YET ANOTHER SAVIOUR FOR THE DCEU?
Who would've thought that the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) needed more saving after the groundbreaking success of Wonder Woman (2017)?
Well, after the trainwreck which was Justice League (2017), which completely derailed all the solid groundwork and progress which Gal Gadot's standalone adventure laid, this cinematic universe was in desperate need of a major overhaul in the creative department.
All hail the saviour, director James Wan then, of Conjuring fame. He brought a reputation of dynamic filmmaking with a penchant for clever horror tropes with him when he took up the project, which was exactly what he brought to Aquaman.
For starters, this DCEU film is the least "DC" movie ever made.
Normally, DC movies are commonly associated with darker tones and subject matter, with this inclination towards a lighter tone and touch only coming after the major criticism of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) being way too dark.
With Aquaman, there is a total absence of those typical dark tones and what we end up getting is one of the most colourful and dynamic-looking CGI-laden adventures since Avatar (2009).
To be compared to that movie with regards to visual effects is very high praise.
In a sense, this movie was a golden opportunity for DC to introduce a brand new world on a clean slate, so essentially, James Wan and his creative team had a blank canvas and only the limits of their imaginations to come up with the vast new world of Atlantis.
And what a gorgeous world they created. It is visually stunning and the water effects are fantastic. A true feast for the eyes.
Matching the excellent visual effects in impact is the excellent casting of Jason Momoa as the titular character and Amber Heard as Princess Mera.
For Momoa's case, we have seen him a couple of times before but he was never able to really "play" the character. He practically just appeared in BvS and Justice League simply because his character needed to be there.
In this movie, he's finally able to show why Zack Snyder cast him in the role many years ago. He embodies the character so naturally that he makes the part look fun and you can tell that he's enjoying every day on set with his energetic performance.
Amber Heard's casting as Princess Mera is fantastic as well. Not only is she absolutely stunning, she also shares excellent chemistry with Momoa and on top of that, she could totally hold her own when it came down to stunts and fight scenes.
My only downside regarding Mera is that I wish she had more screentime.
The rest of the casting was pretty hit or miss.
Nicole Kidman was excellent as Aquaman/Arthur Curry's mother, Queen Atlanna, both as a queen and as a badass warrior. Nice to see her in a comic book movie again after her turn as Dr Chase Meridian in Batman Forever (1995).
The rest of the cast were meh. Patrick Wilson plays Arthur's half-brother Orm/Ocean Master (yes, he actually goes by the name Ocean Master) and does an okay job.
It was interesting to see Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) make an appearance too, but sadly his role was reduced to that of just a supporting bad guy. Such a shame considering how they properly set up his character as if he had a much bigger role to play in the movie than he ultimately did.
In many ways, he acted as the appetiser to Ocean Master's main course, and that to me was a huge shame because there's so much potential with Black Manta that was sadly wasted. He would've made for a more compelling main baddie than the actual one ended up being.
Onto the negatives, and for starters, the movie is paced very poorly from start to end.
At 143 minutes in runtime, it's already a long movie. What the movie didn't need was to feel longer than it was, which was exactly what happened.
The first act takes a while to get going and though things do speed up at a good pace after that, the whole middle sector becomes very dry and dialogue-heavy, with the only thing keeping your attention being some well-crafted action sequences scattered here and there.
Some of those action sequences did feel like afterthoughts, however - as if it wasn't intended for a particular scene to include a fight but it was added in at the last minute for the sake of keeping the story exciting.
You'll probably know which action sequences I'm talking about when you see the movie. It's fairly obvious.
And just like the name Ocean Master, this movie is incredibly cheesy but not to an extent where it becomes unbearable. It's an extremely self-aware movie that isn't afraid to be ridiculous and outlandish and even celebrates its unique quirkiness.
That lightness of touch to the film ends up making it a very fun and enjoyable time at the cinema, and I was entertained throughout.
Only other issues I had with the film were with some of the CGI which made certain scenes look extremely fake.
The final boss fight, for example, resembled a fight on the video game Injustice more than a climactic final battle in a movie.
The music by Rupert Gregson-Williams (who also scored Wonder Woman) sounded very generic and repetitive with the overuse of certain motifs, and at times came across as very uninspired.
Lastly, some of the costume designs were appalling. Mainly the Atlantean soldiers who wore uniforms resembling a costume from that awful Power Rangers movie rather than something from the pages of the comics.
All in all, despite its issues with pacing and certain technical flaws, Aquaman still manages to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable ride with good action, an excellent lead in Jason Momoa and a terrific partner in Amber Heard.
Their chemistry along with the much lighter tone taken for the movie ended up becoming crucial winning factors for the DCEU at a time where they truly needed it.
It isn't acclaimed critically but general movie goers seem to dig it, and that's all that really matters in the end - the person buying the ticket.
