Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: Movie Preview

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies

The last time I saw a superhero movie at the cinema was The Flash. I do feel some guilt and shame though, because as a geek, I still haven’t seen Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, or Blue Beetle.

Having realised this, I have decreed that I will go and watch Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. My first and last preview was for The Flash, so after talking to Some Geek Told Me’s chief good ideas officer, the Rubicon was crossed and their advice ignored, so we are doing it again!

Aquaman is an interesting and somewhat confusing character because he’s often viewed as a punchline or as comedy relief. Arthur has been through many changes over the years, mainly sporting a 90’s beard, losing his son, losing his left hand, but also gaining a telekinetic harpoon for a hand; that was extremely badass.

Jason Momoa’s version of Arthur Curry in the DCEU has been outrageous.1 Even though the DCEU has had the wobbles; in fairness, so has the MCU lately, let’s preview the last DCEU film and the sequel to the $1.152 billion juggernaut. 2

Before we move on, I need to state that I have tried exceptionally hard to avoid reviews about the film, apart from the box office takings. However, I have seen the trailers many times over. Sweet as? Let’s go!

Image by 鑫 孙 from Pixabay

Am I looking forward to watching Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom?

Of course I am, though my local cinema currently charges $17.00 per adult ticket. Ouch!

What is the movie about?

From what I understand, a few years have passed since the first film, because I believe Arthur and Mera have a son; but I don’t know his age. I also don’t know if Arthur and Mera are/were married, but I’m quite sure Arthur is still King Arthur, the once and future king.

Black Manta is still pissed at Arthur for indirectly killing his father, as you would. Because of this, he finds the Black Trident, which I can only assume is not a positive thing. From the trailers, Arthur has to team up with his half-brother Orm (Ocean Master), and possibly fight Black Manta and another villain.

Or I could be totally wrong.

What can we expect?

Apparently, the running time is 124 minutes, so you might as well say two hours. This length of time can sometimes be too long for a story, too short, or just right; so where this movie falls is anybody’s guess.

An obvious question is how much time will Amber Heard (Mera) have on screen, considering her very public court trial with Johnny Depp. Will she have the same supporting role as last time, will it be more, or even less? I have no idea, I work for a living.

I know Patrick Wilson (Orm), Temuera Morrison (Thomas Curry), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Black Manta), and Nicole Kidman (Atlanna), among others, have returned for the sequel. The question remains if there will be any cameos from characters from other DCEU films.

I know the film’s budget was around $200 million, so I expect a lot from the CGI; I mean a lot. There appears to be some sort of undead merpeople, swimming around creating mischief, and at first glance, they look good; as in badass. The fight scenes were impressive in the first film, so I hope they will be even better in the sequel.

Do I have concerns?

As I stated with the Flash preview, I will always have concerns with every comic book movie. Finding a balance between honouring the source material and having creative liberties is difficult, but not impossible.

  • Will Arthur and Orm’s relationship copy Thor and Loki’s?
  • Will Orm have a redemption arc or will he return to his evil ways?
  • Is Black Manta one-dimensional?
  • What is Arthur’s relationship with Mera and Atlanna?
  • Will there be a “talking to fish” reference?
  • Will the plot be convincing or predictable?
  • Will there be a deus ex machina moment in defeating the undead merpeople army?
  • How much does the world know of Atlantis?
  • Does the Justice League visit Atlantis?
  • Will Aquaman say, “Outrageous!” in the film?
  • What type of closure will the film give us, since it’s the last entry in the DCEU?
  • Are the creatures from the Trench in the film?

The fatigue of superhero movies has become a real problem now, with 2023 being a brutal year for the genre. However, let’s not be Marvin the Paranoid Android about this. I’m planning to be entertained for two hours, by a character that was created back in 1941. UMC1 would point out, that’s even older than me! I have high hopes for the film.

I have to check my social calendar, and my meetings with the Some Geek Told Me staff, to nail down a screening, however, I will see it at some point this week. Which of course means, that next week will be my review of the film.

Anyway, that’s it for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, stay away from Coruscanti death stick dealers, and I’ll see you next week.

1). 50 fifty points for anybody that gets that reference.

2.) Sorry, I couldn’t help throwing in a Marvel reference.