Review of 'Aquaman'
The story of Aquaman begins with Maine lighthouse keeper Thomas Curry (Temeura Morrison) saving a woman (Nicole Kidman) who has washed up onto the shore. He learns that she is Atlanna, queen of Atlantis, and the two grow to love each other giving birth to a son, Arthur. The Atlanteans eventually take Atlanna back to Atlantis though she vows to return to Thomas and Arthur. In his childhood Arthur shows an ability to communicate with fish but the story takes us into the future to see that he has become the superhero Aquaman (Jason Momoa). In Atlantis Arthur's half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) seeks to form an alliance between the other kingdoms of the sea to join in attacking humanity who have for so long attacked the sea with their pollution . It is up to Arthur to put a stop to Orm and take his place as Atlantis, but first he needs to retrieve the long lost Trident of Atlan…
This film looks absolutely amazing with some incredible underwater (and above!) action sequences, particularly the battle scenes later in the film. It is quite a bit different than other action films of this kind with every effort made to make it look spectacular with copious amounts of CGI and incredible set pieces. I have to say, when watching Justice League I found Jason Momoa's Aquaman a “pretty boy”, arrogant and hardly personable but in “Aquaman” he is a much more nuanced character as we learn his personal history and tragedy, a much more vulnerable hero that the one we saw in Justice League. Supporting Momoa there are some big names here with Nicola Kidman as Arthur's father, Willem Dafoe as Arthur's Atlantis mentor Nuidis Vulko and 90s action film superstar Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus. There is a concerted effort here to be more than simply a huge action flick with lots of time spent with these characters.
At a running time of almost 2 1/2 hours, time is there in abundance as it does seem to drag quite a bit with the story continuing on, and on…first it is his beginnings, then it is his life as a superhero, then it is the politics of Atlantis, then it is the trip to get the trident, then…etc, etc. Having said that it has to be said the political intrigue is kept to a minimum, there only to further the (rather long) story.
A huge superhero flick with a bit of a human touch, worth spending the time to watch.
Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2021-04-10
Directed by: James Wan
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 2018
Length: 143 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/
Other reviewed films by James Wan:
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)