It has been over a year since Justice League sent the DC Extended Universe into crisis mode. It was already on insanely rocky ground but with the big 'team-up' movie massively underperforming against critic and commercial expectations, as well as with general audiences, nobody really understands where we stand with it. Rumours are currently circulating that Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill are to be cast out as Batman and Superman, respectively, with Amy Adams herself unsure on her future moving forward with the franchise. The latest instalment, Aquaman, a character first introduced in that team-up film, is facing a mammoth tidal wave; is he the hero to save this superhero series?
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is the true heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis but the execution of his mother, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) on the crime of having a half-breed son, has caused bad blood with his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson). With Orm declaring war on the surface, Mera (Amber Heard) implores Arthur to help and together they head on a journey to reclaim his place as king of Atlantis. Directed by James Wan, the ambitious project - rightly or wrongly - has more than the weight of one film on its shoulders.
As cluttered and overlong as it is colourful and aesthetically creative, Aquaman is an uneven but somewhat entertaining blockbuster that tries its damned hardest to thrive away from the troubled universe it was birthed from and for. Swapping dreary, muted colour palettes and an onslaught of rain machines for something much more cartoonish and visually-enticing - with splashes of blues, greens and golds forming the make-up of the film - it would appear that the DCEU is attempting to rectify its frequent mistakes. By hiring James Wan who breathes imagination (most notably) into Aquaman, the film benefits from his undeniable efforts and panache as a director. He handles the humour and the eye-popping action rather well, while littering a few trademark horror-influenced sequences into the fold for good measure, finding a strong balance between the different elements.
Aquaman really is everything and the bathroom sink. There is simply so much going on that it's no surprise that the film is as sporadic and untidy as it is. It's half an hour too long - and even then there would be room to tinker - and the subplots weight down the real meat of the narrative, resulting in a needlessly crowded blockbuster that would profit from some restraint. It is actually a relief when the film leans on such exuberant spectacle because that is when it shines brightest; when it toes the line between parody and cheesy successfully, it becomes a frothy bolt of adrenaline that energies it for a decent stretch. It can become too overwhelming which, matched with that extensive runtime and weak pacing, can dilute a lot of the fun and test your patience, but hey, you're entertained. It's the very definition of garish filmmaking.
Penned by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (what a long name) and Will Beall (a much shorter name), the screenplay is so long and dense that it sometimes seems like both writers created individual scripts and then threw them together into one illogical and disordered, but amusingly enjoyable, mess. It teases some richer environmental and societal themes but places the bells and whistles at the forefront, meaning they're not nearly as well-developed or refined as they could have been; neither are the characters, few of whom receive any worthwhile development over the course of the film whatsoever. Johnson-McGoldrick and Beall simply string together a number of larger-than-life set pieces that help distract from the woeful, exposition-heavy dialogue that plagues Aquaman. I cannot overstate how much James Wan's saves this film with his artistic direction.
With all due respect, the DC Universe has a knack of taking actors not particularly known for their acting chops and moulding their team of superheroes around them so well that it's difficult to see anyone else taking up the lasso of truth or the trident of Atlan, for example. As such, Jason Momoa makes a mighty fine Aquaman: it is abundantly clear that he has the charisma to deliver the miserable dialogue and while his star turn is winning no awards, it gets the job done, becoming the magnetic presence needed to carry us through the chaos so dashingly. Amber Heard has some especially clunky dialogue to read but she gets away with it; props to the costume team because she always looks fabulous, too. Nicole Kidman's glorified-cameo is rather bizarre but her eccentric turn is no doubt compelling, so I like to think that it was intentionally strange (because otherwise what the hell was she doing?!).
Rupert Gregson-Williams score is a tremendous addition to the film. Swelling and intense when and where required and really working to heighten the film's various tones, his collection is tremendous and he once again proves himself as one of Hollywood's most reliable composers. Pitbull sampling Toto's Africa is as awful as you've heard.
