Ocean Commotion: Review of Aquaman

Aquaman

Director: James Wan

By Alex Watson

While it suffers from a rather lifeless and convoluted plot and some truly awful dialogue, Aquaman has enough thrills to provide satisfaction. The action on screen is a mixture of several surreal, bizarre yet utterly entertaining sequences. While Jason Momoa might not have the acting chops down, it matters little here as he has the presence and charisma to hold things together.

Arthur Curry is the product of a lighthouse keeper father (Temuera Morrison) and the Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman). As a young boy, his mother disappears to keep the peace between the sea and land. In the present day, Arthur is a renowned superhero of the sea's known as Aquaman. His half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) is threatening war between the surface world and Atlantis. To help save the day, Arthur must choose to embrace his past and become the king he was born to be.

While Aquaman, for the most part, is a fun adventure, it clearly doesn't give a damn about giving a plausible story. While James Wan does provide some pretty epic visuals (the entrance into Atlantis is jaw-dropping), he seems to hope that the continuous action and scenery will distract us from the drawn-out and needlessly confusing ocean political battle. Things begin promisingly with the potential for a decent backstory explain the doomed romance of Arthur's parents- sadly Wan seems in a rush to get through this. While its fun to see Atlanna single-handly wiping out a hit squad, a needed sparkle is lost early on. Arthur is very much the ace in the deck in this movie and his slightly hungover, surfer boy feel gives this character a needed realism.

While the threat of war looms throughout this movie, the story is hampered by what seems like endless political chicanery. Orm comes across as the Draco Malfoy of the deep sea, a blonde, petulant man-child who hates humanity and sets about staging a fake submarine attack to win the favour of other tribes. Many of supposedly big threats to planet earth are quickly forgotten- would a Tsunami really be dismissed so quickly? What could have been an interesting side story is let down by a number of one-note characters such as the seahorse riding Nerus (Dolph Lundgren). Worst of all is the tacked on side story of the vengeful pirate Black Mantra (Yahya-Abdul Mateen II) which adds little aside from fisticuffs and slowly destroying a seaside Sicilian town. There is an element of wannabe Shakespeare in this one as both brothers seek to claim the throne. While there is a thrilling battle to the death sequence, most of the action sequences are so out there that it cannot help be entertaining.

Ever seen an Octopus do a drum solo? A boat attack by weird amphibious monsters? Oh, and did we mention an Island filled with pterodactyls? It is almost as if Wan randomly choose the most far-out ideas he could find and put them in the script! This is what gives Aquaman its entertaining feel because even if you have zero idea what is happening you will still be fascinated. The idea of Arthur as a human/fish half-breed who cannot exist between either world is also compelling and his struggle to find his place draw us to him. The tug-o-war romance between him and Orm for mermaid character Mera (Amber Heard) adds little to story despite her being a guide for Arthur. Most bizarre of all, there is barely any mention of his Justice League status! However, maybe this movie all the better from distancing itself and finally giving needed screentime to one of the better finds of this team.

Jason Momoa might never be an acting superstar, but he sure as he has the feel of the character down. Giving Arthur a refreshing everyman quality, he is able to highlight his flaws as well as his natural leadership. Fond of his beer and also not afraid of brawling with armed pirates, Arthur is a conflicted soul who is frequently put down for his heritage. Momoa gives him a likable yet clueless charm which honestly serves this picture well. Patrick Wilson, however, is stranded with a bland and lifeless villain character- a regular collaborator with Wan in the Insidious and The Conjuring franchises, his Orm comes across as little more than a continually smirking jerk. Nicole Kidman aside from a couple of impressive scenes is given precious little as Atlanna which is disappointing because she has a strength which has the potential to define the main character.

Aquaman may not give much hope to the future of Justice League movies, but it is certainly one of the more different blockbusters you will see in 2018.

There's No Easy Way Out: Review of Creed II

Creed II

Director: Steven Caple Jr

By Alex Watson

While it is a little by the numbers and predictable- Creed II is a still solid and enjoyable sequel. The last effort by Ryan Coogler was one devastating hook that floored even the most die-hard Rocky fan. However, with Coogler heading to Wakanda, his replacement Steven Caple Jr is still able to deliver a gutsy bout. Now officially Stallone's final ever outing as the Italian Stallion, Michael B Jordan assures us that this franchise is now in safe hands.

Adonis Creed (Michael B Jordan) has taken the heavyweight division by storm since his defeat in the prior film. Now the champion, he is keen to set about years of domination and building a future with girlfriend Bianca (Tessa Thompson). However, lurking in the shadows is the brutal and hulking Russian fighter Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of the very man who killed his father, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). While keen to avenge his father's death and create his own legacy, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is not so keen on this matchup.

While Creed II, for the most part, is a well-acted and nicely executed piece, there is a sense they are just looking to draw out the mileage. A large portion of the movie is bogged down by any number of motivational speeches by Rocky about how Adonis has to go outside of what he knows. The last installment injected real heart and soul in places fans were surprised by. This time there seems to be a little too much brooding going on in between fights. Adonis is a character who slowly is growing on Rocky fan's and to be fair, the movie does capitalize on his rash and impulsive desire to beat Drago. Barely crowned champion, Rocky knows he is walking into a world of trouble.

