Aquaman

Aquaman

Starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson

Directed by James Wan

The Story:
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is half-human, half-Atlantean, the offspring of human father Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison) and Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman).  Growing up, he's trained under Vulko (Willem Dafoe) to eventually take his rightful place as King of Atlantis, but Arthur is a reluctant king - he'd much rather kick bad guys and drink than rule a nation.  When word reaches him from Mera (Amber Heard) that his half-brother King Orm (Patrick Wilson) desires to declare war on the surface, he's still hesitant to take part, until Orm almost kills his father.

After an encounter with Orm, Arthur and Mera go in search of the fabled Trident of Atlan, which would solidify Arthur's place as the rightful king, while Orm travels to the other oceanic realms to draw support for his eventual war with the surface.  Meanwhile, Arthur and Mera are hunted by Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who seeks revenge on Arthur for the death of his father.

The Synopsis:
The DCEU has always struggled in cinema, mostly due to the fact that the MCU has been around longer and established itself as the go-to superhero cinematic universe.  With the exception of "Wonder Woman," every other DC-film has been met with skepticism, disdain, and outright disappointment.  Every time a new DC-centric film is about to be released, the best review it gets is "well, it's not THAT bad."

"Aquaman" managed to get a little better than that, and in the pantheon that is the DCEU, for me, it ranks second behind "Wonder Woman," which isn't quite as big of an accomplishment as you'd think.  The bar has been set so ridiculously low, as long as the film doesn't literally have its characters flinging poo at the audience, it could be considered a success.  While no one in "Aquaman" flings said feces, it does provide an absorbent amount of CGI, providing us some visual poo but in a way we don't mind seeing.

After being introduced in poo-inducing (I'll stop with the poo jokes now) "Justice League," Arthur Curry - better known as Aquaman - finally gets his own origin story.  While it tries to stray from the predictable path, there's honestly only one well-worn way it can go, and doesn't really stray from it.  But at least it's pretty to look at, from the CGI that floods the screen to the Adonis-built leading actor and the voluptuous not-so-damsel in distress, there's not a lot of visually ugly things to see.  Neither is there anything ugly in the script, as it remains rather typical and safe, following the predicted path to its most obvious conclusion.  While to me the film never built new territory, it didn't need to - and thankfully it dived us in head first instead of just treading water.

While watching the film, I knew I had several unfair connotations that I made between this film and another superhero film that came out this year - "Black Panther."  Both featured fractured royal families that saw different outcomes for society ("BP" had its leader wanting peace, and the outlander wanting war, while in "Aquaman" the roles are reversed), both featured fights between the two possible rulers in gladiator combat, both focused on hidden cities set apart from the rest of the world, and so on and so on.  There was an episode of "South Park" that focused its entire episode on having Dougie repeatedly tell Butters that "The Simpsons did it" everytime he had an idea, and I couldn't help but do the same thing here - thinking in my mind, "Black Panther did it."  It's unfair because both films came out the same year, and obviously James Wan didn't choose to copy Ryan Coogler, but both stories are so similar you can't help but draw comparisons.

Jason Momoa is at first an odd choice for Aquaman, especially if you consider his old comic book appearance for reference - the OG Aquaman has short blond haired and thin, while this Aquaman has a hefty mane of brown hair and is ripped beyond belief, but it somehow works out better.  Momoa is a true kid at heart, and his light-hearted take on Aquaman really draws the audience in, because he portrays him as an everyman who's having fun and therefore we have fun as well.  His chemistry with Amber Heard is also a strong point in the film, as the two bicker and argue on their adventure in a way that you just know they'll hook up by the end of it all.

Equally, the supporting players also give it their all.  Willem Dafoe shines as Arthur's trainer.  Nicole Kidman gets some decent action shots as Queen Atlanna.  Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II relish their villainous roles, while Dolph Lundgren gives a surprisingly nuanced performance as Mera's father and king of another Atlantis tribe.

The CGI is extravagant and richly done, bringing Atlantis to life in a way not imagined before.  We're really pulled into this fantastical story in a way that somehow makes sense, and James Wan proves that he's a master director of both action ("Furious 7") and horror ("The Conjuring") by showcasing both genres seamlessly in this film as well.  The action takes place using 360-degree camerawork that's visually stunning and exciting to see, especially when the ladies deliver the knockout blows.

The only flaws the film makes deals with the story.  It's overly long and bloated, with repetitive sequences that didn't seem necessary.  Arthur and Mera have to find a fabled Trident that would make him king, and of course they have to embark on a treasure hunt to find it.  Meanwhile, Orm has to build an army by visiting different tribes to get support, and it just seems to draw the story out more.  The film also tries to be like Marvel (again, I hate making the comparison, but I can't help it) by being light-hearted and fun, with Arthur giving several cheesy one-liners that sometimes hit, but more than often miss.  If the film was slimmed down some, and some more serious attention was given to the script, this could've been something that topped "Wonder Woman," but it'll have to settle for second place - until the next "Wonder Woman" sequel probably knocks it off.

The Summary:
While visually stunning and involving passionate performances, "Aquaman" is bogged down by an overly long plot and often bland humor, while also drawing comparisons to other like-minded films that did it way better.

The Score: A