Aquaman (2018)

Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Nicole Kidman, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Julie Andrews, Djimon Hounsou, and John Rhys-Davies
Grade: A+

I will never forgive Pitbull for remixing “Africa” by Toto just for the Sahara sequence. That’s the one song that can never be touched. Is nothing sacred anymore?

Summary

Off the coast of Amnesty Bay, Maine in 1985, lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison) sees Queen Atlanna (Kidman) on the shore and not breathing. Though he notices something is up with her, considering she has a trident next to her and she is wearing a full bodysuit, he still takes her inside his home to save her. Through narration from Arthur Curry (Momoa), who will be known as Aquaman, he explains that these two are his parents and this is how they met. When they get inside the house, Atlanna coughs up the water in her lungs and starts to choke Thomas as he tries to explain himself. After she destroys the television, she passes out. Once she wakes up and eats one of his pet fish, he makes her some tea. Realizing he is just trying to help, she calms down after sipping on it. Finally, she introduces herself as Atlanna, Queen of Atlantis. Apparently, Atlanna fled an arranged marriage back in Atlantis, though she neglects to tell Thomas this. As he continues to nurse her back to health, they gradually fall in love and have a son named Arthur. Sometime after, once the two hear the news of an incoming hurricane, they discuss how Arthur is technically a king and how he is living proof that both of their species can co-exist. One day, they can unite their worlds on his back. Later, Atlanna tells a young Arthur stories about King Atlan and how only the strongest Atlantean can wield the trident. With it, one would have mastery over the seven seas. It made Atlan so powerful that the ocean itself became jealous and sent a terrible earthquake to destroy Atlantis. Though it fell to the bottom of the ocean, legend has it that one day, a new king will come and will use the power of the trident to put Atlantis back together again.

Once she finishes this final part of the story, soldiers from Atlantis on orders from King Orvax break into the house. As Thomas hides Arthur, Atlanna faces the soldiers. She defeats them but admits they’ll send an army next time to get her. For Arthur’s sake, she decides she has to go back. She promises she will return when it’s safe one day.

When Arthur is old enough for grade school, he’s at some school field trip at the Boston Aquarium in Massachusetts. There, he talks to the fish and some bullies harass him for it. However, they stop once a shark thumps the glass several times to scare them off. Eventually, all the fish in the aquarium come together behind Arthur and his eyes turn yellow. Everyone in attendance at the aquarium take notice of Arthur and his power to communicate with these ocean creatures, and they’re shocked to their very core.

In the present day, a group of pirates led by Jessie (Michael Beach) and his son David Kane (Abdul-Mateen II) board a Russian submarine, kill the captain, and raid the place. Because of the success of their mission, Jessie gifts David a special knife owned by his grandfather, one of the Navy’s first frogmen during World War II. His grandfather was so stealthy in the water, his unit nicknamed him Manta. After the war, “his country forgot about him, so he went back to the sea, scavenging and surviving with his wit…” and with the knife Jessie is giving him. Their grandfather gave it to Jessie when he was David’s age, and now, it’s David’s knife. Soon after this, the submarine is attacked and brought to the surface by Arthur, now the fully grown Aquaman who has become famous for the events of Justice League one year prior. Arthur enters the submarine, beats down the faceless pirates, and saves the sailors on board. Just when he’s about to leave, David attacks him. Though Arthur kicks his ass, Jessie joins the fight and fires a solid shot from a grenade launcher directly into his chest, knocking him down. Arthur gets up, breaks off a pipe from the submarine, and throws it like a spear directly through the shoulder of Jessie, pinning him to the wall. As he climbs up the ladder to leave, Jessie still fires another shot from his gun, but Arthur dodges it. It knocks a missile off the wall, and it lands on Jessie. Water starts bursting through the pipes and Jessie is stuck. David pleads with Arthur for help in picking up the missile off his dad, but Arthur refuses because they killed innocent people. He saves the last of the sailors, as David stays back to try and save Jessie. Finally, Jessie tells him to leave him behind and that David needs to stay alive to kill Arthur, forcing the issue by pulling the pin on a timed bomb of sorts. David just escapes after the bomb explodes.

