Movie Review: Aquaman

Aquaman

Director: James Wan

Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 143 minutes

DC has undoubtedly had a rough go of things recently in the movie department with seemingly the only shining star being Wonder Woman. Until now, that is. Aquaman is a movie that, by all accounts, should not work. Its failure was practically predestined at this point, and yet it comes out on top. Aquaman is a movie with up-and-down CGI, cheesy dialogue, and tired tropes abound. I loved almost every minute of it.

Aquaman’s greatest strength lies in its own unabashed love for the property. I don’t know James Wan, and yet from watching this movie, it’s abundantly clear that he’s a huge Aquaman fan himself. If he isn’t, he does a hell of a job pretending he is. He understands that the key to making Aquaman work is not by sweeping the cheese under the rug, it’s displaying that cheese proudly upon his plate. This is a silly movie, with dialogue and Power Ranger costumes to match. At the same time, it doesn’t feel like a joke. Wan is not saying “Boy, isn’t Aquaman lame?” He’s instead just presenting Arthur as he is: a real person with feelings and a genuine personality, who also happens to talk to fish. Every single thing you thought to yourself was too “comic book” to be on the big screen is present and stands proud. The costumes, Aquaman’s powers, his villains, it’s all here. This movie is full of things that I love about superheroes and Aquaman specifically, and yet those same things are what will turn off a large percentage of its audience. While the plot itself isn’t spectacular, it is this unashamed attitude that makes it work.

This movie has its fair share of flaws. The main one being that the first hour or so is quite a mess. It’s full of blandly-delivered exposition dumps and awkward setups, with a few standout scenes that keep you invested until that hour mark. Once that point hits, the movie takes off at a constant upward trajectory and never stops. It’s just unfortunate that the first hour has the structure that it does because that is a large chunk of the movie that bogs it down a good bit. It feels as if Wan was afraid the movie wouldn’t do well at the box office, as this feels like the kind of Aquaman movie you would make if you thought it could never get a sequel. Which is to say, it’s overstuffed. I respect Wan whipping out all the toys, it just lacks cohesion initially.

From a presentation standpoint, however, Aquaman really stands out from the rest of the DC Extended Universe. The cinematography is very distinct and makes the movie truly feel unique amongst its genre. Some shots, specifically in the third act, are about as close to literal eye candy as you can get. However, these moments almost always take place on land, and the underwater scenes tend to look more stiff and awkward. Oftentimes sequences with more dialogue underwater look like the characters have had their heads pasted onto a stationary body, and you never feel quite comfortable. Then it cuts to a land scene, and suddenly that eye candy comes back. To be clear though, this really only applies to scenes focused on dialogue. Underwater action sequences feel much more natural as you’re not forced to stare people in the face for too long. The third act especially, which takes place almost 100% underwater, is a visual spectacle. The battle has some of the best shots and visuals in the whole movie, plus an incredibly satisfying conclusion.

The character work is another area where Aquaman shines. I’ll admit to a significant amount of bias, as Arthur and Mera are some of my favorite comic book characters, but I don’t think it’s just fanboyism on my part. The two of them spend most of the movie together traveling and growing as people. As you’d guess, it leads to romance. The best part about this is that Mera is not “Aquaman’s girlfriend”, she’s as much the main character as Arthur. She isn’t there so that Aquaman gets to kiss someone at the end of the movie, she’s there because she is integral to the plot. I don’t think it would be a controversial statement to say that Mera is the very best character, even above Arthur and Orm.

While the acting isn’t going win any Oscars, everyone brings something to the table. Momoa, for instance, is not an actor known for his range. To compensate for that, Wan’s script has specifically tailored Arthur’s character to Momoa’s strengths. He’s gruff, he’s buff, and he has a damn good smile. Momoa is a great choice for this particular portrayal, while he may have struggled with a more traditional take on the character.

Aquaman is a movie that absolutely will not work for everyone. However, if your brain happens to work like mine, then you’ll leave the theater with a spring in your step. It’ll feel as if Wan has reached into your head and pulled out your ideal Aquaman movie. Well, pulled it out and then flubbed up the first bit of it, that is. Regardless of its flaws, this is an extremely entertaining movie and a huge step in the right direction for DC. If you’re on the fence due to the previous films, don’t let that discourage you. Aquaman rears its head in disdain at the Snyder movies and proudly swims away in its own direction.