Review: "Aquaman" Sinks Into the Abyss of Miserable Film Making

Scene from Aquaman

Poor Arthur Curry. Is there any superhero with less attractive screen presence than him? The debate has raged on for decades now about whether or not Aquaman is cool, falling short of the consensus of his Justice League cohorts Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash. What director James Wan's latest entry into the D.C. Extended Universe (D.C.E.U.) tries to do is radicalize things by making a machismo that appeals to a darker time, where the cutesy fish come into contact with oil spills and trash. It's a contemporary vision for sure, but also one of the most misguided films yet from a franchise that has often settled for mediocrity while rarely getting above competent. It's a film that makes Aquaman cool, but also fails to recognize the joys of this ridiculous underwater world by sacrificing supernatural aquatics for some MMA fighting without gravity. It's a tedious example of missing the point, which the film almost gets to every so often before an explosion destroys the nuance in favor of mediocre fighting that doesn't reflect what makes Aquaman great, just that he's got a lot of muscle mass.

Following the cultural success of Wonder Woman, the D.C.E.U. had developed a good will to introduce long time cultural icons to the screen in ways that could be meaningful. Considering Arthur Curry's long held reputation of being a wimp, it's a miracle that Wan opens the film with an avalanche of intensity and purpose that captures promise. Arthur is born to parents of Atlantean and human descent, serving as a connection to both worlds. There's even plenty of Hallmark card sentimentalism baked into the romance that gives the film depth. Even to see Nicole Kidman's stunt double knock out a room of bad guys has an electric energy at first. This could be a fun movie exploring how humanity relates to the sea through the eyes of Arthur the reluctant hero. His hero name, Aquaman, practically alludes to this in a way that makes the marketing and intent feel all so obvious.

The issue soon becomes that the film doesn't care about the humanity of Arthur, played as an adult by Momoa. He is introduced as this brute force fighting a submarine full of men firing upon him. While the entrance is cool, it quickly becomes clear what kind of movie this is. He says funny one liners before beating a man up. Wan's camera will spin around the chaos in hopes of capturing the best angle. Anytime he stops to provide exposition and/or character development, someone shoots at him. The intensity is always on and the issue is that the film pulls the same cards over and over. For a film that revels in the absurd, notably in a second act scene involving a mix of parkour, running through buildings, a deadly wine cellar, and Arthur headbutting a giant bell several yards, the film rarely earns the moments. We don't know who Aquaman is in part because the film won't give us him until the final 15 minutes. He has to retrieve the magical Trident to get his powers. There's little to empathize with because this film's Aquaman spends more time being a knock-off James Bond, but a tad more dimwitted, than show off why he's central to the Justice League combo.

Many will praise the film for the creative leaps that it takes. It's impossible not to take some given how few hot properties have a setting under the sea. With exception to Arthur's homeland, which glows with the vibrant beauty of Avatar's Pandora, the imagery is drab and at times generic. There's nothing on par here with Wonder Woman's Themyscira. Even the supporting cast (Willem Dafoe and Amber Heard) are effective enough as plot devices, but rarely get more depth to explore. For a place where sharks have lasers, the world doesn't feel magical in the slightest. It's more of a challenge of brute force, and even that is set up against guys with lasers. There's little exciting about the villains, including the abhorrent performance by Patrick Wilson as Arthur's brother Atlanna. It's a world full of clever ideas, but nothing is ever given a chance to be more than a compelling visual, failing at world building in the process.

The other issue with D.C.E.U. films is that there's almost too much need to be about the literal end of the world. It's been that way since Batman v. Superman went up against the apocalyptic Darkseid. Instead of telling an origin story that plays into the themes of nature and humanity that the film casually throws around like the shirt off Moma's chest, they exist as barely subtext that the film wants to believe is there. It pops up randomly and always comes across as a studio note, or a draft shattered long ago. The film is more interested in action, which even then could benefit from giving Arthur's journey more direct purpose. Had we found the Trident midway through act two, the third act could mean something. Instead, it's penchant Zack Snyder-style ramping where the audience is supposed to believe that Arthur knows all of the Trident's powers moments after picking it up. We're dropped into a gross battle full of ugly CGI and moments that play like triumph but come across kind of stupid. Without any significant build-up to the final climax, the film's final battle is borderline ridiculous, zapped of any deeper pathos it could have.

Had the film focused more on a simple journey, it would have done Aquaman the character justice. It would've allowed audiences to discover why he's more than a decades long joke. While it's equally ridiculous to think of the character as a roided-up dude, Momoa at least has the build of a powerful hero. If anything, he has been misused for two years now. He claims to be playing Aquaman, but over three films... what exactly does he do? There's some clarity for everyone else, but he possesses little water powers until the very end, and it's a criminal move on a screenwriting standpoint. There's nothing engaging about the character in a way that makes this new world accessible. A lot of cool ideas just exist, making it all feel too convenient and isolating. It's almost like the D.C.E.U. is embarrassed that they have to include Aquaman in their movies to the point of not giving him any superpowers besides dull brute strength. Even Moma's first fight is, ironically, reminiscent of Captain America while his arc as reluctant hero at times feels like dialogue lifted from The Lion King. For a franchise meant to be the dark alternative to Disney's Marvel, it's maybe a bit lazy and unsubtle about where it gets ideas from.

To call this the low point of the D.C.E.U. is maybe a bit much. As Rotten Tomatoes will quickly suggest, this is one of their best rated films to date. However, it could just be that expectations have been that severed over time and that mediocrity is king. Still, the film is a mess and lacks anything essential to the Aquaman myth. This is a new kind of joke on the character, and one that doesn't work because of its two hours of identity crisis. The action is dull, only ever perking up when Wan's camera thinks to pan around a bit. The dialogue is inconsistent, dropping effective dialogue in between some of the most befuddling selections. There's not much here to love, especially as the first major outing for the character. Those who love the film will likely clamor onto its weirdness, though even that is tampered with by an exhaustive running time and performances more keen to Battlefield Earth. As an introduction to the character, it misses the mark most of the times, and it only reassures those who hate Aquaman that he is, yes, the worst Justice League member. There's nothing accessible here for people who want to even get on his literal wavelength.

Aquaman is the deflating balloon at the end of a year full of groundbreaking superhero movies. In a time where Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse expanded comic book lore in interesting ways, Aquaman feels regressive and more desiring to be anything but a superhero adventure. It's a shame, because this could've changed the game for a meaningful character. Instead, it relies too much on the absurd with not enough context. It's not even the best incompetently made superhero story of the year, as Venom at least has a commitment to the confusion that is fun. Aquaman just wants to look cool as sharks fight seahorses. There's probably a world where that's as awesome as Momoa's line delivery suggests, but it's not here. It's another place for heroes to pose triumphantly for seconds on end and expect that to be inspiring. It's not, especially if you're no more powerful than a guy arm wrestling at the bar (and just as smart, too).