James Wan expressed interest in doing a superhero movie around the time he did the first
Conjuring movie. Thanks to its success, Warner Bros. gave him the option to do either The Flash or Aquaman for his next project. Seeing how The Flash was a more popular character starring in several iterations including a popular TV show on The CW, Wan went with Aquaman. Outside of supporting roles in other forms of media, nothing had ever been done with the underwater warrior in the center spotlight. I can safely say that the choice paid off.
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| Thomas and Atlanna |
Injured from fleeing an arranged marriage, Princess Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), is nursed back to health by a lighthouse keeper named Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison). The two fall in love and conceive a child but the happiness short-lived as Atlanna is forced to return back to Atlantis. Fast-forward following the events
Justice League, Arthur Curry aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is visited by Princess Mera (Amber Heard) to confront his half-brother Prince Orm (Patrick Wilson) for the throne, as he plans to attack the surface world. With the help of his old mentor Vulko (Willem Dafoe), Arthur journey's with Mera to prove that he is not only worthy of being a king but a hero as well.
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| Arthur and Mera as they prepare to dive. |
DC comics hasn't had a good track record since they began their own cinematic universe.
Wonder Woman and
Justice League seemed to be a step in the right direction but the latter didn't make the quota Warmer Bros. was looking for, setting it's future once again uncertain. I can see why James Wan was brought in, being an accomplished director whether inside or outside the Horror genre, he has been able to start various franchises (
Saw, Insidious, and
The Conjuring) and bring the best out of established franchises (
Furious 7). Talk about a right call because
Aquaman is the most fun I've had with a DC movie, more so than with
Justice League and I was pretty lenient with that movie.
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| Welcome to Atlantis. |
Some may be quick to judge it as a
Black Panther copycat but I'd argue it isn't. True they share a strong female lead, an amazing sight of a hidden high-tech city, various kingdoms invisible to the world, and two natives fighting for the throne. Therein lies the key difference,
Black Panther had the hero inheriting the crown and an outcast villain who desired the position.
Aquaman switches the roles with the villain being of royalty and the hero an outcast, who refuses such power. What Wan has crafted is a superhero movie that embraces its roots, some of it silly, and have fun with it like an eighties action flick. Heck, this movie has Dolph Lundgren in it, what more could you ask for! It may not have the best screenplay or dialogue but is salvaged by the actors, action and stunning aquatic visuals that brought to mind James Cameron.
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| Aquaman has arrived. |
Jason Momoa brings in the bod and charm as a man who does heroic deeds but doesn't want to take it any further or assume responsibility. He refuses to help Mera at first, due to the fact that his own aquatic people rejected him for being born of the land and not the sea. He can be a bit of a brute, as he makes a callous choice that comes back to bite, or in this case blast him in the form of Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and later realizes that brute strength alone won't resolve everything.
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| Brother vs Brother. |
Wan collaborator Patrick Wilson hams it up as main villain Orm but in a good way that you still take him serious enough, especially when he unleashes his might as his comic book counter-part Ocean Master. Amber Heard is no damsel in distress bringing in her water-bending abilities and saves our titular hero on more than one occasion. Nicole Kidman and Temuera Morrison are the heart of the movie and bring in the family dynamic seen in Wan's past films with the Warrens from
The Conjuring and Lamberts from
Insidious.
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| Black Manta |
Wan even finds time to incorporate his Horror trademarks, from well-timed jump scares and one scene that is straight out of a horror movie complete with an eerie score from horror composer Jospeh Bishara who has collaborated with Wan on multiple films. It may carry some of the senseless and collateral violence as seen in
Death Sentence and
Furious 7, but Wan finally mastered an action film that I'll be watching again and again.
On a side note, ever since
Insidious, I've noticed Catholicism appear more frequently in Wan's work. We see a priest momentarily talk with the Lamberts in
Insidious,
Furious 7 has another priest hold a funeral service and wedding with Torretto established as a Catholic in past
Furious installments, and
The Conjuring movies are about catholic characters whose religion play a big role in their work. During a battle with Black Manta in Italy, we see some some nuns as one of the bystanders Aquaman saves and leads them safely to a church where a Jesus statue can be seen. It's a small detail but something I couldn't help but notice.
P.S. Julie Andrews passed on making a cameo in
Mary Poppins Returns, saying she would be a distraction to the other actors including her successor Emily Blunt as it is their movie, not hers. Instead, she chose to do voice cameo in
Aquaman as an enormous sea creature. You'll know its her when you hear it.
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