A Reel Review: AQUAMAN

The attempts by Warner Bros. to build a film series based on the DC Comics brand of superheroes has been embarrassing, with one good movie out of five since 2013 and a tidal wave of problems behind the scenes; ranging from controversial hires and casting, firings, re-shoots, re-edits, and oddball decisions with characters. For their sixth attempt, based on Aquaman, the super-powered hero who talks to the fishes, the odds were against them as the character is one of the weirdest and often the subject of jokes. But for director James Wan and his cast, the approach was simple; embrace the weirdness. 

Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa), is the son of an Atlantean princess (Nicole Kidman), and a lighthouse keeper (Tumuera Morrison), who reluctantly does heroic deeds at sea with his powers. He is brought back to the depths of the ocean by Mera (Amber Heard), and his old mentor Nuidis (Willem Dafoe), to stop the efforts of his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), who is uniting the underwater kingdoms to wage war against the Earth as revenge for their pollution of the oceans. Meanwhile, a former pirate (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), takes on the persona of the Black Manta to take revenge against Arthur. 

On the surface, AQUAMAN has a lot going on. Arthur and Mera need to unite the kingdoms under one king to stop war, and to do so they have to trot the globe following ancient clues to find a special trident that only the proper king can wield. In the meantime, Orm is using murder and threats to build his armies, Black Manta is plotting revenge, and Arthur is dealing with being in the role of a reluctant hero while unsure of his family and heritage. It all sets itself up to be a mess, but director James Wan keeps things organized well, and by embracing some classical story structure, the many plotlines work for a high-stakes adventure over land and sea. 

Despite already appearing in two films based on DC Comics, Aquaman has seemed to be a hard shell to crack. Wan doesn’t shy away from the quirkiness of the character’s abilities and instead goes for it all. Aquaman does indeed talk to the fishes, and he lives in a world where men ride sharks and big seahorses, an octopus plays the drums, and giant tentacled monsters rise from the depths. Some of it is ridiculous and eye-rolling, and the powers that Arthur and his companions have don’t get much explanation, but the film somehow clicks as a sci-fi tale; familiar but new. 

Once the fighting kicks in there’s a lot of big-wow to be had. The hand-to-hand combat scenes are brutally magnificent, and the large-scale battles are presented on a grand canvas that is stunning to see. The stakes are so large and the battles so massive that poor Black Manta often feels like an intrusion, and the film could have deleted him easily and there would be no gaping holes. Wan however does film a fantastic chase and fight with Manta taking place in Italy; weaving and swooping his camera around a village in fantastic fashion. Pacing is tight and energetic despite several stops in the momentum to provide exposition. Visual effects range from jawdropping to cartoon-like, but the design of the underwater worlds is lush and full of detail. There are attempts to de-age several actors; most of which work but some shots just look like they merely blurred out the wrinkles. The score by Rupert Gregson-Williams is very good, although some pop music choices are murder on the ears and feel way out of place. 

Jason Momoa carries the film with his charisma and bulk, and the physical work he does is most impressive. Amber Heard is a bit stiff, and Willem Dafoe is his usual self. Nicole Kidman and Tumuera Morrison are quite good together, Patrick Wilson feels like he could have worked a little harder, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta is fantastic. Julie Andrews (!) sneaks in providing the voice of a sea creature guarding the coveted trident and sounds very good. But the only issue with the overall acting has nothing to do with the actors and with the vocal effect they used on the underwater dialogue scenes; when speaking underwater the effect used makes some of it very hard to understand.

AQUAMAN does have a few spots of rough seas; occasional bad CGI, clunky dialogue, and some of the battle and fight scenes could have been trimmed tighter…but the overall adventure doesn’t sink. It would be easy to dismiss it as silly thanks to the nuttiness of the underwater creatures, and one’s enjoyment could easily rest upon how much they are willing to accept. It’s a successful voyage for DC Comics on film, and one that they can be proud of. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it