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Rating: 3.75 out of 5
Where do you think Aquaman would rank when thinking of DC comic book superheroes? He is nowhere near the status of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Is he in the top 5 or top 10? He may be lower than that. Growing up, Aquaman was the laughingstock of superheroes. His only great power was talking to fish. Many comedic shows used to pick on him about it, as in Family Guy and a few others. Lately, Aquaman has made a resurgence by being a strong king that has superpowers that can rival many of the strongest DC characters.
Let us go down a quick history lesson. Aquaman debuted in More Fun Comics #73 way back in 1941. He was initially a backup character but soon started starring in his own comic book series. Aquaman is the son of a human lighthouse keeper and the queen of Atlantis. Aquaman comics are filled with undersea locations, many sidekicks, his archenemy Black Manta and his own half-brother Ocean Master. In the 1960s, Aquaman made an animated appearance that left a significant impression, but jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities left the character as a major sideshow than a hero. As time went on, the appearance of Aquaman changed from a weak, wholesome hero to a brooding, powerful, and kick-ass king. In the DC Extended Universe, after making his feature film debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and in Justice League (2017), Aquaman finally got his solo origin film in 2018.
Directed by James Wan from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall, Aquaman tells the story of Arthur Curry (Momoa) as he sets out to lead the underwater kingdom of Atlantis and stop his half-brother, King Orm (Wilson), from uniting the seven underwater kingdoms to destroy the surface world. The film starts off in 1985 when quiet lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry (Morrison) rescues Atlanna (Kidman), the queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, during a storm. After some hesitation, the pair fall in love and have a son named Arthur. When Atlantean soldiers sent by King Orvax arrive to retrieve Atlanna, who didn’t want to be in an arranged marriage, she whips ass and dips out to protect her family from her people. Before leaving, she promises to return. As Arthur grew and learned about his powers, he protects the seas. After learning the truth about his destiny, Arthur sets out on a collision course with his half-brother, King Orm. Orm wants to wage war on the surface world and crown himself Master of the Ocean after uniting the seven undersea kingdoms. Arthur teams up with Mera (Heard), an Atlantean Princess, with the hope of finding the legendary Trident of Atlantis, a magic weapon that belonged to its first ruler, Atlan. As war seems to be on the horizon, Arthur must claim his rightful place on the throne.
I am going to say that I really enjoyed this film. Rather than the miserable brooding of Batman and the perfect creation of Superman, Aquaman is right in the middle. He seems fun and someone you can have a good time with. Homeboy drinks like a whale, makes fantastic one-liners, and seems so cool. As far as the story goes, it could’ve been better, but it was something to get the character going. I really didn’t know much about Aquaman. All I knew was that he was the laughingstock of DC superheroes, as his only ability was to talk to fish. It was nice to get some major background information on him. Where the story and film failed is the typical story of a character having to reclaim something he didn’t want and fight either a brother or half-sibling, or uncle. It is a story that is told many times over that could be told differently.
With the decent storyline, it does have its moments. Like most superhero films, Arthur is really full of himself as he doesn’t know anyone like him except for his teacher and mentor Vulko, played by the great Willem Dafoe, who mentors the young Arthur and trains him to fight but also tells him about Atlantis. When Arthur arrives with Mera, homeboy doesn’t know how to fight in the sea that well and, pretty much as in most movies, gets his ass handed to him only to be saved by Mera. Here the story takes a turn of growth for Arthur as he starts to accept who he is and what he must do. Like many superhero films, Arthur finds his long-lost mother. He enters a fearsome cave to combat a terrifying creature to obtain the legendary trident.
On the flip side, we have the villains of this film. Sometimes a superhero film has too many villains. This one has two of them, but one is almost nonexistent and pops up in a few places. The first villain that is nonexistent is David Kane, aka Black Manta. Kane is a ruthless pirate and a high-seas mercenary who becomes Arthur’s enemy after he tries to steal a submarine to use against the sea kingdoms. When his father dies at the hands of Arthur, he swears vengeance. We find out that the reason he wanted to sub was that he was hired by Orm. Orm uses Atlantis technology and builds Kane an outfit to which he calls himself Black Manta.
The second villain is Orm. He wants to rule all of the seas. I don’t know if he is manipulative or just really ambitious. He will do anything to get his wish and wage war with the land dwellers. Even though he survives, I feel like he should’ve just died or been eaten by a shark.
One of the highlights of this film is the battles and use of CGI. Two scenes really brought this aspect out. The first one was when Arthur and Mera fend off amphibious monsters of the Trench. Those creatures were nasty looking and acted like piranhas, but the scene was intense and well done. The second one was the final battle. To see all those creatures with people riding or sharks and all hell breaking loose was really fun. Then when Arthur rolled up in his gold and green outfit with Karathen, a mythical leviathan, shit got real, and the battle between Orm and Arthur hit new levels.
I want to give Jason Momoa major props. He was the perfect choice for this character and really embodies the superhero. Momoa seemed to have fun with this role but seemed so cool while being Arthur. When he needed to be serious, he was serious, but for the most part, he had an easygoing feel, and it was fun to watch.
Amber Heard as Mera was really good. I honestly liked her in this film. I haven’t seen much of Heard’s movies, but she did great. You deserve credit when you can run around in a tight green outfit, have bright red hair, and look as beautiful as she did. I liked how she wasn’t this big damsel in distress. She spoke her mind, kicked ass, and told the main character off.
Aquaman is a breath of fresh air from the usual DC films. Even though DC has this dark feel, this one was funny and fun to watch. The story could’ve been a bit better, but it did its job as an origin story. Momoa was fun to watch, and he is Aquaman and hope he stays in the role for as long as he wants. Give rise to the king of Atlantis.