He now has one mission in life: kill Aquaman and avenge his father.

Later, Arthur meets up with his dad Thomas, and they go to a bar. On the television at the bar, they talk about the pirate attack on the submarine and how these same pirates are the same ones who are suspected in connection with the disappearance of the Navy’s highly classified prototype stealth submarine. Of course, this is the one David, and the crew pulled up in and escaped in. Once the news report mentions Aquaman as the one responsible for the rescue, Thomas talks about how proud he is of Arthur. When he mentions Atlanna and how he could be the one to unite both worlds, Arthur doesn’t want to hear it. He says Atlantis killed Atlanna for loving Thomas and having him, but Thomas says they don’t know this for sure. Then, the two are interrupted by fans who want to take a picture. In Atlantis, there’s a lot of drama going on. King Nereus (Lundgren) of the Atlantean tribe Xebel meets with King of Atlantis Orm Marius (Wilson) at the Council of Kings, with Orm’s vizier Nuidis Vulko (Dafoe) alongside him. In Atlan’s time, when the Seven Kingdoms were one, their ancestors would meet at the Council of Kings. Atlan would sit at the head of the table, and Xebel was by his side. The others were Brine and Fishermen. The Deserters and Trench had not yet fallen, and The Lost Nation had not yet vanished. Together, they were the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Sitting on Atlan’s throne, Orm admits he’s shackled by archaic laws and politics. When he talks about the threat of the surface world, Nereus interrupts and points out that violence has always plagued the surface and how they will destroy themselves. Orm thinks they’ll destroy them first though, arguing how it’s time for Atlantis to rise again.

Just then, Vulko chimes in and says they honor Nereus by inviting Xebel to be the first kingdom to join King Orm’s alliance. Nereus sees through this, pointing out that by law, you need four of the seven kingdoms to ascend and attack. Following this, he roasts the other kingdoms. He says The Lost Nation and The Deserters have long perished, The Trench are nothing but animals (which is true), The Brine would never join them, and The Fishermen are cowards. Without Nereus and his army, none of Orm’s plans can go into effect. Additionally, Nereus shines the light on what Orm really wants. Once Orm obtains the pledge of the four kingdoms, he’ll be ordained Ocean Master, commander of the greatest military might on the planet. Though Orm tries to deny this, he doesn’t help the suspicions surrounding him after he says he’s the natural choice to lead it. Nereus counters with a rumor he heard about there being another Atlantean living among the surface with royal blood. Of course, we know he’s right as he’s speaking about Orm’s half-brother Arthur. As Orm stews, Nereus tells him that though he sits on the throne of Atlantis, his claim to it is weak. Just as Orm says his mother’s “bastard son” has never even been to Atlantis and how his loyalty is to the surface, a submarine attacks the area, and they are forced to spring into action. During the mini battle, Orm pulls a giant rock off of Nereus after it crashed onto him, and Nereus returned the favor by shooting down a missile before it hit Orm as he rode a gigantic crocodile towards the ship. After Orm takes down the submarine, they agree to an alliance.

Back on the surface, Arthur puts a drunk Thomas into his truck. Before he can get in the driver’s seat, warrior, daughter of Nereus, and princess of Xebel in Mera (Heard) comes up from the shore and asks for Arthur to come with her to Atlantis. Immediately, Arthur declines because he already told Vulko the same thing. Even after Mera mentions how he saved Atlantis by defeating Steppenwolf after the events of Justice League, he insists it had nothing to do with Atlantis. Refusing to stop, Mera says his half-brother King Orm is about to declare war on the surface world and “billions will die”. Finally, this stops Arthur from getting into his truck, though he’s still not sure about all of this. Mera reminds him that since he’s the firstborn son of Queen Atlanna, the throne is his by birthright. Arthur is the key. The only way they can stop this war is if he takes his rightful spot as king. Though she agrees with him that he’s no king, she admits she’s here because Vulko believes in him. Additionally, Vulko has learned of the location of The Lost Tridant of Atlan. If Arthur gets the Sacred Trident, the people will listen to him, and he will be able to claim his birthright and dethrone Orm. Unfortunately, Arthur passes off the trident as a myth and refuses to help because the Atlanteans killed his mother. However, he does promise to kill Orm if he does attack the surface. He drives away, leaving Mera alone. Somewhere in the North Sea, David holds onto his grandfather’s knife as he sits atop the stealth submarine as it floats above the water. Just then, an Atlantean ship comes to the surface. Soldiers walk towards him and Orm sends a video message to David saying the submarine he attacked was barely operational, but it served its purpose. David retorts that one of his kind intervened, though Orm says he’s not one of them. Despite David telling him Arthur killed his father, Orm tells him flat-out their transaction is ended.

