Really Late Movie Review: Aquaman

Date: 07 June 2019

I’m trying to catch up on recent movies. The latest one to fall into my net was Aquaman.

I want to start by saying that I have not been a fan of the new DC cinematic universe. I though Man of Steel was absolutely the wrong tone for Superman. Suicide Squad was … okay. I never got around to seeing Batman v Superman or Justice League. Part of that was the super “grim-dark” tone that Warner Bros. set for their movies to try and distance themselves from Marvel.

Wonder Woman was awesome, in part, because they let it be fun. Aquaman took it lot further and made a movie that was fun. Not great but fun.

Jason Mamoa’s dude-bro Aquaman worked even though the story was your typical reluctant king story. The other thing that worked surprisingly well, was Aquaman’s ability to talk to fish. Yes, it was frequently mocked before the movie but it worked out really well.

Most of the movie looks really good. Most of it. There are times when the characters are underwater that they look really cartoony. Amber Heard, as Mera, looks particularly like she dove off the deep end of the uncanny valley. That said, there’s a really great tracking shot of Mera running across the rooftops in Italy. They showed it in one of the trailers but it was really cool.

Despite being a run time of nearly 2.5 hours, there are parts of the movie that feel rushed. It’s inevitable that they would end up going through The Trench but the whole sequence feels … rushed. It almost feels out of place. I dunno.

As I said, it’s not a great movie but it’s a great bit of predictable fun. I hope it’s a sign that DC is going to let their superheroes have fun.