Aquaman
Directed by: James Wan
Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Michael Beach, Graham McTavish
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 143 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 20 Dec 2018
Written by: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Michael Beach, Graham McTavish
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 143 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 20 Dec 2018
Aquaman has long endured mockery and jokes in the comic book world. What is his power? He talks to fish? However, if one controls all the world’s oceans, that is around 70% of the Earth - a larger domain than Batman or Wonder Woman can claim. As the next in line of the Justice League spin-offs after Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman enjoyed their time in the spotlight, Aquaman feels different. It’s not only the underwater setting, it’s the camp and over-the-top audacity director James Wan brings to the screen. Aquaman is so egregious in taking what should be a farcical moment seriously or assaulting our senses with an incomprehensible battle scene, it borders on making fun of itself. James Wan acknowledges Aquaman is unique from his superhero peers, but he is in on the joke and that gives him license to experiment and run with truly madcap ideas. The product does not coalesce into a workable whole, but the spectacle may establish itself as required viewing, not only for those who relish the eccentricity of it all, but for those who want to understand what everyone is squawking about.
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) has a similar origin story to most other heroes, a troubled childhood. “I was the product of love that should have never been.” Arthur is somewhat of a demigod like Hercules and Achilles; he has one mortal parent and one parent who operates on a more ethereal plane. Mom, Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman, Boy Erased), ran (swam) away from Atlantis and an arranged marriage she wanted nothing to do with. Falling in love with a salt of the Earth lighthouse keeper in Maine, the happy family is picture perfect until her past comes calling. Raised by a single father with no maternal influence, we see Arthur discover his maritime influence abilities at an aquarium and even receive some training and explanation regarding who he really is from an old ally of his mother’s, Vulko (Willem Dafoe, Vox Lux).
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) has a similar origin story to most other heroes, a troubled childhood. “I was the product of love that should have never been.” Arthur is somewhat of a demigod like Hercules and Achilles; he has one mortal parent and one parent who operates on a more ethereal plane. Mom, Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman, Boy Erased), ran (swam) away from Atlantis and an arranged marriage she wanted nothing to do with. Falling in love with a salt of the Earth lighthouse keeper in Maine, the happy family is picture perfect until her past comes calling. Raised by a single father with no maternal influence, we see Arthur discover his maritime influence abilities at an aquarium and even receive some training and explanation regarding who he really is from an old ally of his mother’s, Vulko (Willem Dafoe, Vox Lux).
Arthur wants nothing to do with his extended family beneath the waves, but is dragged into Atlantean politics by Princess Mera (Amber Heard, The Danish Girl). Mera warns of King Orm (Patrick Wilson, The Commuter) and his desire to start a war between the sea and the surface realms. To prevent catastrophe, she urges Arthur to find a mythical trident, challenge King Orm, and claim his spot as King of Atlantis. Mera forgets Arthur is a 21st century superhero. He is more Hancock than Superman. Arthur wants to drink beer, party, and be left alone. But when tough times come calling, and more importantly, Orm attacks Arthur’s masculinity and the memory of his mother, Arthur, now Aquaman, has some aquatic butt to kick.
However, King Orm isn’t the only problem Arthur must deal with. A pirate turned super-villain, aided by some technology he should not have access to, makes himself into a being called Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, The Greatest Showman). Aquaman was a bit responsible for Black Manta’s father’s death, so while Arthur searches the globe for an elusive trident, makes eyes at Mera, and does his best to avoid responsibility, Black Manta makes himself known every now and again to spur an overly destructive action scene. Remember how off-putting it felt when the Transformers annihilated most of Chicago and Superman helps make most of Metropolis uninhabitable in Man of Steel? Well, Aquaman and Black Manta are about to make a chunk of Sicily sink to the bottom of the sea.
James Wan cut his teeth on low-budget horror films. He came out of nowhere when Saw sliced its way into cult status, creeped us out with The Conjuring and Insidious franchises, and then discovered the advantages of massive budgets and out of this world mayhem with Furious 7. Therefore, Wan can do whatever he wants with his own superhero film. Want an octopus to play the drums? Have at it. Want Mera to make spears out of red wine? Done. There is the standard image of Aquaman riding a large sea horse from the comic books; therefore, one of the underwater kingdoms rides around on enormous sea dragons - because why the hell not? Wan also has the script to match.
If the visuals do not take themselves too seriously, neither does the dialogue. A typical argument consists of, “It’s a myth.” “No, it’s not a myth.” Black Manta and his father pause while taking over a submarine and slaughtering its Russian crew so dad can tell sonny boy a story about grandfather’s knife. Perhaps that’s a conversation which could be held at a more appropriate time and venue. But James Wan doesn’t want you to take Aquaman seriously. He wants an audible, “No way!” and “That’s nuts!” A lot of Aquaman is nuts, but tongue in cheek, look what I can do, kind of nuts. Aquaman as a character is not only different from his DC brethren, he’s different from all other superheroes as well. We’ve never seen an underwater world like this - perhaps we’ve never seen one like this set on the surface either. Either way, feel free to laugh at Aquaman. Yell at the screen and treat it like the Rocky Aquatic Picture Show - the director wants you to.
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