospherics, and the presence of Naomi Watt and Jacob Tremblay, this would have been an imminently forgettable experience.

The set designs are out of this world, Colleen Atwood’s costumes makes the era come alive and the CGI is both inventive and affective. The story may not make much sense altogether, but the magical experience thereof is never limiting. This is, by far, the best Potter movie — even if it is not about him.

The camerawork and CGI are quite immersive. Mind bending sorcery, multiverse battles, time space interjections and more come into play so easily that it almost seems like a daily occurrence. This film may not have the playfulness of a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, but it certainly makes for an adequate fire-starter of sorts.

The movie feels underdeveloped, the jokes aren’t laugh worthy or clever for that matter and the treatment doesn’t have a consistent tone or temper to make the experience thrilling. Not quite the Cruise comfort we were looking for I say!

‘31st October’ is why fledgling inept filmmakers should stay away from history-invoking true stories, else such heinous acts might well be wiped out from the collective conscience for want of a skilled and able raconteur!

The runtime feels overly long while incoherence looms large due to O’Connor’s over zealous efforts to contextualize. But for the actors and their heavy-duty efforts this would be just another jaded wearisome actioner!

It’s entirely up to Emily Blunt to save the film from becoming just another ‘Gone Girl’ wannabe. It’s largely her well-endowed, entirely relatable performance that lends memorability to the experience while rescuing it from being just another serviceable thriller.