Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: Movie Review

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies

Last week, I created one of the world’s best movie previews with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. So what you ask, could I do to top such an articulate, engaging, and studious form of critical literacy? By producing the review of course!

Unlike with The Flash movie last year, I didn’t purchase my ticket online. Armed with a second mortgage, I purchased my ticket from the cinema, along with my food. And just like last time, I walked straight into the theatre, with nobody stopping me to check my ticket.

On a special note, I saw the Dune: Part Two trailer there, and I wanted to shout, “Villeneuve, take my money! Take it now!”

Credit: Warner Bros.

Just like last time, let’s set the rules for the review.

1.) Please be aware there will be spoilers concerning the movie, so proceed with extreme anxiety and caution.

2.) The aim of my reviews are not to rip apart the subject or trash it. If I liked the subject enough to watch or read it, then I’ll give my honest (possibly biased) opinion.

3.) I’m not a professional critic, so I’m not going to dive into deeper concepts and themes, or the art of filmmaking. I’m just a geek; always have been, and always will be.

And with that, let the review begin!

To start at the beginning, did I like the movie? Yes, I did. Is it the greatest superhero movie ever made? No, it isn’t, but that’s ok because I had fun.

So what did I like about it? Just some quick things, I’m sorry. Firstly, and quite obviously would be the CGI. While watching the film, you can understand where the majority of the budget went. You’re setting the movie in Atlantis, with people who can live and breathe underwater, and swim at insane speeds. Of course, it looks amazing, it needs to!

I also enjoyed the design and scale of the sets, as well as the costumes. From a logistics point of view, it must be very extremely difficult to create something physical, that’s based on something else. If it’s an original piece of work, then you can make it look however you want.

However, if you’re adapting something, then you need to balance the old and new, by giving the item a sense of familiarity, mixed with contemporary, fantasy, or futuristic design. I thought the film looked gorgeous!

I also liked Arthur’s emotional growth since the last film. Yes, the core of him is still the same, but he’s changed. His new responsibilities have altered the way he sees the world, which is a positive thing.

Because of Momoa’s version of Aquaman, it was great to see humour leaking through into scenes, where I wasn’t expecting it. The difficulty of getting Arthur Jnr. to sleep, and keeping him asleep, is something I’m painfully aware of. As babies, both UMC1 and UMC2 firmly believed that sleep was only for the weak.

Amber Heard was in the film but with a much-reduced role. It may have hurt the plot because of this, but what do I know?

There are other things I enjoyed about the film, but let’s keep the movie train moving.

What about things I didn’t enjoy? I thought Kordax would have played more of a larger role. By this I mean, I thought he would have escaped his prison by the end of the first act, or the start of the second act, building to a final fight in the third act. He was defeated too quickly and easily, to be honest.

I thought Black Manta’s plan to burn the orichalcum, so he could gain access to Kordax’s prison, seemed overly complicated for such a simple thing. If Black Manta knew where Kordax’s prison was located, why couldn’t he use some flashy ultra-tech, to directly melt the ice?

Another thing that I thought was odd, was when Arthur came up with the idea of talking to Orm, the others explained that his jailors, the Deserters, would never allow this to happen. Arthur then explains he’s just going to break Orm out of prison instead, at the risk of igniting a war with them.

I realise the film needed a reason for Orm to be out of prison, I just thought it was strange that the best option open to them, was to break him out.

Alright, what about my preview questions?

  • Will Arthur and Orm’s relationship copy Thor and Loki’s? Yes, in a lot of ways, it did. At one point, Arthur even referred to Orm as Loki.
  • Will Orm have a redemption arc or will he return to his evil ways? He did have a redemption arc, and also found some much needed closure.
  • Is Black Manta one-dimensional? In this version, he certainly is. He can’t move past wanting vengeance against Arthur, over the death of his father.
  • What is Arthur’s relationship with Mera and Atlanna? Arthur is still happily married to Mera, and from what I saw, he’s still close with Atlanna.
  • Will there be a “talking to fish” reference? From what I remember, and I could be wrong about this, there wasn’t. However, both Arthur and Arthur Jnr., talk to some marine creatures in the film.
  • Will the plot be convincing or predictable? I think the plot was both. It was predictable, yet there were times it felt surprising.
  • Will there be a deus ex machina moment in defeating the undead merpeople army? I thought the undead merpeople army would have appeared earlier in the film, so it was a shock to only see them in the third act. And yes, there was a deus ex machina moment.
  • How much does the world know of Atlantis? That was answered in the film with Arthur and the council debates, with Atlantis still being kept a secret from the world.
  • Does the Justice League visit Atlantis? To the best of my knowledge, the Justice League were not mentioned or referred to; so I have no idea.
  • Will Aquaman say, “Outrageous!” in the film? Sadly, this outrageous statement did not occur in the film, which is an outrageous injustice.
  • Are the creatures from the Trench in the film? No, they were not, as much as I wanted them to be.
  • What type of closure will the film give us, since it’s the last entry in the DCEU? Atlantis has revealed itself to the world, and much like T’Challa and Wakanda at the end of the first Black Panther film, Arthur wants Atlantis to join the United Nations.

I think the largest question for Aquaman now, is what happens next? The DCEU is dead. Long live the DCU. It truly will be fascinating to see where Aquaman fits into this new shared universe, as well as the actors and actresses involved in the project. I understand Jason Momoa is out as Aquaman, but not out of the DCU? I don’t know, so you’ll have to ask James Gunn and Peter Safran.

If you’re on the fence about watching this film, you’re allowed to be. Like I said earlier, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is not the greatest superhero movie ever made, but it’s two hours of entertainment and fun, and you get to watch the good guys win. What’s wrong with that? The CGI underwater scenes are worth the cost of the ticket anyway.

Before I leave you and watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I want to share something with you.

Superhero movies are not for everybody. But neither are horror, western, action, comedy, science-fiction, or musical movies. Given the state of 2023’s superhero movies, if we, the fans of superheroes and cinema, do not go and watch and support these movies, they will stop making them. And then we all lose. 

It doesn’t matter if you’re a DC or Marvel fan, or something else, if a superhero movie flops, it sends shockwaves across Hollywood and influences other studios. They get scared and invest less money into a comic book movie, which increases the potential of the movie flopping. If we don’t watch these movies, they will stop making them.

And with that, I am done 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, go watch some of the African Cup of Nations games, and I’ll see you next week for the return of Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System!