Aquaman

The mistakes of unsuccessful comic book movies usually involve too much of a good thing. With "Aquaman", the suspension of the audience's disbelief is maintained throughout, making the few mistakes forgivable. I did not expect this show to be as good as it was. The special effects were very noteworthy, the humor was genuine and most importantly, the story took center stage. It looks like the trend of going dark and gritty in the DCEU is being done away with and I am glad about that.

Forbidden love that results in a loving, nuclear family is something very relatable and that is the center of this movie's emotional foundation. What's great is that Arthur doesn't have an emotional falling out with either of his parents. He has a great relationship with his dad and the time they spend together at the start of the film also creates a lot of heart in the movie. The Atlanteans sacrificed Arthur's mother and so this creates some tragedy in his back-story. The classic story archetype of "The Hero's Journey", as explained by Joseph Campbell, has been employed by so many blockbuster films in the past and "Aquaman" proves that a timeless narrative like this will never die as long as it is rendered as original. The underwater setting creates some originality but the story is also a hybrid of other narratives categorized as "Hero's Journeys" such as those for Hercules and obviously King Arthur. Strong story qualities like this draw an audience in and anything flawed about the movie become irrelevant. I love the romantic subplot between Arthur and Mera. Their journey grows their relationship in a very genuine manner and it is quite entertaining. I love when they come ashore at the Sahara Desert because it is very James Bond-esque. The action sequences are likewise entertaining because each has a unique setting. There are duels, revenge, giant monsters, chases and escapes. The exposition flashbacks are well placed because they relate to the current scenes they appear alongside, providing subtext. We had a great balance of so many cinematic elements and an imbalance can ruin any movie, especially a superhero one. All the supporting characters had a role and there was a great use of humor throughout. For example, the pros and cons listed for Arthur and Orm during their first duel are quite funny. The one-liners were not overdone and were timely. The filmmakers also took steps to honor the source material and not doing so can mean death for a movie based off a comic book. On the other hand, those in the wardrobe department may have been concerned with staying true to the comics. Aquaman's costume in the source material doesn't have the same following as other outfits in the DC universe. It might have to do with the color scheme but I cannot deny that Jason Momoa looks amazing in the climax. He owns the outfit. I can't really call my biggest issue that I have with the show a flaw because it comes from the comics. Black Manta's costume for me looks like something out of "Power Rangers" but the filmmakers are staying true to the source material so there isn't much I can complain about. The one cinematic element that was in danger of ruining "Aquaman" was the high level of special effects. Flashy visuals and a large amount of them can tend to outshine the story of a movie like in "Avatar". Even though I like both movies equally, the story of "Avatar" was cliché and the special effects took center stage. "Aquaman" is a little better because the story is strong and was able to offset, support and feed off of the high amount of special effects. The de-aging at the start of the film was pretty good. What's really great about the ending is that there is very little foreshadowing for possible sequels. The focus is on resolution. My favorite depiction of Atlantis continues to be "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" but "Aquaman" is a close second.

I knew Jason Momoa had acting chops after seeing "Justice League" and I knew he could carry a film but what I wasn't ready for was how macho and powerful he made Aquaman in this standalone film. This superhero for me always felt like an awkward cousin in the DC universe ("Awkwardman" if you will) and this is partly because technology hasn't been advanced enough to give him his own movie until now. I also saw a few of satirical videos of him in the past. Suddenly now, you're going to see a lot less satire. Momoa had great chemistry with Amber Heard also. I recognized a few actors as I watched this film such as Willem Dafoe (his second comic book character in his career), Patrick Wilson (he also had a voice cameo as the President in "Batman v Superman"), Temuera Morrison and Nicole Kidman. I did not recognize Dolph Lundgren or Graham McTavish in my first viewing. Lundgren in particular wasn't just disguised by his makeup but his performance was not what I am used to from him. John Rhys-Davies and Djimon Hounsou have small roles but I won't spoil who voices Karathen because that is just too juicy of a secret. Director James Wan has a horror film background and it shows. This kind of choice for a director has worked before in the comic book genre because Sam Raimi had a similar resume when he undertook "Spider-Man". Funny enough, both "Aquaman" and "Spider-Man" have the same cinematographer, Oscar-nominee Don Burgess. Wan saw this film as "Star Wars underwater" and that is apparent in the final product. When you consider that one of the visual effects supervisors has two Oscars, you don't have to wonder why the CGI was a major part of the film's appeal. By they way, Charles Gibson won his visual effects Academy Awards for his work on "Babe" and for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest". His work on the latter film sure makes him qualified to bring this superhero to life.

"Justice League" gave me hope for the future of the DCEU and "Aquaman" proved that the former film wasn't just a fluke. What makes "Justice League" just a tad bit better for me is the classic characters. It is amazing how popular superhero movies are these days and how various they are. As proof, "Aquaman" is the eighth and final superhero movie of 2018 ("Venom" by the way doesn't count because he is a villain and "Once Upon a Deadpool" is also excluded because it is just a PG version of "Deadpool 2"). I always like going into a movie not knowing what to expect and then getting surprised. What impressed me was a good balance between all the cinematic elements. You had amazing visuals but a strong story as a foundation. The show was also genuinely funny. I'd say "Aquaman" was one of my favourite movies of 2018.

4 out of 5 Stars