At long last, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Aquaman, the sixth film of the DC Extended Universe. As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now. If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...you have permission to come aboard!
Aquaman is, quite frankly, the movie I never thought I'd see. Considered a joke by many, who dismissed the character simply because he "talked to fish", Aquaman had a serious superhero cred issue until writer Peter David came along in 1996 and had a bunch of piranhas devour his left hand in Aquaman (vol.5) #2. From that moment on, David reinvented the character as a long-haired, bearded, undersea warrior king, whose derided ability to "talk to fish" seemed considerably more impressive when commanding a group of sharks or 300,000-lb blue whales. Another comics writer, Geoff Johns, helped definite Aquaman even further in 2011, creating a personal connection between the superhero and his arch-enemy, Black Manta, and developing his love interest Mera as a formidable superhero worthy of sharing the spotlight.
In 2004, Sunrise Entertainment's Alan and Peter Riche planned to bring Aquaman to the big screen for the first time, with Robert Ben Garant writing the screenplay, only to see the project fall through. Five years later, Aquaman was in development at Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way, but it wasn't until 2014 when things really got moving. Warner Bros. hired screenwriters Will Beall and Kurt Johnstad to prepare two separate scripts, with the film being developed on dual tracks and only the better version moving forward. Beall's script got the nod, then was rewritten, and the long-named David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick was brought in to work on it as well. The Saw franchise's James Wan was tapped as director, while star Jason Momoa built up interest by appearing as Aquaman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
The film opens with Aquaman's father, lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry, who rescues Atlanna, the formidable princess of the undersea nation of Atlantis, during a storm. These crazy kids soon fall in love and have a son, Arthur, who's born with the aquatelepathic power to communicate with marine lifeforms. After Atlantean soldiers show up, Atlanna's forced to abandon her family and return to Atlantis, leaving Thomas to raise Arthur alone and trusting her loyal advisor Nuidis Vulko with training Arthur. Under Vulko's guidance, Arthur becomes a skilled warrior, but is rejected by the Atlanteans because he's a half-breed and ultimately leaves Atlantis behind.
Johns' creative influence here is obvious, especially as we pick up with Aquaman after the events of Justice League. One year after Steppenwolf's assault on Earth, Arthur confronts a group of pirates attempting to hijack a nuclear submarine. Their leader, Jesse Kane, dies during the face-off, while his son, David, vows revenge against Arthur for not rescuing Jesse from being trapped aboard the damaged and sinking submarine. Aquaman choosing to do nothing to save a bad guy from drowning -- right in front of his son -- is one of the movie's genuinely surprising moments, which becomes that awkward moment when you give your future arch-enemy a great reason to hate you for all eternity.
David later targets Atlantis under the orders of Orm, Arthur's younger half-brother and Atlantis' king, who uses the attack as a reason to declare war on the surface. King Nereus of Xebel swears allegiance to Orm's cause, but his daughter Mera, who was arranged to marry Orm, refuses to help them and travels to the surface to ask Arthur for help. Unfortunately, Orm decided that's a good time to send a tsunami crashing onto the Maine coastline, which strikes the pickup truck Arthur and Thomas are riding in. Mera earns Arthur's trust by saving Thomas, so he reluctantly accompanies Mera to rendezvous with Vulko.
As we travel down to Atlantis, Wan showcases his artistry to amazing effect. Despite being heavily CGI, Altantis looks absolutely incredible, everything Aquafans could've hoped to see. Wan goes all out with the visuals, which are practically overwhelming even in standard 2-D, and then starts overwhelming us with Atlantean politics. Vulko urges Arthur to find the Trident of Atlan, a magical artifact that once belonged to Atlantis’ first ruler, in order to claim his rightful place as king and oust the power-tripping Orm. They get ambushed by Orm’s goons, with Mera and Vulko escaping while Arthur is captured.
We dive into the Second Act, as Orm visits Arthur in captivity and announces that Atlanna was executed for the crime of having a half-breed son, blaming Arthur and the surface for her death. He offers Arthur an opportunity to leave forever, but Arthur instead challenges him to a duel in a ring of underwater lava. (Wouldn't lava just cool and harden into stone as it hits the water, because science?) Orm, with his considerable training, soon gets the upper hand and nearly kills Arthur before Mera rescues him, forcing the two to make a hasty exit from Atlantis. The movie goes a bit Indiana Jones, as Arthur and Mera travel to the Sahara desert, where the trident was forged, and unlock a holographic message that leads them to Sicily, where they retrieve the trident’s coordinates. Orm hooks up David with Atlantean armor and weaponry and sends him to stop them. After learning of Vulko's betrayal, Orm imprisons him and coerces the remaining kingdoms of Atlantis to pledge allegiance to him as Ocean Master and support his campaign against the surface.
In Sicily, David, now going by the handle Black Manta, ambushes Arthur and Mera and injures Arthur before being thrown off a cliff to his apparent death. Well, so much for Aquaman's arch-enemy. Arthur and Mera finally track down the trident’s whereabouts, and Mera encourages him to embrace his destiny as the Man of Aqua. Wan's horror movie background gets used to great effect as Arthur and Mera are attacked by a legion of amphibious monsters known as The Trench. After the Trench swarms their stolen boat, they manage to fend them off and reach a whirlpool that transports them to an uncharted sea located at the center of the Earth. There, they are unexpectedly reunited with Atlanna, who seems not very dead. It turns out she was sacrificed to the Trench for her crimes but managed to escape and reach the uncharted sea, where she's been stranded ever since.
