"Aquaman" is a Dazzling DC Superhero Picture that Suffers from an Overload of Action Sequences
By: Keaton Marcus
Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) in Aquaman
Genre/Action/Adventure
Age Rating/12+
Lemonradar/65% sweet/sour
Introduction
Hi, this is Keaton Marcus and today I am reviewing DC’s newest comic adaptation, Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, and Nicole Kidman. When the queen of Atlantis, Atlanna (Kidman) gives birth to half breed Atlantean, Arthur Curry, she is executed for raising the boy on land. When Arthur (Momoa) learns that he has the special powers of an Atlantean, and unless he finds the trident of Atlantis, his corrupted brother, King Orm will start a war with the surface world; When a new villain arises, known as Black Manta, Arthur and Princess Mera (Heard) team up to search for the Trident and to stop this war once and for all.
How Was The Cast?
After seeing Momoa first appear as the iconic character of Aquaman in pitiful DC team-up Justice League, the actor returns once again to perform in the character’s first stand-alone flick. Surprisingly, Momoa brings laughs, and lots of charisma to the table. Supporting roles include actress Amber Heard taking on Princess Mera, and even two veterans: Willem Dafoe and Nicole Kidman play Vulco and Queen Atlanna (in that order).
Firstly, as mentioned, we saw actor Jason Momoa known for Game of Thrones, Conan the Barbarian, Justice League, Braven, The Bad Batch etc. return for the role of Aquaman/Arthur Curry. As noted although he tends to have amazing roles wasted in sub-par films; In Aquaman, the actor delivers chemistry with the fellow cast members, good humor, laughs, his cocky persona, and strong build which makes him utterly perfect for the role, almost creating DC’s version of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is a huge improvement on other DC adapted characters such as Ben Affleck’s tired Batman, and Henry Cavill’s flimsy Superman. With Aquaman 2 already in the works, we expect Momoa to deliver the same comedy, and joyfulness soon. Overall, among the amazing action sequences, and special effects, Momoa rises to deliver laughs, abundant charm, and an almost perfect (and muscular) vision for the popular comics character, effectively bringing Aquaman from pages to screen.
Secondly, we saw actress Amber Heard known for Drive Angry, The Rum Diary, Zombieland, Pineapple Express etc. play Princess Mera. Although known for some supposedly solid comedies, such as Zombieland, with co-stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, she is objectified, and mis-used in almost every single film by the director, however in Heard’s newest feature film, filmmaker James Wan successfully delivers a kick-ass, powerful character, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe tends to be much more evolved in creating strong female characters, the DCEU, after having Gal Gadot deliver an amazing performance as Wonder Woman, the male-driven franchise is finally moving to the 21st Century. In the film, there were many other actresses’ that could do even better, in particular Scarlett Johansson who plays a kick-ass Black Widow in Avengers, Heard is a decent match with Momoa, and works very well with the actually, very interesting character. Overall, Heard does not come from much, but still manages to deliver a solid performance, bringing some banter. Fits the character and is overall yet another kick-ass DC female character.
Moving on to the more supporting roles, we saw veteran Willem Dafoe (Platoon) deliver a cheesy, abeit good fun type-performance with nice, slicked back hair, giving a reassuring sign that the legend still has talent. And lastly actress Nicole Kidman (Australia) surprisingly joins the bunch with a decent layout for Queen Atlanna, a second powerful female character that overall really delivers.
Quality
Directing this water-themed superhero pic is filmmaker James Wan known for Furious 7, The Conjuring, Saw, Insidious etc. Mostly known for gory, R-rated Horror pics, Wan bears a very different career than most other DC film directors.
Surprisingly, Wan makes it work, delivering thrilling action sequences, good performances from the leading roles, eye-catching special effects, and even a solid batch of story and heart at the helm, even though the script might not be as strong as it should be. A big improvement over Zack Snyder’s Justice League and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, who although brought some great special effects, the productions were utterly brainless, however Wan creatively, and successfully brings Aquaman to the big-screen.
Special effects wise, standing at a reported 160-200M production cost, Aquaman is one of the most beautiful films of the year, delivering a creative vision of Atlantis, surprisingly amazing set-pieces that come with beautiful filming locations, and many, good battle and action sequences that are driven by wonderful CGI. Compared to other DC budgets, it reigns over Wonder Woman (120-150M), is on parr with Suicide Squad (175M), and Green Lantern (200M), while it is smartly behind the excessive 225M+ production costs for Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, or even the massive 300M spent for Justice League. Box Office wise, this averaged 180M cost is respectable, as it is predicted to open with 100M+, delivering another DC hit.
Storyline wise, unlike many other DC pics, Aquaman not only hits the bar with visuals, it also strikes the tone for intelligence, delivering a surprisingly coherent, thrilling story and plot, juggling many different tales, and plots at once, and while the script writing does occasionally water-log this fun adventure, the visuals, acting and directing easily outweigh it.
Aging ‘The Trident’
Very similar age-range to other superhero pics, Aquaman stays completely true to its PG-13 rating. Violence includes the common comic-book type action, some generic language and many scenes that include flirting, and banter.
The violence includes lots of fantastical action sequences, some blood shown while Arthur and Mera fight against creepy monsters, with punctures in the head and stomach, but very little shown, near the end of the pic, there is an epic-type, but action-packed battle that includes lasers, explosions and loud sound, and in the film Arthur and Orm compete in a Gladiator-type match that features intense (and fun) sword-fighting-type moves with the two Tridents.
Language wise, there is one use of d..k, and other rare uses of ass, hell, s..t, and a cut-off what the f..k. Sexuality wise, there is the common flirting, hugging and banter, and near the end Arthur and Mera share a passionate kiss with each other.
Best DCEU Movies Showdown
Aquaman 86% sweet
Violence: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Language: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆
Sex: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
Age Rating: 12+
Wonder Woman 85% sweet
Violence: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Language: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
Sex: ⭐⭐☆☆☆
Age Rating: 11+
Aquaman 86% sweet
Storyline: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Cast: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Role Models: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Wonder Woman 85% sweet
Storyline: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Cast: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
Role Models: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆
News Related to Aquaman
$plurge, $tream, $kip: Although occasionally water-logged by script-writing, Aquaman delivers spectacular visuals, charisma within the talented cast, an intelligent story and overall brings the best DC film since The Dark Knight to the table…$PLURGE IT
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 143 minutes
Director: James Wan