Hopefully this will mark the second resurgence in the DCEU, and hey, the upcoming Shazam! (2019) looks like a load of fun.
Maybe this is the start of a brand new DCEU. Exciting times.
6.5/10.
All hail the saviour, director James Wan then, of Conjuring fame. He brought a reputation of dynamic filmmaking with a penchant for clever horror tropes with him when he took up the project, which was exactly what he brought to Aquaman.
For starters, this DCEU film is the least "DC" movie ever made.
Normally, DC movies are commonly associated with darker tones and subject matter, with this inclination towards a lighter tone and touch only coming after the major criticism of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) being way too dark.
With Aquaman, there is a total absence of those typical dark tones and what we end up getting is one of the most colourful and dynamic-looking CGI-laden adventures since Avatar (2009).
To be compared to that movie with regards to visual effects is very high praise.
In a sense, this movie was a golden opportunity for DC to introduce a brand new world on a clean slate, so essentially, James Wan and his creative team had a blank canvas and only the limits of their imaginations to come up with the vast new world of Atlantis.
And what a gorgeous world they created. It is visually stunning and the water effects are fantastic. A true feast for the eyes.
Matching the excellent visual effects in impact is the excellent casting of Jason Momoa as the titular character and Amber Heard as Princess Mera.
For Momoa's case, we have seen him a couple of times before but he was never able to really "play" the character. He practically just appeared in BvS and Justice League simply because his character needed to be there.
In this movie, he's finally able to show why Zack Snyder cast him in the role many years ago. He embodies the character so naturally that he makes the part look fun and you can tell that he's enjoying every day on set with his energetic performance.
Amber Heard's casting as Princess Mera is fantastic as well. Not only is she absolutely stunning, she also shares excellent chemistry with Momoa and on top of that, she could totally hold her own when it came down to stunts and fight scenes.
My only downside regarding Mera is that I wish she had more screentime.
The rest of the casting was pretty hit or miss.
Nicole Kidman was excellent as Aquaman/Arthur Curry's mother, Queen Atlanna, both as a queen and as a badass warrior. Nice to see her in a comic book movie again after her turn as Dr Chase Meridian in Batman Forever (1995).
The rest of the cast were meh. Patrick Wilson plays Arthur's half-brother Orm/Ocean Master (yes, he actually goes by the name Ocean Master) and does an okay job.
It was interesting to see Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) make an appearance too, but sadly his role was reduced to that of just a supporting bad guy. Such a shame considering how they properly set up his character as if he had a much bigger role to play in the movie than he ultimately did.
In many ways, he acted as the appetiser to Ocean Master's main course, and that to me was a huge shame because there's so much potential with Black Manta that was sadly wasted. He would've made for a more compelling main baddie than the actual one ended up being.
Onto the negatives, and for starters, the movie is paced very poorly from start to end.
At 143 minutes in runtime, it's already a long movie. What the movie didn't need was to feel longer than it was, which was exactly what happened.
The first act takes a while to get going and though things do speed up at a good pace after that, the whole middle sector becomes very dry and dialogue-heavy, with the only thing keeping your attention being some well-crafted action sequences scattered here and there.
Some of those action sequences did feel like afterthoughts, however - as if it wasn't intended for a particular scene to include a fight but it was added in at the last minute for the sake of keeping the story exciting.
You'll probably know which action sequences I'm talking about when you see the movie. It's fairly obvious.
And just like the name Ocean Master, this movie is incredibly cheesy but not to an extent where it becomes unbearable. It's an extremely self-aware movie that isn't afraid to be ridiculous and outlandish and even celebrates its unique quirkiness.
That lightness of touch to the film ends up making it a very fun and enjoyable time at the cinema, and I was entertained throughout.
Only other issues I had with the film were with some of the CGI which made certain scenes look extremely fake.
The final boss fight, for example, resembled a fight on the video game Injustice more than a climactic final battle in a movie.
The music by Rupert Gregson-Williams (who also scored Wonder Woman) sounded very generic and repetitive with the overuse of certain motifs, and at times came across as very uninspired.
Lastly, some of the costume designs were appalling. Mainly the Atlantean soldiers who wore uniforms resembling a costume from that awful Power Rangers movie rather than something from the pages of the comics.
All in all, despite its issues with pacing and certain technical flaws, Aquaman still manages to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable ride with good action, an excellent lead in Jason Momoa and a terrific partner in Amber Heard.
Their chemistry along with the much lighter tone taken for the movie ended up becoming crucial winning factors for the DCEU at a time where they truly needed it.
It isn't acclaimed critically but general movie goers seem to dig it, and that's all that really matters in the end - the person buying the ticket.
Hopefully this will mark the second resurgence in the DCEU, and hey, the upcoming Shazam! (2019) looks like a load of fun.
Maybe this is the start of a brand new DCEU. Exciting times.
6.5/10.
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