The Plot: Arthur AKA Aquaman (Jason Momoa) has become not only the reluctant leader of Atlantis, but also a father. He flits back and forth between the sea and the surface, enjoying what the latter has to offer including pints of Guinness. On the other hand, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has no time for such things. He’s hellbent on gaining revenge against Arthur, intent on harnessing ancient weapons from a lost kingdom that could very well destroy everything. The solution to the problem: Arthur jailbreaks his nefarious brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to fight fire with fire, water with water…
The Verdict: Superhero films are in a panicky state of flux at the moment, with the direction of both Marvel and DC hanging in the balance. Revealingly, an intense 3-hour biopic of the father of the atomic bomb released at the height of the summer made far more money than any superhero film this year. What’s gone wrong? Superhero fatigue for one thing – Jodie Foster has a point when she recently said that it’s a phase that’s lasted a little too long. Bad writing, audiences not turning up and an indifferent attitude from studios towards their films are other considerations. All of this signals an urgent rethink required. Which brings us to Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, the final entry in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) before James Gunn and Peter Safran reboot it with a different approach. Maybe just as well.
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom has a definite sense of finality to it, given that it makes no attempt to connect with the previous films in the DCEU. It’s almost as if returning director and co-writer James Wan wants it to be a standalone film, putting some distance behind it so that Aquaman can strike out on his own. Even the one mid-credit scene is more the kind of throwaway outtake that belongs at the very end of the credits for the few still hanging around. It’s more than just being disconnected from the DCEU – it’s also a sign of general laziness at the core of this non-stop, noisy and overly busy sequel that tries too hard to please but ends up landing like a beached whale. It’s a lumbering affair from the beginning, often forgetting to have, you know, fun with its characters. Why bring back the amusing, drum-playing octopus Topo from the first film as a sidekick if he’s not even going to have an encore performance?
The script leaves a good bit to be desired. The buddy team-up concept between Arthur and Orm at least gives a grounding to work with and that at least gives the film some sparky Thor vs Loki drive (Loki is even name checked by Arthur in a rare example of superhero cross-referencing). No faulting Momoa and Patrick Wilson here – they’re both fine actors who hold their own onscreen and do what they can… but are underserved by the weak script. This is more so in Momoa’s case given that he co-wrote it – talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Nicole Kidman’s mother character Atlanna is re-introduced in a whirl of visual effects – a graceless entrance when she was capable of more. The biggest disappointment though is Black Manta. Built up to be the big bad in the previous film, he’s reduced to the kind of gormless villain who is not above threatening the most innocent and defenceless. Even General Zod wouldn’t do that. There’s an even bigger bad too, but he’s just another Steppenwolf clone – blink and you’ll miss Pilou Asbæk.
As to the elephant in the room – the presence of fallen star Amber Heard, after her very public and acrimonious trials with Johnny Depp. Fair play to Wan for giving her a reasonable amount of screentime while holding to what he said about her character Mera – that the second film was less about her and more of a buddy movie between Arthur and Orm. If only Wan had shown a similar amount of care elsewhere and slowed down to have proper character development that goes beyond cornball messaging borrowed from that notorious franchise-killer, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. He’s a very capable director and having seen him talk in-person at a screening of Insidious, he seems like a decent chap who is passionate about his films. He’s been swallowed up by this film though and can’t quite wrestle it into something manageable. It’s a damp squib that never really catches fire in the way it should. Let’s move on and see what happens next.
Rating: 2 / 5
Review by Gareth O’Connor
In short: Damp squib
Directed by James Wan.
Starring Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Amber Heard.