Aquaman is a Wet Fish? - Film Review

Aquaman is a Wet Fish?

Aquaman is the introduction of Arthur Curry into the DC extended universe and follows the story of the long-lost prince of Atlantis and rightful heir to the throne. Ok, so let's start with what i liked about the film.

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The Good Stuff

Jason Mamoa
Jason Mamoa as Aquaman is a perfect fit for me, i think his look and how he played the character was great, his look isn't like in the comics but i liked how he tried to and put his mark on the role.

Visual Effects & Action
The visual effects were also spectacular, the world of Atlantis was beautiful and full of energetic colour. We got to see a glimpse of this world in Justice League, but the setting was too dark, and the colours were nowhere near as artistic as what we got to see later in the Aquaman movie.

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The action scenes were impressive and kept me engaged throughout, a great example of this was the sequence in Italy where Aquaman and Mera were getting chased on the rooftops. The battle between Aquaman and his brother Ocean Master for the right to rule was also captivating, creative and exciting. I loved the visuals on the journey to the hollow earth, the final battle scene was spectacular and a great example of how superheroes actions finales should be!

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Story
Some areas of the plot were weak which I will get into later but there were also some areas that we good. The opening scene of Black Manta and his crew boarding the submarine and then Aquaman following was a great start to the film. I also liked how they showed the history of Atlantis, what happened and why. This set up nicely Arthur’s journey throughout the film to find the trident and claim his place in Atlantis.

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What I didn't Like

Black Manta
So, the start was great showing Blank Manta and his crew take a submarine to then be defeated by Aquaman who was following them. This set up the characters, their powers and nice and early in the film. The problem was BM's motivations throughout the film, there is an attempt to show this near the beginning as it was Aquaman who could have saved his farther but choose not to, BM them blames Aquaman for this father’s death. I remember watching the film and struggling to empathise with BM on this, let's not forget just 60 seconds ago both BM and his father were trying to murder Aquaman and would have happily done so if they could. It also makes it clear that they are pirates and murders at the very start.

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He is then given all the powers and technology of Atlantis (Why??) and uses this to try and kill Aquaman at every given opportunity. I don't like how he then all of a sudden, he becomes Tony Stark and reverse engineers this new tech into making a suit all while being on a little submarine on his own. I understand the objective to make him the antagonist but how they get him there was poorly thought out and executed. I just felt they could have been a bit more creative in how they tried to develop BM hatred for Aquaman, it didn’t feel very organic.

Ocean Master Wasn't Bad?
Ocean master is the younger brother of Aquaman and the current ruler of Atlantis, this rule was threatened as his older sibling attempted to make a claim on the throne. One of the main motivations for Aquaman to return and claim the throne was because OM wanted to wage war against the land people. His reason was that the land people were and had been for years polluting the waters, his water, and he saw the results of this. The animals of the water were dying due to the poisoning of the oceans. This to a certain point seem fair, i could empathise and understand his reasoning even if it was a little extreme.

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Ocean Master was neither the good guy or the bad and this middle ground making it hard for me to fully get behind Aquaman ambitions.

The Claim on the Trident
As Aquaman travels to the hollow earth, he is saved by a mysterious woman that turns out to be his mother which was an interesting twist. The hollow earth was the location of the trident and he must pass an impossible test to be worthy of the trident, his mother warns him that many have failed before him and to be careful. This test was one of the biggest let-downs in the film for me.

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Aquaman must face a monster of the deep, a guardian of the trident, one that will decide who is worthy to wield it. This is quite a common concept whereby the hero must overcome all odds and push himself further than ever before to achieve the goal, thus becoming a more genuine character in the process. What happens is the monster beats Aquaman around a little and then once Aquaman realises that he can't beat it he talks to it and the monster lets him pass, that is basically it. The reasoning we are given is that everyone in the past has tried to defeat it while Aquaman was the first to talk to it. I remember watching this part in the cinema in shock, I was anticipating a great action sequence but all i got was a cheap excuse to move the plot along quickly. Then the beast now accepts Aquaman as his master and is ridden into battle in the next scene. That scene was great, but it doesn't have the same impact when you realise that the riser is weaker than the beast he is riding.

Summary
The visuals and action scenes in the film were amazing and did to a certain extent plug certain weaker areas of the film. I feel that if they spent a little more time on substance and character development it could have been a more balanced and thus a much better film.

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