Movie
First of all I must state that this review will not have any ocean tomfoolery, nautical nonsense or any kind of fishy puns or aquatic cutesy word play. Aquaman has been part of the DC Comics for over 75 years and its great to finally see him on the big screen in a full length live action movie.
Aquaman takes place sometime after the events of the Justice League film. This is essentially a stand alone film so don’t worry if you haven’t seen any of the previous DC Comics films. Jason Momoa reprises his role and is a likeable hero . This version of Aquaman is portrayed as a dumb jock that is happy living on the land. One day the character of Mera comes to speak to Aquaman and warns him of an upcoming war. This war puts Atlanteans against the people living inland and Aquaman is the only person who can prevent this war. Mera is portrayed by Amber Heard and she has a strong presence on screen. Mera holds her own in the various action scenes and I grew to really like her character. The movie has two villains : Ocean Master and Black Manta. Ocean Master is sadly over acted and is cheesy. Black Manta is a good villain, but we get very little background on the character. The villains serve as plot devices and not fully realized characters. This movie feels epic and feels fundamentally different. I never seen an underwater movie like this. This is one fun action adventure movie with a nice heart.
Sadly the movie falters in a few key elements. The narrative is loosely tied together and some plot points aren’t fully explored. The jokes are fairly goofy and immature. The writing is mediocre and generic. This is far from a perfect movie.
Where the movie succeeds is in the action scenes , entrainment value and the special effects. Several action scenes are done with one take with a panning camera and it looks amazing. It can be a little disorienting at times but overall the action scenes are well executed. The movie is fun and intriguing from beginning to end. I really enjoyed the flash backs and backstory for Aquaman. The movie has several touching scenes that work well without being too sentimental. The special effects are amazing and some of the best I have seen in 2018. I have never seen anything quite like this movie before. This is one beautiful movie that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Aquaman is a great movie that feels unique. I have issues with this movie but overall I had a great time.
Final Verdict: 8/10