Harry Situation Reviews: Aquaman

This is where the ‘Aquman is lame’ jokes come to die!

Aquaman is the new superhero movie featuring DC’s titular, aquatic superhero Aquaman aka Arthur Curry (reprised by the awesome Jason Momoa). While continuing to protect the world as one of its saviors, he is informed by an Atlantean named Mera (played by Amber Heard) that his half-brother Prince Orm aka Oceanmaster (played by Patrick Wilson) is going to unite the people of Atlantis to wage a war against the surface world. In order to stop this war, he must accept his true destiny and take his rightful place as the king, as well as become a hero for both worlds. The film also stars Nicole Kidman as Arthur’s mother, Temuera Morrison as Arthur’s father, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the ruthless Black Manta, and William DaFoe as Arthur’s teacher and royal advisor. The film is also directed by James Wan, best known as the director of The Conjuring series and arguably the best movie in the Fast and Furious franchise.

And if anyone is so bold to make an ‘Aquaman is lame’ joke, let me remind you something about this true badass. Aquaman is one of the strongest superheroes in the DC Universe. He is the king of Atlantis, whose domain makes up 70% of the planet. He is super strong, super fast, is bulletproof, his main weapon is a trident, can command legions of armies (both Atlanteans and sea creatures), can go toe-to-toe with Superman and still hold his own. Let’s not forget that this guy can also summon and control Cthulhu. And that’s why you don’t ever make fun of Aquaman.

Does this movie sink or swim? I’m gonna say it definitely swims incredibly well.

Obviously the biggest positive is Jason Momoa as the titular superhero. He was my favorite character from Justice League and it’s great seeing him again in his own movie. He’s badass, he’s funny, he’s just awesome. And what I liked most about his character in this film is that despite having all these powers he’s portrayed more as a simple person. He’s just a guy. He doesn’t really want to be king nor does he feel like he is worthy of being king. But when he realizes that both his worlds need him to rise, he does it. That’s Aquaman, right there! They nailed it!

I also liked Amber Heard as Mera, and I liked the chemistry between them. Unlike with Lois and Superman, the relationship between Mera and Aquaman had to actually build. At first, they can’t stand each other but the more they’re together they realize that they do share the same feelings.

And out of all the DCEU movies, this is the best looking one to date. There’s no way that a film where majority of the setting takes place underwater was going to look as well as it did like ten or twenty years ago. Of course the majority of it was going to be CG, you cannot escape that. But the CG really makes the ocean world look very colorful and alive. Atlantis is just this beautiful looking cityscape that it definitely looks and feels real. There were several moments that got me whispering ‘wow’ whenever I was looking at something in this movie. James Wan’s direction of action is top notch. When we first see Aquaman himself in action in the first five minutes, I was like damn if that’s what we’re in for, I’m ready as SpongeBob SquarePants. Everything was shot in widescreen so you could see everything that was happening, and it all looked great. Especially with all the fight scenes that take place underwater, it all looked incredible. And holy crap, that huge battle at the climax, fucking amazing. I was grinning like an idiot, and again, if a film can do that to me, that’s a win in my book.

I also do enjoy the two villains, Oceanmaster and Black Manta, in this film too. However they do range from over-the-top (Oceanmaster) to underdeveloped (Black Manta). But nevertheless, when they’re on screen they do provide enough entertainment. If I had to choose which villain I enjoyed more it would be Black Manta because of how badass he looks, and I feel that you could understand his motivation and his hatred toward Aquaman more. Heck, even Aquaman understands later in the movie that because he didn’t do this one thing that involved Black Manta, he ultimately created an adversary. Also, I cannot help but chuckle during the movie when Jason Momoa (39) calls Patrick Wilson (45) little brother.

But what really hits this film the most is its clunky storytelling. Throughout the film it felt like it was trying to tell a few different Aquaman stories. It’s like one part superhero/comic book movie, then it becomes one part treasure hunting movie, and then it becomes Lord of the Rings in the end. It also jumps around from being serious to being silly, and that may feel like a turn off for some audiences, which I can completely understand. Not to mention, the exposition dropping in this film is just as clunky as well. There’s a whole dialogue between Oceanmaster and this other character where he explains every single detail about what happens when he becomes king and how he becomes king, and I’m like uuuuugggghh!!!

In the end, Aquaman is ultimately fun and outrageous. Despite having a clunky story, there’s still plenty of moments where you can really get into it. Overall, a good superhero movie, as well as just a good movie in general, in my opinion.

Positives:

-Jason Momoa as Aquaman

-Mera & Aquaman chemistry

-Beautiful visuals and settings

-The villains

-Outrageously fun action

Negatives:

-Clunky story

-Some underdevelopment with characters

Final Grade: B

So those are my thoughts on Aquaman. I sure hope it puts an end to all the ‘Aquaman is Lame’ jokes. Have you seen it? What are your thoughts? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Mera: “Atlantis has always had a king. Now it needs something more.”

Arthur Curry: “Well, what could be greater than a king?”

Queen Atlanta: “A hero. A king fights only for his nation. You fight for everyone.”

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