A faceless soldier dumps a bunch of coins in front him, but David wants them to keep it. He just wants Aquaman.

Back in Maine, Arthur drives Thomas home but a monstrous wave from the ocean appears out of nowhere and wipes out miles of the surface. The truck goes underwater and Arthur searches desperately to find his dad in the wreckage. Eventually, Mera uses her powers to clear a path to the truck so Arthur can get to Thomas on the ground. Seeing he’s not breathing, Mera uses her powers again to extract the water from his lungs, saving his life. Holding his father, Arthur realizes he doesn’t know her name. Apparently, it’s Princess Y’Mera Xebella Challa, which is hilarious. Thankfully, she says Mera is cool. All three look at the damage of the wave together, and Mera is confident this is Orm’s doing. The worst is yet to come. News reports have these waves trashing numerous coastal lines, with warships and trash being washed up everywhere. Basically, “decades of pollution has been thrown back onto land”. One news report has Dr. Stephen Shin (Park) on the show, who insists this isn’t a natural disaster but our first contact with the people of Atlantis. The two news anchors who have him on the show pass him off as a crackpot conspiracy theorist, but he points out the facts. They already have an Atlantean living amongst them: Aquaman. On a cliff, Arthur and Mera look down at the water, with Arthur smiling. This was the place where Vulko gave Arthur his first swimming lesson. Arthur tells Mera he will help Mera stop this war, but he’s done after that. Since she’s already not a huge fan of him, she agrees to this.

Now, the two are off to find the Trident and save the world from Orm. However, the trouble looming will be tougher than they both realized.

My Thoughts:

DC Studios did the impossible. After years of ridicule and carrying the unfortunate label of being arguably the lamest superhero of all time, James Wan’s Aquaman pulled off the unthinkable: they made Aquaman cool. Through a career-defining performance by the ultra-charismatic Jason Momoa, the first solo cinematic endeavor of the famous comic book legend exceeded any expectations we previously had of the character and the franchise backing him.

Like most of us, I was a bit weary of the stark contrast of the look of Arthur Curry in the comic book world to Momoa’s casting, but early on, I came to the realization that a revamp of sorts was needed to make Aquaman work in the modern era and be someone people wanted to see as much as a Superman or Batman. Change was needed because the stigma of the old version of the aquatic hero being a bit of a loser was noted by virtually everyone, though he couldn’t be excluded from the DCEU’s plans because of the role he plays in the comics and their expanded universe. In Justice League, Momoa was underutilized, but there was enough there that I liked what I saw and became more open to his casting, which still seemed very strange on paper. Within his limited role, Momoa’s star presence, unforgettable look, and action hero aura became evident. It looked like he belonged when matched up with heavyweights like Henry Cavill’s Superman or Ben Affleck’s Batman. In Aquaman, Momoa proved this was no fluke. He became solidified. Throwing in more of his excellent comedic timing for someone as badass as he is (“Listen, it worked for Pinnochio”), Momoa proves he can carry a big budget feature with himself as the star. Years ago, if you told me that the villain from Bullet to the Head or the star of the bland remake of Conan the Barbarian would somehow improve and turn the joke of the superhero community into a must-see badass, I would laugh the statement off in a heartbeat. However, time heals all wounds. Working on his craft and evolving his persona and style, Momoa has turned into a bankable star and has subsequently nailed his first chance at leading a blockbuster.

