Aquaman Review

Aquaman : Visually enticing

DC comics is aiming to make a comeback with Aquaman solo movie. Except for Dark Knight rises and Wonder Women, most of the DC movies have been average or below par so the bucks have been riding high on the water boy aka Aquaman to do well. The “Conjuring” filmmaker abandons the pointless mess of "Justice League" to craft a colorful, vibrant ocean fantasy, but the considerable effort to improve on a dying franchise can only float for so long before familiar content sinks its potential. Aquaman is troubled by a messy screenplay, paper-thin characters, and an assortment of unimaginative showdowns stretched across a long screen time, "Aquaman" is the classic example of a franchise that keeps chasing its competitor’s tail.

A war is brewing underwater, but David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall's script takes a while to get us there, right into the thick of the things. They have origin stories for all characters to map out, beginning with Atlanna, the banished Atlantis princess (Nicole Kidman, a screen goddess), washing up on the rocky Maine shores of a lighthouse keeper (Temuera Morrison). They fall in love and have a child named Arthur (our Aquaman to be) before Atlanna is forced to return to the sea.

As an adult, Arthur is trained by Vulko as a kid also moonlights as a hero in between happy-hour trips to the bar. But he's reluctantly drawn into a struggle for the throne of the seven seas with his younger brother Orm, who's plotting a battle with "surface dwellers." He regards Arthur as a "half-breed" not fit for the underwater kingdom he grew up outside of. The red-haired Xebel princess Mera (Amber Heard), herself a formidable fighter, joins with Arthur on a globe-trotting mission to save Atlantis and prevent war by finding a sacred trident with occasional, half-hearted gestures of romantic talk along the way. After centuries of invisibility and peace, Orm and his conspirators have had enough of the people above the surface. In one tidal wave of vengeance, he washes the ocean's garbage and warships onto beaches around the world.

For what it's worth, Wan finds an entertaining way to keep the story moving during its long runtime. Every time a scene felt like it was about to drag on too long or became too sentimental, an explosion happened. We got to give it to the Aquaman - Arthur Curry - Jason Mamoa who lives and enjoys the character to the best extent a super hero can. Love them or hate them, DC movies have shown off an undeniable sense of ambition, embracing the sheer sense of scale offered by film as a medium. Then, you have the visual effects work which is at its top tier A-game. The visual effects department team went all out on developing the film and the valiant effort is noticeable. It’s quite fascinating how the DCEU launched a visually dark and gloomy franchise, but immediately transitioned to display bright and colorful set pieces with "Wonder Woman". 

Verdict : Overall, if you are a superhero fanatic, Aquaman should do the trick but not to the extent one might have imagined. The visual treats, Arthur Curry's enthusiasm for the role and action aides the film’s USP; if not would have been a boring outing.