Aquaman (2018) - Movie Review

 

For several decades, Aquaman has been the laughing stock of DC’s core group of superheroes. Try as creatives like Paul Dini and Bruce Timm tried to rescue him from his ‘underwater Doctor Dolittle’ perception, his depiction in the Superfriends Show has remained his rather undignified persona in the popular consciousness. In a stable of characters that include Space Jesus, World’s Smartest Emo and Bondage Princess, Aquaman remained the one that was the hardest to take seriously. Of all the characters that have been itching for a big-budget blockbuster about them, the king of the oceans is the one who could benefit most from some cinematic re-examination. And with a story credit from Geoff Johns, a comic book writer who has seen tremendous success in reinventing large swathes of the DC universe, it looks like his chance to shine has finally arrived.

While Dawn of Justice may technically be the introduction of Jason Momoa’s version of the character, and Justice League may technically be his first proper appearance, this film is where he gets the refinement that he sorely needed. Going beyond the very dude-bro mannerisms of the last couple years, Arthur Curry has become more of a sailor with a chip on his shoulder, the sea traveller with a habit of hard drinking and even harder fighting.

It fits with the action-adventure tone of the narrative itself, and it also gives Momoa a chance to actually portray a character, rather than just the facsimile of one. And when paired with Amber Heard as Mera, what Ariel from Little Mermaid would look like as an action hero (hint: Fucking awesome), Nicole Kidman in a unprecedentedly solid step in action territory as Queen Atlanna, and Patrick Wilson owning the screen as the war-hungry monarch Ocean Master, he serves as the strong core of a higher-tier cast.

Then there’s what director James Wan brings to the table, returning to the realms of bombastic action three years after making box-office history with Fast & Furious 7. Even though the pairing of Momoa and Heard would’ve given this film an easy out to go for straight fanservice (they’re both good-looking, what can I say?), Wan goes beyond that and instead taps into a true sense of scope and scale to make the boundless ocean feel like their own underground universe. Aided by the cinematography of Don freaking Burgess, the globe-trotting treasure hunt for the stake to Arthur’s claim to the throne and the large-scale war literally bubbling under the surface look absolutely stunning. This is Peter Jackson-levels of awe-inspiring battle scenes, made truly awesome through the presence of attack seahorses and soldiers riding in on battle orcas.

But the best part is how this story turns out to be more than just grandeur for its own sake. Indeed, through David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall’s scripting, working off of Geoff Johns and James Wan’s original story idea, the story of Arthur’s journey to becoming king is depicted like… well, King Arthur. Every main relationship in this story, from Arthur and his mother to Mera and her father played by Dolph Lundgren, even the inclusion of Black Manta and his connection with his father, sits on a bedrock of legacy, the duty we impose on ourselves to honour our parents. Or, in the case of Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master, his duty to overcome his parent's ‘treason’.

Add to that the importance placed on ornate weaponry, with a lot of tridents and knives being passed down through generations, and this is soaking in Arthurian lore. It’s the same kind of “huh, they actually share a name with each other” fan-wankery that supposedly went into the infamous ‘Save Martha’ scene from Dawn of Justice, only here, it’s given weight and a reason to be pointed out.

When all of these elements are pulled together, anchored by some truly inspired imagery and incredibly flashy fight scenes, we are shown the story of the drunken sailor who would be king, the bastard son destined to bring together two worlds on the brink of war. While some of the thematic touches can be a tad overused, like the heavy environmentalism at the heart of the conflict between Ocean Master and Aquaman, they still resonate enough to give our hero an epic narrative to stake his own claim to a better legacy than just the guy who talks to the fishes. In a year where it feels like everyone is trying to make some long-overdue corrections in the realms of cinema, it’s good to know that one of the most sidelined heroes in the DC canon is finally getting his due.