Aquaman

Official Australian release date: 26/12/18. Viewed: 26/12/18.

Director: James Wan

Actors: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe

Genre: Action / Sci-Fi

Rating: M

     

‘Aquaman’ is almost the best DC film since the Dark Knight trilogy – it’s certainly more fun, colourful and enjoyable than ‘Justice League’, ‘Batman v Superman’ and ‘Man of Steel’. ‘Wonder Woman’ is still the benchmark, but only just. The film works well as both an origin story and a coming-of-age story. Arthur (Momoa) is the offspring of Tom (Morrison), a lighthouse keeper, and exiled Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna (Kidman), making him half-man, half-Atlantean and the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis.

We see Arthur trained by Vulko (Dafoe) in flashbacks and helped in the present by Mera (Heard). To stop his step-brother Orm (Wilson) from starting a war with the “surface dwellers”, Arthur has to embark on a journey to track down an ancient trident that will make him King of Atlantis and unite the two realms. There’s enough tongue-in-cheek-ness and charm from Momoa to help you past some of the daft moments – Manta’s suit (overall a weak villain), octopus drums, plesiosaurs, underwater fire and giant seahorses.

It’s not too long (just over 2 hours) and is fast-paced and much of the story makes it feel like a cross between ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’, with many of the underwater colours reminiscent of ‘Avatar’ – none of which are bad things. The battle at the end is all a bit absurd, but there’s so much colour, action and humour to make it worthwhile. Wish all DC films were as joyful as this!  

Overall: Fun and not-too-serious – good superhero film.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.