As you may have already figured out, I am a bit of a nerd. So obviously I reserved my seats for Aquaman in advance as soon as tickets went on sale. He was never my favorite comic book character growing up but they truly did a nice job injecting some “cool factor” to the character when he was introduced in Batman V Superman and even more so in Justice League. They allowed a well known director (James Wan) to have a huge budget (estimated to be $160 million) in order to get the DC universe back on track. The excellent previews did their job and the ticket pre sales for Aquaman surpassed Deadpool 2, Black Panther, and even Avengers: Infinity War. Color me excited!
You don’t need to look too deep (ha! ocean joke) to see this film’s strengths. We have a well built cast starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, and Temuera Morrison. Jason Momoa is great as Arthur/Aquaman. He has charisma, swagger, and it doesn’t hurt that he is humongous physically imposing dude. In addition to his physical screen presence, he has pretty good comedic timing, delivering quips and one liners in the ideal spots along the way. Patrick Wilson seems to be one of James Wan’s go to actors (starring in both Conjuring and Insidious) and its easy to see why. He is quite convincing and I believed that as King Orm he would do whatever it took to hold his position of power. The action is fast and plentiful with well choreographed fight scenes and huge multifaceted battles. The special effects are definitely a standout here. The environments and colors look amazing! There is also a particular scene where James Wan really shows that his horror skills are still top notch.
I really did not find much to complain about at the theater in this one. It is a bit on the long side at 143 minute run time, so I think there is probably some fat that could have been trimmed out. There is also quite a good amount of cheesiness throughout Aquaman, which will definitely turn some people off.
I know the DCU (DC Universe) has been a mixed bag for most casual moviegoers and movie critics so far but the DC fans I spoke to have enjoyed most of the releases up to this point. I have pretty much enjoyed each film so far (Man of Steel, Batman V Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League) and am very much looking forward to the next ones (Shazam, The Joker) as well. Aquaman has the action, some humor, solid acting and is probably my favorite entry so far in the DCU. James Wan has splashed down with an excellent 1 Apology from this movie fan. Go check it out, the water is fine!
-Movie Apologist