It's a strong movie... But maybe not what people are dialing up to see at this present moment.

This is still star-driven, big-screen goofiness writ large, something to be consumed with popcorn and a crowd, and that fact its hitting U.S. screens during the summer dog days couldn’t be more welcome.

A lumbering and desperate ode to our common humanity that also tries to scare and thrill viewers into submission.

In terms of major studio films with the power to actually influence audiences on a meaningful scale, I can’t imagine a film with much more effective potential.