REVIEW -- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC character Aquaman. Produced by DC Studios, Atomic Monster, and the Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to Aquaman (2018), and the 15th film and final installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film was directed by James Wan from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, based on a story conceived by the writing teams of Wan and Johnson-McGoldrick, and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett and Jason Momoa, who stars as Arthur Curry / Aquaman. The film also stars Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, and Nicole Kidman. In the film, Arthur must work with his half-brother Orm (Wilson) to prevent Black Manta (Abul-Mateen II) from killing his family and using the cursed Black Trident to overheat the world while searching for the lost seventh kingdom of the seas.

Momoa pitched a story for an Aquaman sequel during production of the first film. Wan did not want to rush a sequel but agreed in January 2019 to oversee development. Johnson-McGoldrick signed on to return as screenwriter a month later, and Wan was confirmed to be returning as director in August 2020. He said the film would expand on Aquaman's worldbuilding, and announced the sequel's title in June 2021. Filming began at the end of the month and concluded in January 2022, taking place in the United Kingdom, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and New Jersey, with additional filming in New Zealand.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom premiered at a fan event at the Grove, Los Angeles on December 19, 2023, and was released in the United States on December 22, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film has grossed $13 million and received mixed reviews from critics.

Cast

• Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman

• Patrick Wilson as Orm Marius

• Amber Heard as Mera

• Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane / Black Manta

• Randall Park as Dr. Stephen Shin

• Dolph Lundgren as Nereus

• Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry

• Martin Short as the voice of Kingfish

• Nicole Kidman as Atlanna

Also appearing are Vincent Regan as Atlan, the first king of Atlantis; Jani Zhao as Stingray, a member of Black Manta's crew; Indya Moore as Karshon, an Atlantean; and Pilou Asbæk as Kordax, Atlan's brother who was the creator of the cursed Black Trident and the undead king of the lost kingdom Necrus whose evil spirit possesses Black Manta. John Rhys-Davies returns from the first film as the voice of the Brine King.

Plot

Several years after becoming king of Atlantis, Arthur Curry has married Mera and had a son, Arthur Jr., while splitting his life between land and sea. Meanwhile, David Kane continues to seek revenge against Arthur for his father's death, working with marine biologist Stephen Shin to find Atlantean artifacts. He finds a black trident that possesses him, its creator promising to give him the power to destroy Arthur.

Five months later, David attacks Atlantis and breaks into its orichalcum reserves to power Shin's Atlantean machines. Arthur learns that this usage of orichalcum, which emits high quantities of greenhouse gases, has not only raised planetary temperatures and caused extreme weather and ocean acidification but nearly caused a planetary extinction when used by an ancient Atlantean kingdom. To learn where David is hiding, Arthur breaks his half-brother Orm out of prison. The two meet with the crime lord Kingfish, who provides information leading to a volcanic island in the South Pacific. While on the island, Arthur and Orm stumble across the black trident, which Orm reveals was created by Kordax, the brother of King Atlan and ruler of the lost kingdom of Necrus who was imprisoned with blood magic following a failed attempt to usurp the throne. Realizing the blood of any of Atlan's descendants could release Kordax, the two make their way to Amnesty Bay, where they learn David has kidnapped Arthur Jr. The Atlanteans, with a reluctant Shin's help, determine that Necrus's prison is located in Antarctica.

In Necrus, Arthur fights David to stop him from injuring Arthur Jr., and David almost kills Arthur before Mera arrives and saves her husband. Following this, David throws the black Trident at Mera, as she is getting away with her son, but Orm gets hold of the trident before it strikes her. The spirit of Kordax leaves David for Orm, who proceeds to fight Arthur and uses his blood to thaw the ice, freeing Kordax. With his half-brother freed, Arthur throws the black trident at Kordax, who catches it in mid-air, before throwing his trident to destroy the black trident and fatally impale Kordax. With Kordax's magic vanishing, Necrus starts to collapse, and as David hangs from a fissure, he refuses Arthur's help and throws himself down the cliff to his death. The Atlanteans and Shin escape to safety, and Arthur and Mera decide to let Orm go and tell the rest of Atlantis that he died on the condition he remains hidden. Believing the unification of the land and sea is necessary, Arthur reveals Atlantis' existence through an announcement at the United Nations and declares his intentions of making the kingdom a member state.

The Verdict:

Unlike a lot of my reviews of this nature for the superhero genre, this won't be one of my more lengthier reviews. This is a perfect movie to shut your brain off and enjoy with family and friends who are home for the holidays without needing any prior knowledge or extra "homework" to be able to appreciate to the fullest. Arthur Curry provides a simple recap at the start of the film that runs over the events of the first film and helps viewers get up to speed.

