DC Films / WB's Aquaman Review

Another year, another DC film give to moviegoers like a Christmas present to enjoy and this time, it’s the underwater superhero exile who reluctantly becomes a part of a journey to become king called Aquaman, with director/story writer James Wan at the helm with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall writing the screen play for this outing of the fan favorite DC character.  Once again, it is a singular, straightforward adventure with the title character and his cast of characters and world we explore, Atlantis and the few kingdoms that reside under the black seas themselves.  DC films has been a rudderless ship with only one film getting both critically praise and financial success, but most of those films have been financially profitable (outside of Justice League) but critically panned by critics and serves as a divisive base for many discussions and volatile arguments online among viewers and fans.  This is worth bringing up as many hope that Aquaman’s solo film will turn the tide and be on part with Marvel films in quality and success.  Does it succeed like Wonder Woman before to create a new hero for audiences to get by or does it falter and ultimately feel like a carbon copy of other superhero films before it?  Let’s dive into the seven seas and look at the beginning of this tale.

We start with a fisherman named Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison), who comes across a wounded, unconscious Atlantean princess Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) on the shores of his lighthouse home.  They fall in love and eventually embrace with each other to have a child out of wedlock named Arthur Curry.  However, she is tracked down by Atlantis and after a very kinetic, stylized fight, she returns to her home to protect the man she loves as well as her son to never be seen again.  Years would pass, and Arthur would discover the ability to communicate with the animal life under the sea and eventually train with Nuidis Vulko (Willem Dafoe), advisor for King of Atlantis and mentor to Arthur during his younger years.  Arthur would learn of the fate of his mother, which would serve as a foundation for his disdain and indifference to the people of Atlantis as well as his birthright to become king.

Now during the present, Arthur Curry is Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and he defends the innocents from evil or on this day, from pirates commanded by Jesse Kane (Michael Beach) and his son David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) out to steal a Russian U-Boat.  Aquaman shows no mercy and leaves them for dead, while saving the surviving U-Boat Crew from certain death.  While he celebrates with his father at a pub nearby, his moment of peace is interrupted by Princess Mera (Amber Heard), who informs him that his younger brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) is forging an alliance through manipulation and force to become Ocean Master and start a war with the surface.  He is also informed that her and Vulko have discovered the whereabouts of the first Trident wield by the first king of Atlantis, Poseidon somewhere on Earth that grants the wielder the full power of the seas and the right to become king.  Arthur is reluctant to help a home that executed his mother based on what Vulko confirmed but is forced to go on this quest after Orm with the aid of her father Nereus (Dolph Lundgren) and his fleet to create a massive Tsunami to destroy Arthur’s village that nearly killed his father.  He must now undergo a trial by fire and a globetrotting adventure to earn his right to be king but to become the hero he was meant to be for both the surface and water.

This is ultimately an odd yet unique combination of an origin story and an adventure film for the character and regarding the world of Atlantis itself, it is quite beautifully crafted in world building.  As for the character of Aquaman (with input from Momoa himself shaping the character), he is certainly a fun character to follow, despite being more like a brawny bro type that just sort of stumbles into each story beat until he must get it together by the end.  The supporting cast are performed well with Mera feeling like a character that is trying to do something to help her people, while it feels like Aquabro is kind of going along for ride but the moments with him and his father are the only parts of the film where he feels naturally comfortable in the role and his element.  The action beats are very visually eye catching and vivid to watch, especially on a large screen and booming sound system, especially near the end where the finale becomes a CGI overdose and it is stunning to look at, despite the inherent problems to be mentioned shortly with them.  The story is relatively easy to follow and ultimately follows the structure seen in other films like Thor and Thor: The Dark World as well as a discount adventure version of an Indiana Jones style film. 

