AQUAMAN: NON-SPOILER REVIEW

PLEASE NOTE - THE FOLLOWING IS A SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF THE FIRST EPISODE. I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY MAJOR PLOT POINTS FROM THE MOVIE.

“You do your best thinking when you’re not thinking at all”

I think it’s safe to say that for years, especially amongst large sections of comic book fans, Aquaman has remained something of a joke; Family Guy made fun of him in one of their cutaways. It was a long running gag in Entourage. Even the trailer for Justice League had a “I heard you talk to fish” line in it. While a lot of these barbs are done with affection, he remains one of the top characters for DC after 77 years (he is one of the founding members of the Justice League and the King of Atlantis after all).

How many people viewed the character changed massively once Jason Momoa was cast. Gone was the blond hair and green tights from the comics to be replaced by tattoos, dark brooding good looks and a “surfer dude” attitude. What, at first, may have seemed like a bad idea when the first pre-Justice League promotional photos were released seems like a stroke of genius now. Momoa was one of the standout highlights in the Justice League movie. While the rest of the DCEU faltered, it looks as though Momoa’s Aquaman may follow in the warrior booted footsteps of Wonder Woman and become a bonafide hit for DC, appealing to both critics and fans.

Will the movie ride on a wave of goodwill from Momoa’s charisma or will it end up more of a beached whale?

THE STORY
After an Atlantean princess and a lighthouse keeper fall in love and have a child, that child grows up and slowly discovers his underwater heritage. Fast forward to a year after the events of Justice League, Aquaman finds himself drawn into a conflict that threatens the underwater kingdom of Atlantis and the land above water. Along the way, Arthur Curry must battle his half-brother (Orm the Ocean Master) and the Black Manta.

OVERALL OPINION
Okay. So, where to begin? I think that statement says it all, as I’m having a slightly hard time conveying my thoughts about this movie, because they are plentiful and they are mixed. I suppose I should start by saying this is not a bad movie; it doesn’t even come close to matching the unevenness or disappointment levels of Suicide Squad, BvS or Justice League. However, conversely, this movie isn't amazing either.

Starting with the good, the performances from pretty much all involved were enjoyable, with the exception of Black Manta (but we will come back to him in a minute). The creation of the mythology surrounding Atlantis is top notch storytelling and the whole movie has a kind of Lord of the Rings meets Avatar underwater fantasy vibe, which I thoroughly enjoyed. That being said, I found one of the problems with the movie was something that also plagued BvS: trying to pack in too much into one film. The movie clocks in at 2h 22m, which I feel is too long for the story that was being told. There are parts that could have been trimmed down or jettisoned altogether to make this a tight 1h 45 mins and I think that would have helped rise the film from “enjoyable” to “real rather good”. And one of those things that could have be jettisoned was having one too many villains.

Black Manta in the comics is a formidable foe to Aquaman, representing a legitimate antagonist to our hero. And if the film focussed just on him it would have been okay. However, we also have Patrick Wilson’s Orm to contend with and the “primary” villain. His actions and quest are essentially the main plot of the movie leaving Black Manta just kind of there (occasionally). I know they are probably setting him up for the sequel, but they could have gone about it in a much better way (see Mordo in Dr Strange for instance).

Away from the villain, the visuals are stunning, the action set-pieces are creative and enjoyable, although I did find that you can tell director James Wan is a horror director, as I found the beginning of certain action sequences bore a striking resemblance in tone to a horror movie jump scare (quiet moment, dialogue, BANG). There may be some out there who will unfairly compare the look of Atlantis to other films: LotR, Blade Runner, Avatar, Tron: Legacy, Thor: Ragnarok or even Black Panther. i that is unfair. There may be a passing resemblance for a split second, but this film definitely created an original looking underwater empire full of wonder and spectacle that is definitely it’s own thing.

