Movie: Aquaman
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lungren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Director: James Wan
Review By: Wade Swift
Rating: 4X's out of 5X's
At long last, nearly 80 years after it's inception into the DC universe we finally get our first full length look at what an Aquaman live action film looks like, and it makes a much bigger splash than some critics want to believe. Directly following the events of Justice League #JasonMomoa reprises his role as the aquatic vigilante Arthur Curry also known as "Aquaman". This origin story tells of a half human half atlantian born with the ability to communicate and co exist with creatures of the sea, among many other things. Born and raised on land he must now return to the sea and face off against his half brother King Orm known as ‘The Ocean Master’ to prevent an impending invasion on land and become the true heir to the Throne of Atlantis. Now, let’s be frank, this isn't the most original superhero film as far it's plotline goes, but it's strengths lie in it's incredible visuals and the standout performances from it's already potent cast. Willem Dafoe who plays (Nuidis Vulko) Aquaman's mentor in the underwater arts, #AmberHeard who shines bright as (Princess Mera) along with #NicoleKidman (Queen Atlanna) all of whom surround Aquaman with an overwhelming amount of knowledge, love and belief that perfectly compliment Momoa's "reckless abandon" and at times cynic attitude. Most will argue that they've grown tiresome of the age old “rise to be a king” storyline and that it ruins this movie, while we believe it to be merely a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of things. Thanks to the help of CGI, director James Wan does a tremendous job making this journey feel relatively fresh all while giving it an even fresher more unique look and feel. Now, this film does have one major flaw that we believe to be the decision to introduce two very important villains into a movie already introducing a new hero as well as a new world essentially. #YahyaAbdulMateen (Black Manta) and #PatrickWilson (King Orm) deliver solid performances with all things considered, however in our opinion this film would have been best suited by choosing one villain or the other and really given you more insight into their respective motives and background. Cramming both story arcs into one movie diminished the overall impact of both characters, who's stories come off as rushed and at times a bit forced. Which is unfortunate considering both characters are formidable in a way that make them each elaborate and worthy enough to stand alone in these films. Not to mention the actors playing them appear to be more than up for the task. Their was once a narrative that DC had an upper hand on Marvel when it came to villains and it would appear that they've tried to take that and run with it in an attempt to even the playing field with their counterpart, the result is another over saturation of villains similar to what we saw in Batman Vs Superman and Justice League. Overall this movie brings tons of stunning visuals as well as a refreshing new comic universe, not to mention some pretty cool new characters and of course Jason Momoa who delivers just the right amount of brute force and charming charisma that we believe the possibilities to be endless for DC's newest installment. This feel good coming of age thrill ride is perfect for a date night or for the whole family, just MAKE SURE YOU SEE IT IN #IMAX as it is an EXPERIENCE as much as it is a movie, one that is truly realized in IMAX 3D.