Aquaman

Among DC's famous roster of superheroes, the one who has been the butt of a joke for years is Aquaman. His abilities, costume, and portrayal in earlier media such as Super Friends certainly didn't help but within the last decade an effort has been made to make him appear more tough and respectable among comic book fans. In this modern era of cinematic universes, DC films have had a haphazard approach behind the scenes until this point. The polarization of each entry is noticeable amongst general audiences but a pattern some may agree with shows that the single hero focused movies (Man of Steel, Wonder Woman) are generally more liked over those group ensemble ones (Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Justice League). With the production squabbles from Justice League crippling DC and Warner Bros, it's clear that a return to basics approach was required to regain the trust and interest of the public. This brings us to the latest solo hero outing in Aquaman, which was directed by James Wan (The Conjuring 2, Furious 7). The marketing made it appear that it was going for a visual adventure with some cheesy lines and it received fairly positive critical reviews. I went in ready to give it a fair chance and left the auditorium having enjoyed this entertaining average film.

Plot: Taking place 1 year after the events of Justice League, the story follows the titular protagonist as he finds himself in a collision course against his half-brother to prevent a war with the surface dwellers. Something that feel rather nice is that this aims for a more blockbuster "traveling around the world for a MacGuffin" type of adventure. This fight to rule a kingdom isn't new to the genre and does share some similarities to other films (notably Black Panther in elements that are either improved here or aren't as good as that Marvel hit). The narrative is so self-aware of how ridiculous their environment and characters are that it leans into being over-the-top with those aspects, which might be divisive to some in terms of the execution and that's understandable. The tone it's aiming for is something more lighthearted journey with the average cliches you would expect, which might not be a problem as many within the genre had done this before and it can work depending on how you feel with the execution.

The biggest issue holding back the movie is the overcrowded script that's handling so much. The pacing is inconsistent and rush as a result, which is incredibly evident in the first 20 minutes where it's dealing with a chunk of exposition so fast that it wants to jump into the main mission. It certainly gets better once the main antagonist comes into play but that problem is hard to ignore. With wanting to impress the audiences with this one chance, it lays a lot on the table but that in turn might polarize viewers in their subsequent watch. Also for some reason a couple of music choices in a few select parts is rather jarring and tonally clashing with what's going on.

Characters: The lead protagonists to focus on are Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Mamoa) and Mera (Amber Heard). Arthur is a half-human/half-Atlantean with special abilities related to the water who's forced to confront his troubled anger with the Atlanteans when he's recruited to stop Orm. Jason gives a charismatic portrayal that provides nice entertainment while also being allowed to show some complex angles to the role. Mera is a warrior and a princess with hydrokinetic/telepathic powers who accompanies Arthur in the quest to mold him into a better hero that's needed for the dire conflict. Amber is given good direction that improves her acting into a competent companion for the adventure and embraces the fact that she's a live action version of Ariel from the Little Mermaid that Disney wants to make. The chemistry between these two characters is good and serviceable with what this over-the-top film is aiming for.

Honorable mentions go to Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) and Orm (Patrick Wilson) with the former being rather professional and determined with some of the weird antics/outfits her character has while the former gives a very intimidating presence that makes you feel like he can beat Arther in his sleep (it also helps that he's a frequent collaborator with the director in their previous works).

Action: For the classic blockbuster adventure it's leading for, James Wan's work with Furious 7 shows itself imitating a classic predictable formula of a scene involving a conversation between a group before the blast of an opponents sudden arrival erupts into a fight (then repeat). There's a mix between some of it occurring on land while the rest happens underwater (the ratio being about 40-60 or 35-65). On the land, it incorporates the abilities of the fighters with some neat camera work to help itself standout instead of feeling standard choppy. In the ocean, it can get pretty wild with the possibilities of what's being thrown on-screen from between a few individuals and including a lot of sea creatures. Just to add a note, the third act climax might be a little divisive with how much CGI is being utilized with so much going on (personally it felt like it didn't fall into the bad trappings Black Panther and Wonder Woman did with their third acts).

Overall Consensus: Aquaman suffers through its busy screenplay but thrives on beautiful visuals, solid acting, old-fashioned fun, over-the-top action, and fascinating world building. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🎟🍿 Runtime: 2 hours 23 minutes PG-13

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You like comic book movies. You are interested in seeing how the titular protagonist is treated in his own solo feature. You are a fan of James Wan's work. You don't mind a lot of CGI being used and want to see the visuals. You prefer old-fashioned journeys with over exaggerated aspects.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You hate comic book movies. You aren't interested in seeing how the titular protagonist is treated in his own solo feature. You aren't a fan of James Wan's work. You mind a lot of CGI being used. You don't prefer old-fashioned journeys with over exaggerated aspects.