You know what? If they end up remaking He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Momoa should get a chance to lead that too. Sure, it’s close to Conan, but Momoa has improved that much that I think he could take a new version of the character to the next level, especially for modern audiences. The man was born to play a warrior or king of some sort. The key will be casting Skeletor, but something tells me that Bill Skarsgård will be available, though I digress.

Regardless, this DCEU extravaganza has changed my perception of Jason Momoa entirely, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we need more of him.

Minus the Batman films, Aquaman has a serious contender for being one of DC’s best live-action films to date. Through James Wan’s direction behind a wonderful cast, and some of the most beautiful CGI created landscapes on par with films like Black Panther, Aquaman is an engrossing and action-packed look into the world of Atlantis. The battle sequences in the deep sea are unbelievable. Emulating a Star Wars or even Lord of the Rings type approach to create its all-encompassing wartime feel, Aquaman brings us some of the most exhilarating, pulsating action sequences of the last decade while capturing our imagination all at the same time. From the gorgeous scene in which Orm’s soldiers approach David Kane, to the chase sequence following the Ring of Fire fight complete with 80s inspired sci-fi music, to the magnificent opening shot of the Kingdom of Atlantis reminiscent of seeing Asgard in Thor for the first time, the production team involved in creating these landscapes deserve a massive raise for how striking and downright beautiful a lot of these locations are. Though it should have been a tad longer, the Trench sequence by itself was breathtaking, evoking a sense of terror that magnifies the horrors of the bottom of the ocean and intensifies the seriousness of the situation for our heroes tenfold in the heat of the moment. With the overabundance of colors, richly-detailed sea creatures and warriors from Atlantis amidst the battle that could change the very fabric of the world, not only are you mesmerized by the fine-tuning of the technical aspects or in every detail of the weapons firing to the characters, but you feel the gravity of the situation because of how big it’s treated. It hooks the audience into believing that Aquaman’s mission seems just as important as something that Superman would go through. Obviously, in a Aquaman-centric movie, this should be a given, but it’s really not.

If this initial solo movie did not handle this aspect well and went into a more low-key direction, the entirety of the production was at risk at being given the “corny” label that the original superhero always had. They needed to go big to make Aquaman one of the marquee superheroes of the modern era. Thankfully, the reluctant Arthur Curry’s war against his motivated half-brother Orm to unite Atlantis and save the surface world at the same time felt like the grand spectacle that it needed to be to shake the DCEU to its core. It turned Curry from a clear supporting player in Justice League to a badass on par with his counterparts like Batman and Superman. Yes, this is how well Aquaman portrays this epic sea tale and how well Momoa handles the pressure. Admittedly, Momoa does seem to take his persona and characterization and fuse it together with Chris Hemsoworth’s portrayal of Thor rather noticeably. Both men are good-looking, hulks of men with long hair, and tough guy drinkers who crack jokes here and there. The Trident is a lot like Mjolnir, and Arthur has issues with his brother over the throne much like Thor had with Loki. When comparing the worlds, you can’t also help but notice that the Gateway Bridge of the Old World is a lot like the Bifröst, as both are the only way in and out of their land and is heavily guarded as such, though the Bifröst is a lot harder to cross in comparison. The only difference is the edge given to Arthur from the start because he never really wants the throne. The situation of Orm wanting it to wage war just pulls him in to save the day. In Thor, Thor is given the throne from the beginning, even though Loki craves it with the goal of war. Though the sum of Hemsworth’s Thor and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is considerably better than the team of Momoa’s Aquaman and Wilson’s Orm, Momoa is good enough to take these obvious similarities between the two versions of the characters and create his own thing entirely, making him very likable and still somehow different.

In a perfect world where a crossover between Marvel and DC were possible, a scene in which Aquaman enjoys a beer with Thor would be the stuff of legends.

