Aquaman | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I talk a lot about being a Marvel fan, but don't spend as much time talking about being a DC fan. But I am a huge fan of DC, particularly Superman as a character, and the few films that are included within the DCEU (even the ones that most people didn't really enjoy!). So after I saw 'Justice League', I was really excited to see more of the characters that were introduced in that movie and didn't have their own spin-offs yet.

Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is a half-human, half-Atlantean who is reluctant to take on the mantle of the King of Atlantis. However, when his half-brother (and the current King of Atlantis), Orm (Patrick Wilson), tries to start a war between the sea and the surface worlds, it's up to Arthur to stop his brother by finding the Trident of Atlan and taking his rightful place as King of the ocean.

I enjoyed this movie. It wasn't my favourite of the DCEU, but I liked it for the fun film it was supposed to be. I'm not a huge fan of origin stories and much prefer sequels, when we already know the characters and can get straight into the action. But with this film, because we already knew Arthur Curry from 'Justice League', it didn't feel like an origin story at all, and that's one of the things that I really liked about it.

I also have to say that I've been a huge fan of James Wan, the director, for such a long time. I've just counted, and including the films that he has only produced, executive produced or written, I have seen and enjoyed 20 of his movies, making him one of my favourite directors of all time. So I was really excited when I heard that he was going to be directing this movie, and I have to say that he did not disappoint!

Arthur Curry is a character that you immediately root for because he is noble and likeable from the first moment you meet him. From the offset, based on his attitude and humour in 'Justice League', you might think before seeing this film that he is somewhat of an ambiguous hero, but this film reiterates that he is a genuinely good guy who just happens to be from a certain place, and just happens to have certain abilities that make him able to protect those that need him.

I found the concept of having to unite two worlds really interesting. Of course, this isn't a new concept, there have been many other movies with this theme in one way or another (including, in a way, 'Man of Steel', which is part of this cinematic universe). But other movies have done this by making one of the worlds the clear enemy. In this film, there isn't a clear enemy. Yes,, humans on land are more vulnerable, but the majority of the Atlanteans in the film were also really good people with great intentions who did not want the war that the 'villain' was trying to start.

The other thing I really loved about the movie was the scenery. Whether on land or in the sea, every shot was so beautiful and it was clear that time and care were taken to make sure that these scenes looked as realistic and grounded as possible, while still being visually stunning.

However, there were also things about the film that I didn't enjoy. For one, Superhero movies have this thing where they all feel like they have to be over two hours long to compete with other films of the genre. This film didn't need to be over two hours long. I lost interest about 1hr 50mins in and struggled to regain that interest until near the end. It could have been shorter while still telling all the necessary points.
In addition to this, while there were a lot of great action scenes, those scenes weren't enough to keep the audience interested in the story, particularly because we knew who was going to be the winner in the end, based on the name of the movie.

The other thing that I don't think the film did particularly well was to push the 'two people who hate each other but will eventually get together' trope. While this concept isn't a bad idea on its own (if more than slightly cliche), I didn't warm to Arthur and Mera (Amber Heard) as a couple enough to care about whether they got together or not by the time that something actually happened between them.

Overall, if you're a fan of the DCEU, then you definitely shouldn't miss this film, because it's on the higher end of the cinematic universe's movies. But I personally would have enjoyed it more if it was shorter.

6.5/10

Lou xx