Aquaman

photo courtesy of youtube.com

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     In lieu of a new Star Wars movie, this year’s December tentpole is DC’s Aquaman, the first major film to center around the character. Jason Momoa plays the titular hero, a half-Atlantean/half-human named Arthur Curry with a claim to the throne of Atlantis. There’s only one problem: his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), who commands a powerful Atlantean army, seeks to unite the seven kingdoms of the ocean against the surface world. Along with his allies Princess Mera (Amber Heard) and Vulko (Willem Dafoe), Aquaman has to stop Orm and make peace between Atlantis and humankind.

     It’s no secret that DC has struggled with its movie universe, last year’s Wonder Woman being the exception. Aquaman’s solution is to take things in a fresh direction, introducing the visually striking world of Atlantis and leaving the surface world (mostly) behind. The choice proves to be a welcome one, because although Aquaman has plenty of problems, the world it introduces is often entertaining, engaging, and imaginative.

photo courtesy of slashfilm.com

     Aquaman’s flaws generally center around the plot. The story leaves a lot to be desired; it’s messy and predictable. The exposition and world-building in the first half-hour feel especially clumsy, so the movie doesn’t really get rolling until that gets out of the way. Many of the action sequences—which rely heavily on CGI—seem totally arbitrary. You can expect pretty much every dialogue scene to end with an explosion, and that’s not an exaggeration.

     The characters, meanwhile, get the short end of the stick. Mera doesn’t receive enough attention, despite being way more interesting and useful than Arthur. Their relationship can’t get off the ground when neither of them have much of a personality. Still, the movie expects them to carry a good deal of the humor—of which there is plenty—and they’re mostly up to the task. The humor is inconsistent throughout the film, but you can expect some solid laughs.

photo courtesy of screenrant.com

     Atlantis makes Aquaman worth the price of admission. It provides an extravagant, immersive setting for the action, and in several scenes it looks downright magical. More importantly, it lends the movie its mythical elements, which are responsible for the best and most interesting parts of the plot, like one in which Aquaman interacts with a sea monster voiced by none other than Julie Andrews. (Who’d have predicted that between this week’s two major releases, Mary Poppins Returns and Aquaman, that the latter would get the Andrews cameo?) It also serves as an outlet for a couple of creative sequences, including several that are genuinely surprising and one that gives director James Wan a chance to tap into his horror roots.

photo courtesy of nerdist.com

     Ultimately, Aquaman is a mixed bag. If you’re tired of superhero movies, you can safely skip. If, however, you’re on the fence, looking for something fun to watch over the holidays, and willing to stomach some mindless, loopy CGI action scenes, it’s probably got you covered.

Aquaman is rated PG-13.

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