Along with capturing the true beauty of the ocean like very few films before it, it has to be noted that along with making the character cool, this is the first DC production that I’ve watched where I actually saw his powers as being cool. In that huge climax when Arthur rides in on the Karathen and turns the sea creatures against the Atlanteans when they’re fighting the Brine, I sat back in my chair thinking, “This is awesome!”. This is a man that can lead your kingdom, but he’s not just a king because this isn’t want Atlantis needs. Just like Atlanna says, it needs a hero. As goofy as Momoa can be and how Arthur seems to be outshined at times by Mera and Orm, they do a great job at also showing why Arthur is the only man to unite the sea and land as one. It’s not just him being a “half-breed” or him winning the right to wield the trident, it’s small moments like when he admits he’s afraid. This is why he’s ready because he’s starting to acknowledge the threat that he’s facing rather than jumping in guns blazing, a real sign of maturity as a hero. It felt just as powerful as when Rocky told Adonis Creed this same point in Creed. Going along with that, there’s Atlanna’s powerful delivery detailing, “A king only fights for his nation. You fight for everyone“. Of all the mythologically based films and sword-and-sorcery epics that we’ve seen, lines like this always resonate with you.

Plus, anyone who commands the Trench deserves the throne. Those guys are terrifying. Everyone was on board for war until the Trench got involved, and it’s kind of hilarious. It’s like when Obi-Wan Kenobi of all people didn’t want to fuck with the Sand People in A New Hope.

Another big part of the film’s success was its ability to curate a star-studded cast of supporting actors to back Momoa to make up for any shortcomings just in case, a lesson taken out of Marvel’s book that should really be the standard, all things considered. Making great use of his incredibly slappable face, Patrick Wilson does a great job as the villainous Ocean Master who sees his motivations for war as completely justifiable. When he brings up how the surface world has polluted their waters and poisoned their children, I actually shrugged to myself and though, “Well, that’s fair”. Though physically, he may not look like an equal counterpart to someone as imposing as Momoa, his cunning and confidence while in the water makes his polar opposite style and look more than equal enough as Arthur’s opponent in combat, especially when they have their first fight when Arthur invokes the Combat of the Kings. It takes away the look of the actors entirely and explains why Arthur, despite being such a beast, is at a clear disadvantage. Not only does his blind rage in a fight work against him when facing an intelligent fighter like Orm, but Orm has been training his whole life underwater. Though Arthur is better than most when underwater, he spends a majority of his life on the surface. The scales tip in favor of Orm because a lifetime of training and strategizing will always win out, especially when you have home court advantage. When you see Orm’s confidence when accepting the challenge and preparing for the Ring of Fire, the viewer realizes that being a one-man army doesn’t work in every scenario. Arthur needs this ass-kicking to reach his potential.

Otherwise, he will never improve, and he will go about things the exact same way every time and not only never improve as a fighter but as a leader as well. It’s an earth-shattering experience for our main character and humbles him like he’s never been humbled before because not only does he get ass beat in front of everyone, but Mera has to save him from dying. It’s not as powerful or as emotionally compelling as T’Challa losing to Killmonger for the right of the throne in Black Panther, but the intention is the same and does a decent job in recreating it on a larger scale. In general, the medieval influence and parallels to mythology and films like Black Panther added a lot to how serious the Atlanteans take their traditions. Also, in Aquaman‘s defense, their second battle in the climax totally trumps the second battle between T’Challa and Killmonger in Black Panther by a mile.

With that being said, Patrick Wilson did get in noticeable shape on top of that, so I appreciate the dedication. If you’re the Ocean Master and see yourself as the rightful leader of Atlantis, you have to look the part, and he definitely did that. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s slow burn “B” story was a nice sidestep from the main story and added enough to make things interesting outside of all the sea battles. Though he could have benefitted from a bigger role, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom makes him that much more of a threat. Aquaman does a great job in introducing him, but it’s more of a teaser to make him a bigger deal in the sequel, which always was the intention. Here, he’s a notable secondary villain who takes quite a few losses, building up his rage even further to make his plight in the sequel that much more rage-filled than ever before. On that note, Abdul-Mateen II does an exceptional job in making his presence known. He’s been getting a lot of big roles recently and it’s not for no reason. He has a bright future ahead of him, especially in action films. Additionally, I loved that Dolph Lundgren was given such a substantial role out of respect, though red hair was not the move. If we’re throwing the looks of their comic book counterparts to the wayside considering the star, Lundgren’s famous blonde hair needed to be showcased. Nevertheless, it warms my action movie-loving heart to see guys like Lundgren and Sylvester Stallone in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise get such notable roles in these superhero films because they still have a lot more to give to cinema. Adding someone with the pedigree of Lundgren in a genre that he used to dominate is a great way to beef up this roster to help complete the overall production of such an important film to the DCEU.