THE PERFORMANCES
Jason Momoa - Aquaman
From Ronan Dex in Stargate Atlantis to Khal Drogo in the Thrones show, Jason Momoa now gets to show there is more to him than just the muscly brooding guy. Much like Chris Hemsworth in Ragnarok, Momoa get to show his comic timing as well as his action chops. And he kills it. He seemed to dial back the “surfer dude” vibe the character had in Justice League (which I think is a shame), but he definitely holds your attention when he’s on screen.

Amber Heard - Mera
There were some minor grumblings around the internet when she was first cast, as her acting ability is not generally considered to be the strongest out there. However, she is definitely not as bad as people think. She had good chemistry with Momoa and some satisfying fight scenes. Although her wig (when dry) was a little distracting in some scenes.

Patrick Wilson - Orm
Patrick Wilson is one of those reliable actors that adds quality to any film he is in. Here he gets a chance to show his villainous(?) acting chops and once again delivers a solid performance. Never over the top scenery chewing, nor quietly coiled snake kind of menacing. But he definitely had presence. I actually wished he had more screen time.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II - Black Manta
This may sound unfair as I’m sure Yahya is a fine actor, but his Black Manta came across as very one note and overly angry all the time. He may have been going very menacing, but it came across as a little OTT (and not in a good way).

Nicole Kidman - Atlanna
The Oscar winning actress does a lot with the little screen time she has, including a bad-ass fight scene.

Dolph Lundgren - Nereus
The Swedish actor with a master degree in chemical engineering brings his A-game for his second big movie release in recent weeks. His portrayal of Nereus could have come across as generic, but Dolph imbues the character with some depth.

Willem Dafoe - Nuidis Vulko
The legendary actor is always a welcome addition to any cast. A typically memorable performance, despite not being on screen that much

Temuera Morrison - Thomas Curry
The New Zealand actor plays Arthur’s dad and delivers a touching portrayal of a man who is introduced to this strange world via Nicole Kidman’s Atlantan.

OTHER STUFF
The CGI
This movie will live or die by whether or not it makes us believe that the underwater kingdom Atlantic exists. And boy, do they. While many people criticised a lot of the CGI in Justice League (especially when Infinity War came out a few weeks later), in this movie the CGI has produced some of the most amazing visuals we have seen on screen this year. As already mentioned in the review, some of the shots of Atlantis could be (unfairly) compared to other movies that feature a lot fo CGI scapes. The de-aging technology that Marvel have used recently was on display here as well. Occasionally it made some people look a little plasticky, but the technology is definitely improving each time it is used.

The Cinematography
Director James Wan really uses the fact that we’re underwater to his advantage by creating some beautiful visuals and wide shots.

The Action
Some good set pieces that didn’t repeat any beats. The fights scenes really were fantastic and you could almost feel the weight behind some of those hits and falls.

The Pacing
This is one of the things that let the movie down. Some scenes were drawn out unnecessarily while others (that were quite fun or interesting) seemed to be cut short. It doesn’t make for unwatchable viewing, but it did affect the quality of the movie as a whole.

The Score
As with the pacing, a little uneven. Sometimes it was fantastic, but in other times it was overly dramatic or rousing when the scene didn’t seem to call for it. Plus the addition of occasional synth beats couldn’t help but bring to mind Thor: Ragnarok which used it far better.

Other stuff
There is one mid-credit scene.

FINAL VERDICT
In terms of comic book movies released this year, Aquaman is definitely in the middle of the pack (upper middle for sure). In terms of a DC release, it better than pretty much all the other releases we’ve had in recent years, with the exception of Wonder Woman. It is definitely an enjoyable time, although I doubt it will linger in the memory for long.

Run time - 2h 22m
Rotten Tomatoes score (at time of writing) - 71%
My Score: 7/10

MY MOVIE RATING SYSTEM
10- Citizen F*%king Kane (A+)
9- Bloody Great (A)
8- Really rather good (A-)
7- Pretty decent (B+)
6- Definitely above average (B)
5- Middle of the road average (C)
4- Mediocre (D)
3- Meh (E)
2- Crap (F)
1- Why the hell did I waste my time and money on this abomination (Unrated)