The film industry can be a bit cut throat at times, and lately, this has been especially the case with the superhero genre. Marvel has paved a way to success through its cinematic universe, and as such, every film with a superhero in it is automatically compared to the best films Marvel has done. It's not exactly fair, but that's the way it is. As such, the DC films have honestly had a rough time of it. With the exception of Wonder Woman, all the DC films have fallen short in critical and audience reception. However, it seems like DC has found its sea legs in Aquaman.
James Wan delivers possibly one of the most beautiful superhero films ever made in Aquaman. If the beautiful designs of the underwater kingdoms of Atlantis and the design of the creatures like the Trench and the Fisher people weren't enough to sway you, then the dynamic action sequences should add additional icing to the cake. In addition to the film's visuals, you have some pretty stunning character acting from the entire cast. This may be one of the best-acted Superhero films as even the more minor characters were given A-plus performances. The biggest standouts to me were Patrick Wilson as Orm and Amber Heard's Mera. While Momoa undoubtedly brought his charm to the role of Arthur Curry, the performances of his support cast, in particular, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, and even Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, really allowed Momoa to shine even brighter.
As far as the narrative goes, it's the film's weakest point. This is not to say that the narrative is bad, it's just that in terms of quality, it certainly plays second fiddle to the film's visuals and character performances. What really hurts the film is that the first act is a bit clunky. None of it is bad perse, its just that the first act had so much heavy lifting to do, so it gets a bit crowded. Between juggling the film's main narrative and Arthur's childhood, things got a bit cluttered. However, the moment Arthur heads down to Atlantis, the film really takes off. Aquaman honestly feels like Lord of the Rings meets a Godzilla monster movie, and in the moments it gets to be that the movie is at it's best. In fact, the moment Arthur gets the trident of King Atlan, I couldn't help but think of Aragorn's smug look as he fights the king of the Oathbreakers: "It has been remade." In addition, the final battle of Orm (Ocean Master) invading the Brine to take control of their army, and Arthur intervening honestly gave me goosebumps it's so good.
At the end of the day, Aquaman is a refreshing change of pace from the monotone Snyderverse of DC. It's definitely the first step in the right direction for DC films. The only thing that I can see hurting it are the clunky first act of the film, and the unfair comparison of this film to the likes of Avengers: Infinity War. I honestly feel that it is only fair to compare this movie to the first phase of Marvel films, not only does this film set to establish Aquaman in its Universe of films but more importantly this is the first step in a very evident course correction for the cinematic universe of DC. All in all, I give DC's Aquaman a solid 8 out of 10. It may have some issues taking off, but when it finally hits it's momentum, it's a fantastic time!
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you next time!
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