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.
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