I avoided this movie when it came out in theaters back in 2018. Mostly ‘cause, around those days, I was not feeling any of the DC Extended Universe movies (DCEU). However, I have recently decided to give them another chance and watch them all back to back; Starting with Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), which, for the most part, I really liked both of them, with a few minor exceptions here and there.
Aquaman was a massive worldwide box office hit, and now I kind of wish that I had seen it in theaters when it first came out — CGI spectacles like this type of movie are meant to be experienced on the big screen. Still, this is an entertaining movie, and it is an origin story at its core. I really liked the whole love story angle between Aquaman’s parents, which was a pretty compelling storyline. It was also pretty cool seeing Temuera Morrison (Tom Curry/Aquaman’s father), aka Jango Fett, in another big blockbuster flick.
Jason Momoa (Arthur/Aquaman) is excellent here; it is like he was tailor-made for this role. The main premise here is that Arthur’s half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), who rules the deep ocean world of Atlantis, wants to unite all of the underwater tribes and wage war against the “surface dwellers.” Aquaman finds himself as the reluctant hero, pressured by his mentor Vulko (Willem Dafoe) to find The Trident of Atlan. This Trident is a powerful weapon that only responds to the one and true king (echoes of king Arthur and Excalibur). With this Trident, Aquaman can lay claim to the title of Ocean Master and rule over all of the underwater kingdoms, which would essentially put a stop to his half-brother’s warmongering campaign.
There is massive cheesiness in this movie, especially in the dialogue, which makes the chemistry between some of the characters tough to watch, most notably the chemistry between Amber Heard (Mera) and Jason Momoa; their chemistry is not great.
David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was not well developed, especially if the plan is to turn this character into a formidable villain for future Aquaman movies. I was static to see Dolph Lundgren (King Nereus); it is pretty neat seeing iconic action stars from my childhood showing up in mainstream movies.
There are a bunch of far fetch scenes that seemed unnecessary; for instance, there is a scene with an Octopus playing drums….I didn’t think it was needed or in any way useful.
So far, Wonder Woman (2017) has been the best of all the DC Extended Universe movies. I’m looking forward to HBO releasing the Snyder cut of Justice League, which will be an epic streaming event.
Despite the lazy dialogue and the heavy CGI action sequences, Aquaman is a fun and enjoyable movie worth watching, mainly due to Jason Momoa’s performance. Overall, Aquaman is a welcome addition to this ever-evolving but highly flawed DC Extended Universe.
Two out of Five Popcorn Bags
AQUAMAN (2018)
Rod Rioja 