A visual spectacle of a movie that manages to bring to life the colourful panels of the comic book and make Atlantis feel like a living, breathing, world. This movie couldn't be further from Zack Snyder's drab universe, visually speaking, to the point it may sometimes overdo it. Curiously, it wasn't vibrant and colourful Atlantis that made me think this but a short scene in Sicily that was brimming so much with light and colour that it triggered 'fake' alarms in my brain. This movie's filled with so many visual effects that it would put Michael Bay's
Transformers franchise to shame. Having said that, they're very well done and also necessary to breathe life into
Aquaman's underwater world (seriously, it looks so beautiful!).
The story is quite predictable, even for someone who's not familiar with the character from the comic books. Arthur Curry is the bastard son of Queen Atlanna and wants nothing to do with Atlantis or its people. However, when his half-brother, King Orm, decides it's high time for Atlantis to rise again and dominate all peoples, both under and above water, Arthur must team up with Mera to find the mighty trident of King Atlan and challenge Orm for the throne of Atlantis. This would be enough of a plot for its debut, but Aquaman feels the need to throw everything at you, and that includes introducing Black Manta and his back-story through a scene very exposition-heavy. One could argue that the entire movie is ladened with exposition here and there, but it's usually done better; here though, the movie feels confident enough, even though it's barely begun, to pause for a couple of minutes while it tells you the story of David Haye's grandpa. This scene is followed by setting up Black Manta's motivation for hunting down the Aquaman. I've seen a few reviews argue how his character was underused but, personally, considering how much is going on in this one movie, I feel he was used just right. While his motivation is stronger than other villains', I feel we weren't given enough time to empathize with him, and his (introductory) actions certainly don't help him in that regard either.
The cast is pretty much solid all around for a flick that aims to entertain you. Nicole Kidman plays a wonderful Queen Atlanna that I wished we'd seen more of and, thankfully, Willem Dafoe's Vulko (sort of Arthur's mentor in the ways of Atlantis) isn't played over-the-top as so many of his characters. Orm, also known as Ocean Master, doesn't stray too far from the archetypal villain, though the movie tries to strengthen his position with a few arguments, even if it's later undermined by his actions. There's one scene I liked between the brothers that I'll give the movie credit for, and it takes place as they're about to duel. Spoilers follow...
As they're about to duel, Arthur tells Orm how he'd always wanted to meet his little brother and be there for him... until he learned Orm had had their mother killed. Orm, in turn, replies how he'd always blamed Arthur for being the reason why he had to have their mother executed. It was a short exchange but it got me thinking how Orm probably loved his mother very much and how it must've filled him with anger when he was forced to kill her. It's a pity they didn't reinforce this by showing us a flashback of a torn Orm condemning her mother to death.
Nevertheless, in a movie that bedazzles you with its visuals and is constantly driven by action, quiet moments between characters are few and far between. As such, the blossoming romance between Arthur and Mera feels undercooked when compared to, say, Steve and Diana's in
Wonder Woman, but that was a movie driven by this relationship whereas
Aquaman is not. Their first and final kiss in the movie seems unearned, even though it's certainly spectacular from a visual standpoint (very Michael Bay-ish). The mentor-apprentice relationship between Vulko and Arthur also suffers but due to a different reason, and that's because it took place in a past we only get a few flashbacks of. They're certainly well-placed transitions that flow naturally within the movie, but not enough. On the other hand, the relationship between Arthur and his father is far more believable, perhaps because the two actors feel more at ease with each other.
Overall, given how much this movie attempts to do in a running time of 143 minutes, I don't bedgrudge it not developing its host of characters as well as they could've. I mean, come on, this movie has Aquaman riding a seahorse in his original outfit and somehow makes it cool! There are definitely gaps in the story, particularly insofar Arthur and Mera's quest to retrieve the trident is concerned. Without spoiling much, they undertake a sort of Lara Croft/Indiana Jones quest where they have to solve riddles that don't add up with the chronology of the world, and turn out to be rather vague. On the other hand, predictable as this movie was, I'll give it credit for not doing something I thought inevitable it would do, which is...
It didn't kill a single one of the 'old' characters. Typically, in a movie such as this one you expect at least one of the old gang to die, probably sacrificing themselves to save Arthur or to give him the motivation to take on the villain. There were definitely scenes where an event like this could've taken place. However, nobody dies. Not his mentor, not his father, not even his mother who turns out to be alive (a la How to Train Your Dragon 2) and even returns to Atlantis! I most certainly wasn't expecting that, but I'm glad for it. After all, you can always kill them in later movies (and I suspect the idea is to have Black Manta kill one of them).
I don't know if this movie's DC's best (I still favour
Wonder Woman myself), but it's most assuredly on the right track. It succeeds in bringing the Seven Kingdoms to life (no small feat) while providing an entertaining story about coming to terms with oneself and one's roots/heritage. From a purely technical standpoint, I don't know if there's a better-looking superhero flick out there right now. All I can say is, if
Wonder Woman rekindled the hope that the DCEU had not yet been thoroughly killed,
Aquaman is keeping that flame alive and well, welcoming a sequel and ready to pass the torch to the next superhero (even though I doubt
Shazam will perform half as well). I can give no better recommendation than that.
PS: Did I mention Mera's powers are pretty cool?
PPS: Also, she's hot.
This gif is not sponsored by L'Oréal.