Aquaman – 5 out of 5
We all make our jokes about Aquaman. Hell, in my days as a standup comic, I had a whole joke about Aquaman being ridiculed at a crime scene by spectators only to have them turn around and get excited when Namor shows up (yes, I know they are from two different companies). Truth be told, however, I think Aquaman is really cool. When in the hands of a great writer, he is incredibly badass. He’s also badass when you have a badass dude playing him. Someone like Jason Momoa. Yes, the geeks who complain when everything adapted from a comic isn’t 100% faithfully translated hated the idea of a non-white man playing the King of Atlantis but the new direction for the hero felt refreshing and the taste we got of him in Justice League was pretty cool, in my opinion. Naturally, I was excited for his solo film because I’m a comic nut and this one definitely delivered something amazing and I was very pleased!
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| Warner Bros. Pictures The water is a metaphor for the females in the audience. |
Born of a mortal man of the land (Temuera Morrison) and fierce queen from under the sea (Nicole Kidman), Arthur Curry (Momoa) is a metahuman hero that has the destiny of uniting the kingdoms of the sea and being a beacon of hope for peace between the land and Atlantis. However, Curry doesn’t wish to accept his destiny and while he remains on the sidelines, his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) seeks to rule the kingdoms and bring vengeance upon the land for the damage they’ve done to the ocean. A princess from one of the kingdoms, Mera (Amber Heard), urges Curry to reconsider and convinces him to seek out the Trident of Atlan, a weapon that will help him lay claim as the rightful king. However, Orm will stop at nothing to keep the throne and kill his half-brother and sends a squad out to stop them, one lead by a man whom obsesses over revenge against Aquaman for killing his father; Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Can Curry find the trident and become the man of legend he is destined to become?
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| Warner Bros. Pictures And then Aquaman shall rule the realm of the blacklight posters! |
The DCEU has been quite rocky, to say the least. There are movies in their young shared universe that are absolutely fantastic (Wonder Woman) and ones that are messy and of mixed quality (Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad). Hell, with all the reported trouble that you hear about from Warner Bros. to the rumors that their stars are jumping ship; it’s questionable if the DCEU will last to any substantial degree. The shared universe has its fair share of problems but I don’t hate it. I’m not nearly as obsessed with it as I am the MCU but I still have a place for it in my heart and desperately want to see it make it. That being said, like Wonder Woman, Aquaman is a step in the right direction.
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| Warner Bros. Pictures Manta was soooo badass in this movie. Can't wait to see more of him in the DCEU. |
Aquaman is a hard hero to bring to the screen, especially for an origin story. His history has a lot of depth to it (no pun intended) and being able to bring that without feeling like you are seeing a comic book history lesson is hard. From my perspective, Aquaman succeeded in delivering tons of exposition in a fluid way (also no pun intended). Some viewers might be put off by the way James Wan delivered all of Aquaman’s backstory and how Atlantis runs but, for me, I found this to be a great adaptation of what the character and comics have to offer. Additionally, I was very pleased with how Wan leaned into the more fantastical elements of the Aquaman mythology. Things like talking underwater, the outrageous undersea creatures and the lavish locals of the Atlantis empire—all these elements could have easily looked cheap or silly but the way Wan presented them felt more like you were seeing the existing and majestic side to the DCEU rather than something goofy. Not to mention the special effects were incredible and help legitimize the reality I was seeing.
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| Warner Bros. Pictures I'm a hardcore comic fan but I don't get too up in arms when adjustments are made to characters and costumes when adapted. However, it is still very cool to see Mera's look so dead-on to the comics. |
I think director James Wan is a very talented person. The man is an incredibly versatile director and storyteller but one thing he is proving to be really good at is filming action set pieces. With having his start in the world of horror, my curiosity was piqued when he became attached to director Furious 7. I love the Fast and the Furious films and Wan’s eye ended up making the 7th film in that series my favorite one of them all. So, when he signed on to tell Aquaman’s story, I was definitely excited. Wan’s talents for action spectacle really worked well with this DC hero as the action sequences are a perfect blend of fun and excitement and then filmed in a way that just left my jaw on the floor. His fluid work (again, not a pun) with camera movements and the way he could cut the action was nothing short of amazing and definitely one of the film’s biggest highlights.
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| Warner Bros. Pictures Wilson looks pretty damn good as a blonde. |
The cast is another element that I was enthralled with. There’s no denying that Momoa is a physical specimen and an imposing presence as Aquaman but he also has charm that makes the character fun and engaging. Amber Heard is matching Momoa’s charisma and snark beat for beat and just looks awesome as Mera. There’s also a ton of great supporting player who are bringing life to the product like Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren and Temuera Morrison. Nicole Kidman is bringing grace mixed with a badass rebellious attitude as Atlanna and, finally, the baddies in this movie are top notch. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is just killer as Black Manta and I can’t wait to see more of him in the sequel and Patrick Wilson was so addicting to watch as Orm. Wilson is a truly gifted actor and it is impossibly easy to get lost in his performances and he does that wondrously in this one.
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| Warner Bros. Pictures Hail to the king, baby! It's awesome that they were able to make Aquaman's suit work on the big screen. |
Concerning drawbacks, I really didn’t see any that were of much note. I will admit that the plot sometimes feels like it is moving too fast and I already mentioned that some people might not like the amount of exposition and world-building that is placed in the feature. These aside, I had a lot of fun with Aquaman and find it to be one of the best DC films in the DCEU (right behind Wonder Woman, of course). James Wan did such a tremendous job at adapting a hero that is often made fun of in mainstream pop culture that I honestly feel that all DC films in their shared universe should either be directed by him or Patty Jenkins. Imagine if one of them directed Batman v Superman?!? Either one would have definitely made the “Martha” scene actually work and not ended up making it look like a punchline.
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