Where it becomes weird and disjointed, is the amount of plot lines that are littered throughout the film from Aquaman’s adventure to become the rightful king of Atlantis, to Kane becoming vengeful for Aquaman to become Black Manta, Orm’s bloody journey to unite the kingdoms to start a war, and having to search for Poseidon’s trident all cluttered in the 2 ½ hour runtime.  There is too much plot-lines fighting for time, making for some needlessly overly stuffed yet corny writing and expository heavy plot beats working against the film, creating a bit of a trudging dull pacing to the story.  The problems of the action beats are they tend to run a bit too long at times or rely so heavily on CGI, that it becomes a chaotic, blobby mess to watch unfold (very much the big problem of the chase through Atlantis and the climatic battle of 3 different armies all at once).  It does not help that the leading pair of Aquaman and Mera have literally no chemistry at all with each other, making for the romantic and adventure scenes together cringy as well as a total emotional dud between the actors.  Ultimately, the biggest issue it never overcomes is how derivative it really is in plot and character developments/arcs that feel a bit antiquated and dated by today’s standards as well as the amount of quality superhero films that surpass it in creative quality and memorability.

Let’s get into this ocean sized cast, starting with the title character fresh from his appearance in the previous DC film Justice League as Jason Momoa has more creative control over his character this time out.  That is both a blessing and curse as he injects a vibrant yet enthusiastic energy to the character that is very affectionate to see as well as one of the few positively enjoyable performances from the film.  He is essentially a very brawny, laid back hero with headstrong attitude to the character that makes even the corny dialogue feel natural and at least sells the transformation into the iconic character.  However, the character tends to go with the flow and therefore lacks drive to push the story along, while his motivations are clear, kind of change depending on the other less interesting characters.  Momoa is clearly having a blast as Arthur Curry AKA Aquaman and that affectionate quality to his performance elevates the material a bit, as well as looking pretty cool in the classic suit near the end.

Next up, we look at Amber Heard as Princess Mera and she seems to play the one character that actually moves the plot forward and not the hero strangely enough.  She serves to be the companion/love interest for Aquabro and on her own or with others not Momoa, she is pretty decent in the role despite how odd and distracting that bright and alien that wig is on her.  That being said, she handles the action beats well enough, and she has a few moments of coolness to her character when given the chance by the story/script.  However, she really plays second fiddle to Aquaman as well as their romance really flatlining horribly through dramatic development and comedic timing/material.  She provides a serviceable companion performance to the lead character, despite the lack of chemistry and barely getting time to develop her own character during the adventure.

The other, prominent character in the cast before we sum up the majority of the supporting cast is David Kane played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and he provides a cool if truncated performance for one of Aquaman’s notable villain from his roster.  There is no denying that Abdul Mateen provides a very intense if campy performance that goes along with the zany and shifting tone of the story well.  When he gets his suit, it is cool to watch it work during one of the more explosive battles on the surface of a small village around Italy.  However, his sub plot ultimately bogs the film down tremendously and feels like it could have been saved for another film altogether and not crammed into the middle of the film for an attempt to add some exciting action, adding to the overly bloated nature of the story for this adventure.  While Black Manta was a cool and flashy addition to the film’s adventure, it feels a bit wasted in this film and could have just been saved for the inevitable sequel instead of being crammed into the middle act.

We have a slew of other character actors either hammy it up or just odd additions to the cast.  The first and most notable hammy actor of the cast is Patrick Wilson as Orm, who literally acts like typical genocidal madman #45 that has a god complex and really delivers a loud but goofy over the top villainy performance.  However, Willem Dafoe is suitably good in the mentor role of Vulko, despite only providing exposition and mainly working undercover during Orm’s reign of terror for most of the film.  The oddest cast member of the bunch is Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus, who is decent if a bit awkward in the film, amplified by the strange looking wig on another actor that looks off-putting and ridiculous on him.  That is nothing compared to Arthur’s father Thomas Curry played by Temuera Morrison small but character-building role for Aquman, who shines with his interactions with Momoa, despite sporting an odd CGI de-aging for his character early on.  Lastly, we have Nicole Kidman as Atlanna and she was adequate in the role of Aquaman’s mother, even though she barely has much to do in this film as well as suffering the same uncanny issue of CGI de-aging as Morrison.  A clearly solid cast but not given much to define their characters to make it their own with the script at play here.

