Aquaman came out at the same time as too many other
movies for me and so I didn’t prioritize seeing it, especially once Oscar
season started up. Luckily, the film was
successful enough that it stayed in theaters until I was able to get out and
see it. I’m glad I could – I’ve found
the DC movies to vary wildly in quality, but the Aquaman trailers looked neat, and I was rooting for it to be
good. Plus, I was happy to support DC’s
first solo venture for a PoC hero.
Although
Arthur Curry was raised on land by his “surface-dwelling” father, he has the
sea in his veins – he’s the illegitimate son of the former queen of Atlantis, half-brother
to the underwater kingdom’s current rule.
When King Orm prepares to unite Atlantis’s different factions under one
banner to consolidate his rule and wage war against the surface, an Atlantean
noblewoman named Mera seeks out Arthur for help. He resists her entreaties for him to
challenge Orm to the throne, arguing that the Atlanteans will never accept a
surface-dweller of mixed Atlantean heritage as their king, but can he ignore
his destiny?
It’s very
much an underwater legend of King Arthur (if the name wasn’t on-the-nose
enough, there’s also a mythical trident that can only be wielded by the One
True King,) with some shades of Black
Panther and Thor thrown in – to
be fair, I understand that Aquaman’s
comic predates those of the other two, so this movie isn’t cribbing story
elements from them, but the elements are
familiar. We’ve also got a classic
reluctant hero who initially refuses the call but discovers the king inside
himself over the course of the film.
So no,
the basic story isn’t anything we haven’t seen before, but 1) it generally
tells it well, and 2) it tells it against a pretty spectacular backdrop. Arthur is a nice variation on the heroic
anchor for this story, a rock ‘n’ roll superpowered legend of seafaring towns
who doesn’t want to be held up as a hero despite his continual penchant for
saving people. When Mera finally
convinces him to come to Atlantis, he’s in some ways in the kingdom he was born
for, the home of his mother and the place where his Atlantean abilities can be used
to their best advantage. But at the same
time, it’s also a place where he doesn’t know the customs, where his own
brother rejects him, and where the people mistrust someone like him. In amonst the wild sea battles and crazy
visuals is a cool story about a guy caught between two worlds trying to find
his place in both.
Did I say
crazy visuals? I mean that in the most
awesome way possible. Director James Wan
and the visual effects team have a tall enough order just making all these
human actors look like they’re realistically spending large chunks of the film
talking underwater, but it doesn’t stop there.
Clearly, a lot of work and creativity went into making Atlantis a feast
for the eyes, and it doesn’t disappoint.
We’ve got royal guards riding giant seahorses. We’ve got an octopus playing the drums. We’ve got Mera wearing a ceremonial dress
accented with bioluminescent jellyfish. Nothing else looks like this movie.
Nice work
from the cast all around. I liked Jason
Momoa back on Game of Thrones, and
he’s funny and charismatic here in the lead role. He plays well off of Amber Heard’s Mera,
who’s a little bit “no-nonsense female lead trying to keep the reckless male
hero in line” but who also gets some good chances of her own to shine. Other notables include Patrick Wilson as King
Orm, Willem Dafoe as Arthur’s former mentor/Orm’s current advisor Vulko, Nicole
Kidman as Arthur’s fierce mother, and Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett, and he
voiced Moana’s dad!) as Arthur’s father.
We also get a brief appearance from the always-fun Randall Park in a
role that looks like it might be more prominent in the sequel (way to go
Randall Park, getting a foot in both Marvel and DC franchises!)
Warnings
Comic-book
violence, language (including racial slurs,) drinking, and thematic elements.
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