As cluttered and overlong as it is colourful and aesthetically creative, Aquaman is an uneven but somewhat entertaining blockbuster that tries its damned hardest to thrive away from the troubled universe it was birthed from and for. Swapping dreary, muted colour palettes and an onslaught of rain machines for something much more cartoonish and visually-enticing - with splashes of blues, greens and golds forming the make-up of the film - it would appear that the DCEU is attempting to rectify its frequent mistakes. By hiring James Wan who breathes imagination (most notably) into Aquaman, the film benefits from his undeniable efforts and panache as a director. He handles the humour and the eye-popping action rather well, while littering a few trademark horror-influenced sequences into the fold for good measure, finding a strong balance between the different elements.
Aquaman really is everything and the bathroom sink. There is simply so much going on that it's no surprise that the film is as sporadic and untidy as it is. It's half an hour too long - and even then there would be room to tinker - and the subplots weight down the real meat of the narrative, resulting in a needlessly crowded blockbuster that would profit from some restraint. It is actually a relief when the film leans on such exuberant spectacle because that is when it shines brightest; when it toes the line between parody and cheesy successfully, it becomes a frothy bolt of adrenaline that energies it for a decent stretch. It can become too overwhelming which, matched with that extensive runtime and weak pacing, can dilute a lot of the fun and test your patience, but hey, you're entertained. It's the very definition of garish filmmaking.
Penned by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (what a long name) and Will Beall (a much shorter name), the screenplay is so long and dense that it sometimes seems like both writers created individual scripts and then threw them together into one illogical and disordered, but amusingly enjoyable, mess. It teases some richer environmental and societal themes but places the bells and whistles at the forefront, meaning they're not nearly as well-developed or refined as they could have been; neither are the characters, few of whom receive any worthwhile development over the course of the film whatsoever. Johnson-McGoldrick and Beall simply string together a number of larger-than-life set pieces that help distract from the woeful, exposition-heavy dialogue that plagues Aquaman. I cannot overstate how much James Wan's saves this film with his artistic direction.
With all due respect, the DC Universe has a knack of taking actors not particularly known for their acting chops and moulding their team of superheroes around them so well that it's difficult to see anyone else taking up the lasso of truth or the trident of Atlan, for example. As such, Jason Momoa makes a mighty fine Aquaman: it is abundantly clear that he has the charisma to deliver the miserable dialogue and while his star turn is winning no awards, it gets the job done, becoming the magnetic presence needed to carry us through the chaos so dashingly. Amber Heard has some especially clunky dialogue to read but she gets away with it; props to the costume team because she always looks fabulous, too. Nicole Kidman's glorified-cameo is rather bizarre but her eccentric turn is no doubt compelling, so I like to think that it was intentionally strange (because otherwise what the hell was she doing?!).
Rupert Gregson-Williams score is a tremendous addition to the film. Swelling and intense when and where required and really working to heighten the film's various tones, his collection is tremendous and he once again proves himself as one of Hollywood's most reliable composers. Pitbull sampling Toto's Africa is as awful as you've heard.
Aquaman is a bold, creative and adventurous vision that works because of the bombastic spectacle and visual creativity director James Wan brings to the project. It's not a great film but it's certainly an entertaining one, with enough tongue-in-cheek humour and wild set pieces to make up for the bloated runtime, tonal discrepancies and ludicrous dialogue. Nobody quite understands what's happening with the DCEU but despite failing to become the film to save the franchise, Aquaman serves as a delay. Whether that's a delay until the time of death or the time of rebirth, we are still yet to see - but at the very least it is showing signs of learning from its mistakes and flaws. Here's hoping that this is the next step (following on from Wonder Woman) to an altogether better cinematic universe, one as rich in potential as this solo attempt.
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
(6/10)
Summary: Aquaman rides its own wave of visual creativity, bold set pieces and personable performances, and while the extensive runtime, cluttered story and soggy script dilute some of the fun, there's just about enough to be entertained by if you fancy diving in.