The reviews for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom have rolled in, and it's time to see how the next DC film is going to fare. Lets take a look and see.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom struggles with inconsistent character portrayal, subpar CGI and a lack of narrative direction. A crucial aspect of any franchise is its ability to make the audience invested in what’s next. There is none of the care put forth here. This universe is over, why should anyone care? Ultimately, it’s a film that has its moments but ultimately struggles to find its footing in the expansive ocean that is the superhero genre.
What’s most disappointing are the stakes. Even as Momoa and Wilson leap, kick, fight, tease and save themselves and each other all the way to the Big Finale, the drama of their story stays at the same level. There are rarely any plot turns here when you really fear that Aquaman might fail or that his faith in Orm could be misplaced. I can recall just one moment in which I almost gasped.
Unfortunately, the delightfully barbed banter between Aquaman and Orm can only carry the film so far. David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick’s script is overstuffed and chaotic, so full of ideas it threatens to spill over. The film becomes a slog when any kind of exposition is delivered, and becomes even more grating when Wan and Momoa try to liven it up by having Momoa deliver cheeky voiceovers lampshading every serious development. Because Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the Arthur and Orm show, the other characters get sidelined (apart from Morrison’s salt-of-the-earth Tom Curry and Dolph Lundgren’s imposing King Nereus). Nicole Kidman gets to spout some exposition and muse sadly over the enmity between her sons, while Park has a fun role as Black Manta’s morally-conflicted scientist grunt. But the charisma and star power that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II showed as Black Manta in the first film is wasted again, with the character spending most of the film possessed by an eldritch evil.
Despite its thin story and ridiculous moments, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an enjoyable enough superhero movie. It's fast-paced enough that I never had time to get bored, but forgettable enough to be considered a throwaway film. Aside from the eye-rolling nature of the unsubtle global warming commentary, the movie is inoffensive fun. If that's enough reason for audiences to see a movie in theaters, then it won't disappoint despite Jason Momoa's schtick.
This has already registered as the year when the MCU stumbled and maybe began its slow fall from cultural dominance. But, of course, it’s not just Marvel that people are weary of. It’s the numbing repetition of comic-book movies in general. It’s not as if DC is exempt. In “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” all the talk about the alliance of the seven kingdoms, and the ominous figure of Kordax (Pilou Asbaek), and the malignant lost kingdom of Necrus wears you down. The monsters on display are meant to perk us up, but they, too, are unleashed in an onslaught that feels more random than not. It’s Kane’s plan to ignite an apocalyptic war with the land-dwellers. Can Aquaman, the half-breed superhero who lives in both worlds, unite them? The stakes are high, yet somehow not worth holding your breath over.
As of the time of publication, the film holds a 37% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is in theaters now.
