'Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom' Review: Final DCEU Flick Flops Like a Fish
PG13: For sci-fi violence and some language.
Runtime: 2 Hours and 4 Minutes
Production Companies: DC Studios, Atomic Monster, The Safran Company
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: James Wan
Writer: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
Cast: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, Nicole Kidman
Release Date: December 22, 2023
Exclusively In Theaters
It's officially Joeover for the DC Extended Universe. James Gunn snapped his fingers with his Infinity Gauntlet and reset the universe. All that’s left is to dump the remains of a bygone era into theaters. Of course, Arthur Curry/Aquaman had to be the one to take us out for one final round of fun. Perhaps they had Curry be the last heroic adventure as a metaphor for how the DCEU is––no, I'm sorry––WAS the equivalent of a fish flopping. Thanks to James Wan's prowess, I didn't have a horrible time with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
The new King of Atlantis, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), and his wife Mera (Amber Heard) settled down with their son Arthur Jr. between the surface and the sea. While bored with his royal duties, Arthur figures that being king isn't everything it's cracked up to be. That is, until scientist Stephen Shin (Randall Park) and his employer, David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), still operating on haterade to avenge his daddy, find a cursed trident once owned by an evil king, Kordax. Kordax's spirit tells Kane, "Hey, spill Atlantean blood beside my frozen body. Then, I will be set free alongside my zombie army, and you will get all the power in the world." Kane wages war, causing a global warming issue in Atlantis. Arthur recruits his imprisoned brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), to face the same threat. Together, they must reconcile their brotherly differences and take down Black Manta.
James Wan retains the same silly essence that made the predecessor a good time. The Lost Kingdom’s buddy comedy narrative between Arthur and Orm works, embarking on a Jules Verne-styled adventure. Considering that Arthur has to save the world from being Inconvenient Truth'ed by Black Manta, he turns to Orm for help. Sorry, Al Gore, maybe next time. They do that brotherly bickering routine, but Wilson and Momoa share a solid onscreen dynamic, for they both are superbly charismatic. Momoa's machismo as Arthur, clashing with the straight-laced, deadpanned Ocean Master, fished several funny character moments.
Wan and Wilson's relationship steers the wheel rather than Momoa and Wilson's. Given his relationship with Wan across three franchises, it only strengthens how much Wilson cares about Orm, whose familiar redemption arc is genuinely fun. Arthur tries to convince Orm that the human world isn't so bad, as he taught Mera in the predecessor. Orm being on land paves the way for several funny things, such as Patrick Wilson doing the Tina Belcher run. Somehow, Wan made Wilson into a better beefcake than Momoa. Seeing him with abs and Jonny Quest-styled hair playing decent, straightforward comedy is refreshing. It's as if he's a better portrait of what a classic Aquaman character could've been if they didn't go for the showboating, frat-boy route. Oh, what could've been?
Thank God I'm not on YouTube anymore because I don't have to worry about virgin losers entering my DMs over admitting to being #TeamAmber. I'm pleased to report she's very present in this movie. Despite being sidelined for the majority of its story, considering that its focus is on Arthur and Orm, Heard still retains her badass, action-hero identity, arriving in the nick of time to kick ass. Plus, she gets to keep her dignity by not having to say "Orichalcum," unlike her fellow cast members, some of whom have Oscars. Try not to laugh whenever you hear Nicole Kidman utter that magical resistant mineral.
James Wan's first Aquaman movie was the miracle the DCEU needed. It was grand, visually astonishing, and tonally the cure to the franchises' cynically gritty identity. It sat beside Wonder Woman as the second good flick under its belt. That was a long time ago when the superhero saturation market was in the yellow, not the bloodshot red it is today. Regardless of how this is the final DCEU movie, The Lost Kingdom's scaled-down story and production quality—despite a $200 mil price tag—make it even more pointless.
Atlantis' shimmering lights don't shine the same, especially following James Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water. $200 million, and the final product features goofy shots of Atlantean heads and hair proportions not matching during the ocean scenes. They are so egregiously unrendered, especially with those 3D glasses on. Making critics watch it in 3D and marketing it as "the best 3D experience since Avatar" isn't helping your case, Warner Bros. You did this to yourself. Their movement when they spring into action is zippy and cartoonish, like watching a PlayStation 4 cutscene.
The story moves at a breakneck pace, which is its benefit, but you sense the desperate, "Are they still here? They haven't left? Let's keep it moving. Keep this movie moving. No time for breaks," desperation. Even in its Journey to the Center of the Earth art direction, the set pieces all resemble an entirely different movie with little imagination behind them.
With the focus on Arthur and Orm, the plot copies Thor: Ragnarok without charm or thematic significance. Instead, it turns into a simplistic popcorn flick that relies on its returning cast members and tropes taken from better superhero movies. Arthur and Orm are just Thor and Loki, but not as funny. Arthur doesn't feel like Aquaman anymore because he isn't in the sea talking to fish. If anything, he beats them up to extract information. He becomes a quipping machine while Wilson heavy-lifts the picture. Plus, it doesn't help that Arthur calls him “Loki” at one point because my thoughts wandered off to, "Man, I could be watching Thor: Ragnarok right now."
Compared to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, I wasn't having an existential crisis or bored. Despite being reasonably entertaining, it doesn't negate that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is such a significant nothing burger of a blockbuster.