It didn't surprise me for an instant that they were going to rehash the same themes and conflict between Orm and Arthur that they did in the first film, especially in the last act when Orm took hold of Kordax's trident and was regressing back towards being Arthur's enemy just to become the "Ocean Master" again. Fortunately, this film wasn't THAT goddamn predictable and allowed him to break free from Kordax's control and finally forgive Arthur for their previous hostilities against each other, despite Queen Atlanna's expression of love for both of her sons. I was really happy that this film didn't go that route because once Orm had the vision that revealed Kordax was the corrupted brother of the former king Atlan, I was dreading that this film was leading viewers on that Orm had "changed" only to swerve everyone at the end. Yes, it was teased in the film's finale, but I still felt like the rug was pulled out from underneath Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's David Kane/Black Manta. 

At the end of the day, it still felt like Orm was brought back in this film merely to echo the same vibe as the relationship between Marvel Studios' Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth), given their similar rocky relationship. Both pairs of brothers originate from royal families with one obsessed with the throne while the other has no aspirations for it, but they find themselves at odds  regardless out of jealousy and villainy. This film pits Orm and Arthur into the same position as Thor and Loki as in both Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok where the two brothers are forced into becoming unlikely allies against a bigger threat/foe. Like previously stated, I'm just glad that Orm didn't go the obvious route of stabbing everyone in the back at the first opportunity. Instead, he sought out redemption to clear his name and reclaim his honor. 

As much as I still feel that Abdul-Mateen could use some acting lessons given his bland and generic delivery at times, but there's some moments that he really shines as this film's main antagonist when he's taunting and threatening Aquaman. (Sighs loudly) And yes, I know that he's a Broadway actor, but that's a totally different beast than acting in a Hollywood blockbuster, no less a superhero film. It takes a different type of charisma and presentation to the type of delivery that these characters demand to bring them to life in a convincing and satisfying manner.

While we're on the subject of questionable acting in this film, I can't skip over the titular hero of this film - Aquaman himself played by Jason Mamoa. He's getting into that hokey, over-the-top dude-bro attitude that Chris Hemsworth's Thor has been leaning into since Thor: Ragnarok in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that's really not my personal cup of tea. I get that a lot of these comic book characters have to be modified and adjusted to relate with the times, but after seeing Mamoa play the main antagonist in Fast X, I can't give him any slack here. It seems like he's bleeding performances altogether as he's this mash-up of all of these characters while simultaneously attempting to audition for the part of Lobo (something that he has gone on record for desiring on numerous occasions) while hamming it up as if he's a metrosexual twist on The Joker. It makes for some odd interactions throughout the film as if he's playing multiple characters at various points of this film. At this point, I wouldn't blame the guy if he really phoned it in given that this is essentially the final film before James Gunn's rebooted continuity. No one hasn't said whether or not that he's coming back in any capacity so I don't blame him, especially when this film went through some reshoots as well.

Closing Thoughts

Throughout this very brief review, you may be under the impression that I didn't think too highly of this film, but you will be surprised that I would gladly watch this film again. Why you may ask?

The action and fight sequences were incredible in this film, especially those including David Kane/Black Manta. When armed with King Kordax's trident, this villain is truly one hell of a beast in combat. Early into this film I was convinced that they were going to write off Amber Heard's Mera as being dead from how severely he wounded her in their skirmish. Those battles were the only times in this film where Arthur had to get serious and stop joking around as Black Manta wasn't playing around with him in the least. Even Manta's subordinates were giving Orm and Arthur a run for their money with their mechanized armaments powered by the orichalcum. 

The final battle between Black Manta and Aquaman in King Kordax's kingdom of Necrus was worth the price of admission alone in my eyes. That fight sequence was one hell of a spectacle to behold and I woud gladly watch that again and again given the opportunity. If this film didn't accomplish anything else, it definitely conveyed the intensity of the hatred between Aquaman and Black Manta on the silver screen. We got an appetizer of that in the first film, which was definitely a highlight for me there as well, but I'm glad that Black Manta was able to return in the forefront as the titular antagonist in this film and really show moviegoers what he could do given the spotlight. 

Watch It or Don't Bother?

As of this writing/posting, this film has been struggling to gain any traction throughout the Christmas holiday weekend and following week, despite pulling in some significant box office numbers internationally. I saw the film opening night (Thursday, December 21st) and was actually surprised to see a sizable crowd for a new release in the superhero genre, given the lackluster marketing for this film and the ongoing talks of "superhero fatigue" across the Internet. 

I think this is decent, slightly above average film that this is worth the watch, whether you see it in theaters over the holidays or simply wait for it to hit streaming platforms. Simply put, it is a film that won't be remembered for anything significant, much like the rest of these final DC Extended Universe releases this year, but it's a passable sequel to the acclaimed Aquaman film. It doesn't take any major risks and merely plays it safe, retreading the same waters of its predecessor, much to it's detriment to the eyes of many. I'm inclined to agree in some regards as I felt that this film would have benefited with taking some more bold risks in the sake of storytelling, especially when they had nothing to lose given this is the last film in this current film continuity before James Gunn's highly anticipated reboot.