I would also be remiss in mentioning that in another universe, a prime Lundgren would have made a great Aquaman. Making sure he’s a part of this movie makes this feel like a subtle ode to what could have been had this film came out thirty years prior.

*Side note, I loved how they did a tale of the tape before the Combat of Kings, and Arthur had no pros. That was hilarious.*

Something needs to be said about actors who are able to explain absolute nonsense with the utmost sincerity. It’s not a strength everyone has. Here, the acting game’s living legend in Willem Dafoe fits the part exceptionally well and is fantastic as Curry’s under-the-radar mentor that helps in easing the audience into the lore of what is going on. Amber Heard tries her best to explain the other aspects of what’s going on when Dafoe isn’t in the scene, but she doesn’t have nearly the same spark. In fact, almost everything she says is expositional dialogue, but her wooden acting and lifeless performance don’t do her or her character any favors unless if she’s yelling at Arthur. This is a serious case of someone getting the job because they’re objectively hot, which allows her to skate by just enough to not ruin the rest of the picture. With that being said, her initial annoyance with the brutish Curry’s recklessness before being won over makes for some amusing moments like when she unlocks the hologram of King Atlan, who talks about a lot of details on how the king needs to prove his worth by going to the Hidden Sea in the Earth’s core, among other things. When Mera destroys the cylinder to make sure Orm can’t see the message, Arthur points out how they should have written it down first, but she memorized it and asked Arthur what it said since he acts like he did too. When he embarrassingly says, “Something something Trident”, it works for three reasons. First of all, it was pretty funny because it showed how down to earth and realistic Arthur is as a hero, it shows his vulnerabilities (like thinking and strategizing), and it also shows why he couldn’t have done this without Mera’s help. Stuff like this shows us 1/10th of what could have been their dynamic.

Mera and Arthur’s black-and-white differences shined when they had their arguments and their clashing of styles moved to the forefront, with Mera risking her life and place in the kingdom for an unprofessional and immature brute who refuses to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and how they cannot fail because billions will die if they do. It gave Mera some real personality, but there just wasn’t enough of it because she was used too much as the character to help build the world of the screenplay to help audiences digest it all. Admittedly, the balance of this character being an expositional one and a love interest is no easy task, but to say they failed on the latter is an understatement. Even when the two have important discussions where Mera talks about how if she went back to Atlantis now, her father wouldn’t take her back and she’d be sacrificed to the Trench because of the unforgiving nature of the Atlantean kingdom, it’s written as more of an emotional moment. The consequences are dire and she adds, “My obligation isn’t to love, it’s to my nation and my family, and I turned my back on both”. Though it’s a great line, there’s no follow up that can further entrench us in Mera’s quest and make us care just as much about her as we do Arthur, considering she is risking a hell of a lot more than him. Furthermore, giving us more dialogue about this would help develop her personality, which is still very one-note by the time the credits roll. Basically, there’s a lot of good dialogue that could come out of lines like the aforementioned one that are centered around her character specifically. There was room to grow to further develop her burgeoning relationship with Arthur and herself, but it’s never capitalized on. Heard’s performance doesn’t help matters either. She didn’t even look impressed when Arthur got the trident and got new gear, which was the point of the ENTIRE movie.

What the fuck Amber?

Regardless, she’s still hot and the small moments they do have together where they are at odds makes that kiss in the ocean one to remember, and you can’t tell me any different.

“Redheads, you gotta love ’em.”

