*Originally written December 13th, 2018*
It's no secret the DCEU (Or whatever it's called) is in a weird place. After the disaster that was the truly awful Justice League (A film I was far too easy on), it was clear Warner Bros needed something to refresh the slate and while many people were hoping this was more in line with Wonder Woman, it's sadly, it's streets ahead of Justice League, but at the end of the day its just another very middling and overblown superhero origin story that's more boring than exciting.
We go through very familiar ground that's been touched on countless times before in superhero films. There's the painfully dull flashbacks of Arthur learning to use his powers which includes one of the worst acting performances I've ever seen with the kid who plays him as a teenager and the de-aging effects on a wasted Willem Dafoe are truly awful. Which is no excuse seeing as Disney are able to do such amazing jobs on de-aging actors on screen.
I'm not really too sure how I feel about Jason Moama as Aquaman, his "Dude-bro" look and attitude gets very annoying at times, but for the most part he certainly has charisma and manages to more or less carry the basic plot. There's room for improvement here and he definitely shines more than he did in Justice League, but that annoying cocky attitude is still grating. His character arc is also so very basic and uninteresting, boy who doesn't want to be king slowly learns he must take up the responsibility and overthrow the current maniac holding the crown. Yawn.
For a film with a cast this huge, it was so disappointing to see them all universally wasted. Patrick Wilson is truly awful as the current King of Atlantis/Aquaman's half brother, hamming it up every second he's on screen with some poorly handled motivation. What is up with all these blockbuster films this year with an environmental message? I mean, if you're gonna go that route, at least commit to it, not just have it as some preachy after-thought. The other minor villain "Manta" at least has some decent motivation due to a surprisingly cold, but justified moment from Aquaman in the opening moments of the film. They just don't really do a lot with these character aside from tease him for further films. Oh, and I hated how goofy and stupid his costume looked.
Amber Heard manages to be part of some of the solid action scenes, but really she's just reduced to a predictable and forced love interest that goes exactly where you think it will. It was bizarre to see Dolph Lundgren here too in a small, thankless role. I've seen two big Hollywood films within the space of two weeks with Dolph Lundgren part of the main cast. What year am I living in? Have I time travelled to the '80s? Nicole Kidman rounds off the cast as the lost mother of Aquaman and she's absolutely fine. There's just so little to say about the cast here.
Where Aquaman does at least shine is within James Wan's direction and action scenes. Nothing reaches the insane heights he's reached previously in his career, but the final act here is utterly insane, a vibrant and gorgeous underwater Lord of the Rings filled with weird and interesting creature designs. I just wish the action in the opening 2 hours were as cool as what happens at the end. A lot of action has its moments, but it's let down by some excessive slow-mo, despite flashes of kinetic energy there.
While there is some excellent visual effects and cinematography, there is also a lot of messy CGI that is downright ugly and feels unfinished at times. Seeing as every shot of this film probably has some CGI in it, it must have been a tough job, but they really do bring Atlantis to life and make it work for the most part. It's certainly a lot nice to look that than DC's much more murky and dark films.
I don't know how Aquaman will hold up on future watches, but for now it's just a brutally overlong, uninspired mess of a film that has some of James Wan's creative action and flourishes, but fails to bring anything new to the genre. More or less another miss from DC, but it's still a lot better than Justice League.
5/10 Dans
Aquaman is out now in cinemas in the UK
Watch the trailer below:
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Letterboxd: Dan
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