Now, we get to the technical aspects of the film starting with the most obvious to explore on the surface, the cinematography and CGI heavy look of the film.  It was shot by Don Burgess and there is a sense of scale to the practical settings when shot on set/stage, fitting for a globe-trotting adventure.  However, most of the film uses green/blue screens in the most awkward yet campy ways that serve to make the settings feel weightless, which works for Atlantis but is jarring in scenes on the surface.  When it comes to Atlantis, the film shines visually with its CGI, despite how derivative it may feel in what it seems like (rainbow bridge allusions from Thor or even secret world wanting to invade the real-world ala Black Panther) in creating its own world to learn and explore.  However, the CGI is very dodgy in most of the action beats and it tends to be awkward to look at when they take place.  The film is visually stunning, and the CGI is relatively high quality yet very weightless/cartoonish goofy to look at throughout the entire film.

Next up, we should mention and explore the art direction for the film, with its blend of Greek and Sci-Fi fantasy inspiration on display here.  There is this very cool blend of sci-fi with fantasy iconography with the look of Atlantis, even though we only see it for the middle act of the film.  The over the top nature of the film is on display with the look of the characters as well as pseudo futuristic look of the costumes as well as Aquaman’s iconic costume that is very cool to see physically realized despite how oddly off-putting it looks on Momoa.  They are extravagantly designed for the soldiers as well as the iconic and imposing Black Manta costumes as well as Mera’s classic comic look too.  However, it does feature some odd derivative art designs to the world with the Front entrance looking oddly like the Rainbow Bridge or even the use of green screens to replicate locations they could have shot for real instead of a studio.  It matches the somewhat inconsistent quality of the film with its art direction and designs that attempt to have its own style and artistic look but feels like it is cribbing from more inspired, better designed worlds in other comic book films.

Lastly, we have the mix of popular songs and the original score that utilizes a distinctive blend of orchestral and Synth styles of music.  It was composed by Rupert Gregson-Williams and he combines a ton of different thematic compositions akin to traditional adventure films along with a dash of Sci-Fi styled synth sounds, especially when Atlantis and the action centers around the goons and characters from that world or enhanced by it.  While it is clearly inspired and fits well within the skills of the composer from his previous works, it lacks a cohesive identity or theme to call its own with Aquaman, leading to the music being nothing more than background noise for the splendid image.  The pop songs are utilized oddly and really fell archaically placed that it may very well date the film poorly as well as creating some tonal clashes with the scenes featuring them.  The music like the visuals are well crafted and captures the mysterious, alien quality of Atlantis, but ultimately feels hollow and lacks impact in the both departments of scoring and music.

Which brings us to how the film shapes up as a whole, despite being a runaway hit at the Box Office and audience love this film at the moment.  Aquaman is visually and artistically well-crafted in its world building as well as creature/costume designs and a feast to the eyes with its mostly impressive CGI as well as the strong if unremarkable sound design.  On a technical level, it is truly a worthwhile viewing on the big screen for sure but if you are looking for substance or even inventive creativity in its story and characters, it is sorely missing here.  The story is very rote and basic with characters that fulfill a perfunctory role in the traditional Superhero narrative structure and despite its gorgeously created effects and artistry, it tends to be a mixed bag of hollowed style and campiness that deflates the energy of the action beats or the film as a whole.  It is certainly a step in the right direction but that is not enough to ignore the film’s derivative quality where it matters the most, its story and the characters themselves.  However, it can't be denied that this film does deliver on the spectacle, despite the overall film feeling a bit shallow by the end of it.

Score: *** out of *****

DC Films/Warner Bros.’ Aquaman is the right step forward for DC films and WB, into making a solid, competently crafted superhero adventure that does deliver on the spectacle of the vibrant yet chaotic action set pieces as well as some genuinely awe-inspiring art direction/designs along with some campy yet fun CGI extravaganza to make most viewers looking for a good time satisfied overall.  However, the film fumbles and poorly provides in the areas that matter the most, its basic predictable storyline, along with a cast of characters that are fine in performances but lack any semblance of character development or mismatch chemistry to make them standout.  The performances from most of the cast is great, even Jason Momoa in the title role, but the script and questionable creative choices made to their characters dilute a very thin story in a world that is compelling and intriguing to see for the brief moments throughout the runtime.   Definitely one of the better produced and creatively driven superhero adventure from DC films but not quite a remarkable one that can rise above the clichés, troupes, and formulaic storytelling approach that holds it back unfortunately.