When in the ring, the movie packs all the needed punches. Viktor is a man 'raised by hate' and Ivan's failure to beat Rocky robbed him and his son of a prosperous future. Their first bout together is a painful affair to watch and Viktor has more than inherited his Dad's brute force- he has gone above it! Adonis' challenge is made horrifically obvious here. While there is an excellent but all to brief reunion scene between Rocky and Drago, the father/son duo is mostly confined to being background villains. Which is a great shame because there is a wealth of story available about Drago's decline and desire for resurrection. This sequel is much like many of the previous Rocky outings and outside of the punches thrown, the story tends to lag.

Part of the issue is that Caple Jr seems more concerned with diverting the movie into unnecessary subplots. Bianca's story is one of the moving ones as her progressive hearing loss is becoming more potent. However, Creed II also loses valuable over whether Adonis and Bianca's newly born daughter will also inherit the same condition as her mother? Viktor and Ivan are also dealing with their own issues as Viktor is being embraced as a hero by Russia. Ivan is keen to return to the fold, but Viktor is wary of playing the puppet figure after his own Dad's notable failure. Any gripes we have are easily thrown aside with the number of enjoyable training montages. This sets the scene for a return to Moscow for another East vs West (or man against man) showdown. Like Rocky IV before it, the odds are stack against our hero and this is where the picture feels at home.

Michael B Jordan is finally making the character of Adonis Creed his own. In this installment, he is able to channel the swagger and confidence of the character and take it another level. Jordan also hones in on the self-doubt that Adonis possesses. Mentally conflicted and feeling obliged to avenge his father's honor, we see a newer and more vulnerable side. In many ways, it feels devastating that Stallone will never again grace our screens as Philly's finest. As Rocky, he gives a wonderful if not lower key send off. A man weary of the fighting world, Rocky is forced to look at his life and Adonis' decision to fight Drago is one that shocks him to the core. Still agonizing over his decision not to thrown in the towel for Apollo, Rocky is keen not to see another Creed perish.

Creed II has its faults, but at heart, it has all the enjoyment and charisma that one might expect from this franchise. Farewell Sly, you did it!

Expendables 3: An Action Hero Too Far

Firstly a disclaimer; I love a good dumb film. I like switching my brain off for two hours and being entertained by explosions and one-liners. I am Michael Bay's target audience.

The Third instalment in the Expendables trilogy was released in the UK last week, and on the internet ages ago. Whoops. Despite being the school holidays and the movie having a 12A, I was at least 25% of the whole theatre audience.

The movie opens with Stallone and friends assaulting a prison train to rescue former team member Wesley Snipes because subtlety isn't the point of this movie. If you've seen the trailer, you'll know that the train then crashes into a prison and explodes. Dumb fun.

If this movie is anything to go by, Snipes has recently watched a ton of free-running videos as his character Doc leaps about like Super Mario on springs. There's a lot of this.

It's then straight into another action sequence and Terry Crews turns up to add some humour. Sadly this is the only real sequence Crews had as shooting commitments clashed with Brooklyn Nine Nine. This harbour fight sequence is fun, as it also introduces the movie's baddie, Mel Gibson.

To make a long story short (and it's the longest of the trilogy), Gibson's character, the improbably named Stonebanks injures one of the team and escapes, so Stallone goes off to take revenge. However, realising that his team of veteran soldiers is getting on a bit, he leaves them at home and recruits a new, young team, probably the main characters of the next movie. This is where Kelsey Grammer comes in as a man with a lot of phone numbers. Montage-tastic.

While Statham, Snipes, Lundgren and Couture stay at home and watch TV, Stallone and the Junior Expendables nip of to Bucharest to try and nab Gibson. Things go wrong, the kids are kidnapped and it's up to Stallone and the old guard to rescue them.

Cue explosions, more explosions, helicopter chases and a final set piece that pitches the new and old Expendables facing off against an army from a made up country. There's also the obligatory fight at the end between Stallone and Gibson.

Good points;

* Although the score is largely recycled from the last two movies, Brian Tyler's punchy strings still carry the action nicely and you'll leave the theatre humming the main motif.
* The rapport between the characters is fun, you'll probably hate the youngsters but the banter between the elder members of the group is well written.
* Harrison Ford's last minute inclusion works well.
* The location scout deserves a raise. A lot of the location work was beautiful.

Bad points;

* Jet Li! I'm a huge Jet Li fan but despite top-ish billing, he has less than five minutes of screen time and he does no martial arts at all.
* The cast was too big. Not enough time to develop the youngsters which just made them easy to dislike.

Should you watch this film? Yes, as dumb action films go, it's fun but it's not as good as its predecessors. It's also not as good as Transformers Age of Extinction which in turn is nowhere near as good as Guardians of the Galaxy. All of which are still in theatres. I watched it on a Tuesday because tickets are only £5 at Odeon. I'd be less happy if I'd paid full price.