For what Heard fails it in the emotional aspects, Nicole Kidman makes up for it, and the second act inside of the Earth’s core is everything.

As complicated as it gets, the world-building done in Aquaman is among the best I’ve seen in any blockbuster for quite some time. The bureaucracy involving the kingdoms is a lot more interesting than the Star Wars prequels, the weaponry given from Orm to David like the gun that converts water into energized plasma was very cool, the entire experience inside the Deserter Kingdom was marvelously done, the ongoing joke of King Ricou and the Kingdom of the Fishermen being pussies and wanting to educate the surface rather than destroying them was pretty funny, the depiction of Atlantis and the mythology surrounding it was enchanting to say the least, and their hideout sequence in the air pocket to avoid the Highborns was an otherworldly idea, which results in an awesome fight sequence. Everything about the Lost Trident of Atlan, and it being forged by the greatest weapons masters in history and crafted from Poseidon’s steel for King Atlan, reminds me of the fun the treasure hunting and science fiction genres used to have back in the day in explaining the goal of our characters. The explanation of how Atlantis was created was well detailed too, and it’s easy to fully believe in the earnestness of Vulko’s story of how King Atlan tried to use his trident as the main power source of some machines until the oceans swallowed them and Atlantis sank once it was leveled, which evolved into them prospering underwater and giving them the ability to breathe down there while others regressed and became savage monsters. As a result, Atlan lived the rest of his days in self-imposed exile because of his failures.

As crazy as this sounds, I live for entertainment like this. It’s what movies are all about.

In comparison to the disappointing Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Ladon, Aquaman‘s treatment of the threat of the Karathen was done a thousand times better in enhancing the story and the action. In the Shazam! sequel, there was never a doubt in your heart that he would defeat the dragon, but in Aquaman, they do a phenomenal job in establishing the significance of the Karathen and how daunting of a task it is in trying to beat it. The only criticism I have is when it notes that no mortal has conversed with him since King Atlan and asks Arthur who he is. How you miss this obvious softball of a question to answer with, “I am Aquaman” is beyond me. You could argue that they wanted to avoid the Iron Man comparison, but he says the exact line in question in the final minute of this movie and the sequel. How did these writers miss it here then? That would have been pure cinema!

The only thing that hurts Aquaman‘s legacy and the response it got was because of Warner Bros.’s strategy in releasing its films in such a rapid-fire manner following Justice League instead of the other way around. In a perfect world, they should have started with something as electric as Aquaman and Wonder Woman as the dawn of something new, a true shock to the system. With big fanfare and promotion for two revamped versions of old characters, they would have been even more successful in the grand scheme of things. Then, you could follow it up with Man of Steel and the elusive Ben Affleck helmed Batman standalone production because they would make money regardless of how good the films were. Lastly, you make a solo film on The Flash (with some adjustments), and THEN you lead into Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, so it’s treated as a bigger deal rather than a thrown-together project that came out of nowhere. By the time Zack Snyder’s Justice League (not Joss Whedon’s half-baked version) came out, it would be treated as a film of Avengers: Endgame-like proportions. Following up the team’s biggest triumph with solo features just feels like a step backward. The team-up at the end should have always been the move.

Despite being an amalgamation of many films before it, this is not a knock on the DCEU film. This Star Wars-like approach to Atlantis has made the Aquaman franchise something I’ve become genuinely excited for, something I’d never thought I would say. If this first one is any indication as to where this franchise was intending on going, I’m committed as a fan to watching every one of them. From the action, to the well-placed humor, to the special effects, to the beautiful landscapes whether it’s CGI or not, to the overall direction, to the career-making performance from Jason Momoa, James Wan’s mesmerizing, underwater, nonstop thrill ride adventure has created a fan in me. If I can wish for one thing, I’m going to need James Gunn to reconsider his approach because Momoa needs to be Aquaman for a long time to come.

Fun Fact: George Miller was to be the first director lined up to make an Aquaman film in the mid 2000s, but the film was cancelled during the Writer’s Guild of America strike. Peter Jackson was asked twice to direct an Aquaman film, but he declined.