Welcome back to the blog readers. It is no secret that I am a big fan of superhero films, and Aquaman (2018) is one of my favorites. There is a certain charm to it that really gets me going, and I would say it is one of the better films of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Speaking of that, this sequel does mark the end of the franchise created by Zack Snyder all the way back in 2013. Would this film be a satisfying sendoff to the franchise I have been following since I was 15? Stick around to find out.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was directed by James Wan, from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, and a story by Wan, Johnson-McGoldrick, Jason Momoa, and Thomas Pa'a Sibbett. The film stars Momoa reprising his role as Aquaman, along with Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, and Nicole Kidman. In the film, Arthur must reluctantly team with his half-brother Orm to stop David Kane/Black Manta from heating up the world to find a lost kingdom of the seas.
Going in, I honestly had heard some of the noise. I did not want to believe it because of how good the first film is, but I went in with my expectations tempered. Unfortunately for me, I actually found myself pretty bored. For the first time ever in a superhero film, I was bored. That charm from the first film is completely gone, and the script is very lackluster. There were a lot of bone-headed decisions made, and the comedy was more miss than hit as well. But there are a few qualities that made me able to watch it all the way through, mainly Jasom Momoa himself and the score.
Before I go any further, I do want to address the elephant in the room, and that is the involvement of Amber Heard in this film. In case you have no idea what happened, here is the SparkNotes version of it. Amber Heard abused former husband Johnny Depp and then defamed him by writing an op-ed where she lied and blamed him for falsely abusing her. Because of this, Depp lost a lot of projects and a lot of respect. When the truth reared its ugly head in 2022, I lost a lot of respect for Heard. The only positive I see is that her role in this film was kept to a minimum so that is good.
But now we get into the actual positives of the film. Undoubtedly the star of the film is Jason Momoa. Although I do have some mixed reactions to his final performance as the King of Atlantis. Jason Momoa is basically Jason Momoa in this film, and that can be a detriment sometimes, especially knowing where this character was in the first film. The serious portrayal of Arthur has been replaced with one where there is a joke every other second and not a whole lot of seriousness. But the positive of this is that we get to see Jason Momoa unequivocally be Jason Momoa, and that is always fun to see (especially on the heels of Fast X (2023), where he was equally as charming).
The final aspect of this film I want to heap praise on is the score. Rupert Gregson-Williams returned to score this film after doing so for the first film. I enjoyed his score for Aquaman, but the score for this film was breathtaking. I was absolutely blown away by what Gregson-Williams was able to do. Even though what was on screen may not have been the best, it felt better because of the score. There are at least 6 points in the film where I noticed the music elevating the product. That is a testament to Gregson-Williams, and his score needs to be getting a hell of a lot more love right now.
But that in my opinion is where the buck stops. The rest of the film, however, has major issues. The first is that all the other acting besides Momoa and maybe a good one from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (who I love as an actor by the way; side note, please go watch The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) for a real tour-de-force from him) is stiff, wooden and forced. Even Ray Ora's favorite actor Patrick Wilson doesn't seem like he is having too good of a time. I already mentioned Amber Heard who should not even be in the film, Dolph Lundgren feels out of place in this world (even though he was in the first film), and I am very disappointed that Nicole Kidman did not say heartbreak felt good in a place like this (joking aside she had very little to do, and it was not very interesting to say the least).
The action was okay, I guess. There really wasn't anything too interesting or reinventing enough to warrant an enthusiastic response from me. The fights are pretty basic, in fact. The first fight between Aquaman and Black Manta is short and lifeless, their second fight is also brief, and the final battle is really lackluster to say the least. I basically thought this final battle was a bunch of noise, and unnecessary noise to add. Very disappointed here, especially when we had a giant underwater, Lord of the Rings-esque battle in the first film.
The biggest criticism I have with this film is with the comedy. In the first film, the comedy felt natural and flowed very well. In this film, however, it felt forced, it fell flat, and it was completely unfunny for me. There was one gag that I smiled at and that was the goof mid-credits scene. It is pretty sad, especially because this is a year in which Joy Ride (2023) came out and completely raised the bar in terms of comedy (at least for me). At least we got Deadpool 3 (2024) in July. Wait, shit.
In conclusion, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom stumbles to the finish line of the DCEU with a lazy script, unfunny comedy and performances that left me more bored than entertained. Thank you all for reading, and godspeed to the DCEU and best of luck to James Gunn and Peter Safran with their DCU launching in 2024 or 2025. Until next time, y'all.
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