Onto the Third Act, Arthur faces off against Karathen, an impressive kraken-like leviathan that guards the trident and speaks with Julie Andrews' growling voice. Arthur states his intent to protect both Atlantis and the surface, proving his worth and reclaiming the trident, which grants him control over the Seven Seas. Now rocking his shiny Aquaman uniform, Arthur leads an army of marine creatures in an insane battle against Orm and his followers, who renounce Orm and embrace Aquaman as the true king after learning that he wields the Trident of Atlan. To the surprise of no one, Aquaman defeats Ocean Master in combat, but chooses to spare his life. Orm accepts his fate and surrenders, after discovering Arthur has found and rescued their mother. And just to give the film a nice, happy ending, Atlanna returns to the surface to reunite with Thomas, while Arthur ascends to the throne with Mera by his side to wait for the inevitable sequel.
The movie's cast give some decent performances, bringing a lot of humor and heart in the process. Here are some things that stood out:
AQUAMAN/ARTHUR CURRY -- In this third outing as Aquaman, Jason Momoa seems even more comfortable in the role, if that's even possible. He's clearly having a good time here, bringing his goofy, brotastic charm when needed and looking imposing even with his shirt off. Even though he's not as perfectly cast as Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, Momoa is the Aquaman the DC Extended Universe needed at this moment in time.
MERA -- After making an extended cameo in Justice League, Amber Heard finally gets to shine as Mera. Her character starts off as a bit of a stiff, but gradually warms up and finally starts clicking when Mera and Arthur go adventuring. Her best moment, though, is probably in Sicily, when she eats roses, thinking they're food, which encourages Arthur to do the same to put her at ease. A silly moment, sure, but one with lots of heart.
OCEAN MASTER/ORM MARIUS -- Patrick Wilson, best known to comic book movie fans as the second Nite Owl from Watchmen, gets to be the film's Big Bad as Ocean Master. The contrast between Orm and Arthur is considerable, which makes Orm's surrender at the end all the more interesting as the two half-brothers finally find an understanding. And with Orm in Atlantean prison, that certainly leaves him open for a future return appearance.
BLACK MANTA/DAVID KANE -- Yahya Abdul-Mateen II makes his debut as Black Manta and seems all but certain to be the Big Bad for Aquaman II: The Search for More Tridents. His introduction in the early submarine sequence is strong, with his father's death becoming the prime motivation for his hatred of Aquaman. Unfortunately, that potential gets wasted when he later suits up as Black Manta, in a costume that comes off more like a Power Rangers villain. His quick defeat in Sicily doesn't help either, as Black Manta does a great impression of Homer Simpson falling down Springfield Gorge. D'oh!
NUIDIS VULKO -- Willem Dafoe's background as the Green Goblin in Spider-Man and as Gill in Finding Nemo probably made him a perfect choice to be in Aquaman. Here, Dafoe plays the role of Arthur's mentor and Orm's vizier, which could've made him more of a conflicted character than he turned out to be. Essentially, Vulko is the Obi-Wan Kenobi to Aquaman's Luke Skywalker, although he certainly received a better fate...for now.
ATLANNA -- Even now at 51, Nicole Kidman is still a stunning on-screen presence. As Arthur's mother Atlanna, she's an important part of Aquaman's origin and thankfully given more to do than just be the Atlantean woman Thomas Curry knocked up. Her introduction to Thomas is a fun bit of chaos, as she freaks out and hurls a trident into Tom's TV set and practically trashes his lighthouse in the process. Kidman even gets a solid action scene as she tries to fend off the Atlantean soldiers tasked with bringing her back to Atlantis.
TOM CURRY -- As Aquaman's father, Temuera Morrison is probably glad to have a decent, high-profile gig after playing Jango Fett in the Star Wars prequels and Abin Sur in Green Lantern. He does a good job here, particularly in the bar scene with Jason Momoa and his scenes with Nicole Kidman's Atlanna. Tom and Atlanna's long-awaited reunion at the end of the film is a solid Kleenex box moment, as proven by my wife's tearful reaction.
THE TRENCH -- Holy crap, how great did the Trench look in this movie? Despite their limited screen time, these Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis creations were very nasty threats to Arthur and Mera. As the two descended down into the darkened depths, the Trench looked even more frightening and helped make a simple transitional sequence tense and gripping to watch.
DR. STEPHEN SHIN -- Randall Park makes a couple of cameos as Dr. Stephen Shin, another Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis creation. Shin's obsession with Atlantis is key to his character, and the post-credits scene revealing that Shin rescued Black Manta sets up his appearance in a sequel rather nicely.
KING NEREUS -- The last person you probably expected to appear in Aquaman is probably Dolph Lundgren, the original movie Punisher and Rocky IV Big Bad. But here he is, and he actually does a decent turn as King Nereus, Mera's father, who ends up a pawn in the Ocean Master's masterplan. Let's see if he's around to give the bride away at Arthur and Mera's eventual wedding.
All in all, Aquaman is a fun, visually stunning movie that demands to be seen in the theaters. Ignore the Rotten Tomatoes critics, whose anti-superhero movie agenda couldn't be more obvious in their reviews, and just enjoy the undersea sci-fi/fantasy spectacle James Wan and his team delivered. Yes, it's flawed, especially compared to Black Panther or Wonder Woman, but Aquaman feels like DC movies are finally moving away from Zack Snyder's grim and gritty broodfest and embracing some of what makes Marvel films so loved by fans. It's another step forward for DC films, and an incredible achievement for a character that "talks to fish".
And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:
1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
4. The Avengers (2012)
5. Batman Begins (2005)
6. Logan (2017)
7. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
8. Black Panther (2018)
9. Man of Steel (2013)
10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
11. Doctor Strange (2016)
12. Wonder Woman (2017)
13. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
14. Spider-Man (2002)
15. Aquaman (2018)
16. Iron Man (2008)
17. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
18. Watchmen (2009)
19. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
20. Thor (2011)
