***Lame-axx butt of a joke no longer***
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) lives with his father on the Maine Coast, a caretaker of a lighthouse. With the mentorship of Vulko (Willem Dafoe) and the revelations of Mera (Amber Heard) he discovers that he is the half-breed heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. As the rightful successor to the throne, he must tangle with his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to save the surface world from destruction. Meanwhile Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) seeks vengeance on Arthur for the death of his father.
“Aquaman” (2018) is a colorful superhero flick featuring a flashy action scene for every 5 minute lull. It’s reminiscent of “Thor” (2011) and “Thor: The Dark World” (2013), but with spectacular undersea realms instead of Asgard & realms nearby. Yet the drama was better in those movies whereas here it feels like the creators were in a rush to jump to the next action sequence, which might make “Aquaman” ‘thrilling,’ but less compelling story-wise.
Still, it’s very eventful with loads of energy (maybe TOO eventful for its own good). And I liked the balance of underwater scenes to surface scenes with spectacular locations, including the Sahara Desert and Sicily. Meanwhile Amber is stunning as redheaded Mera. Even Nicole Kidman shows up as Arthur’s mother, Atlanna. Speaking of Arthur, Momoa is magnificent as the protagonist and will forever change the public’s generally weak perception of Aquaman.
The film is a bit overlong at 2 hour, 23 minutes; and was shot in Australia (Hastings Point, Amity Point, Southport, Main Beach & Currumbin Beach); Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada; and Morocco (Erfoud & Merzouga).
GRADE: B
I just came back home from watching Aquaman on the IMAX theater in Balexert in Geneva and thought that I should write something up while it’s still fresh in my mind. Something that happens all too rarely.
I have to say that, overall, I had quite a blast watching this movie. It is indeed a good superhero and special effects extravaganza. In addition it is quite beautiful. A lot of the underwater scenes are very pleasing on the eye indeed. I am quite happy that I managed to drag my ass over to a theater and watch it on a IMAX screen. Some of the hype around it is perhaps a bit too much though. It does not quite reach the masterpiece level after all.
Storywise, well it is a superhero movie after all so if you expect the story to be profound, logical and watertight you should lay off those mushrooms or whatever you are smoking. That said, the story was not too bad. Pretty straightforward and not too convoluted. A good, solid story suitable for a action/adventure movie.
I did quite like the main protagonists on the good side. Especially Jason Momoa as Aquaman. I mean his time-to-kick-some-ass-stare was just so…evil. The script writer had put some stupid shit in there where he had to play overly dumb at times but on the whole he was a good guy throughout the entire movie. Almost no whining, angst and anti-hero shit like what have totally ruined most of the Marvel TV-shows lately.
The bad guys were not too bad either. Orm was lacking a bit in the bad guy charisma department but Black Manta was oozing despicable bad bad bad asshole from the first scene to the last. I probably should not say this because his weird helmet is indeed true to the comics but, well, it’s weird and kind of looks better in a comics than on the big screen.
Special effects? Well, there is not that much to say really. They are pretty awesome throughout the movie and, as I wrote above, a lot of the time they are also beautiful. The various creatures, underwater vehicles and gadgets are really cool and well designed.
The one gripe I have about the movie is the totally unnecessary green preaching crap. Luckily it is confined to a couple of scenes but in those it is really slapped in the audience’s faces. A superhero movie should be entertaining, not preaching. If I want that shit I can turn on the news. It’s a star off from me just for that nonsense.
