It’s the last hurrah for Jason Momoa as Aquaman and the second film in the franchise hits theaters today. Fans can expect a lot of color, CGI, and watered-down villainy over the next two hours of their lives.
Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is back and is hellbent on avenging his father. Not only does his suit look cool, but he also has some pretty insane fight scenes with Aquaman. The only problem is those fights were too few and we didn’t see enough of the true villain behind the scenes.
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) holds three roles now as father, husband, and King of Atlantis. His only issue is that he loves two of said roles and couldn’t care less about the latter. The politics and counsel meetings drive him to boredom and he starts to loathe his royal responsibilities. When the ocean’s temperature rises, Aquaman and his family must work together to find out who’s behind it and why it’s happening.
Black Manta acquires a Black Trident that’s split into two pieces. When put together, he sees visions of a fallen kingdom and hears the voice of the fallen king, King Kordax. The CG makes this evil army look gigantic, and yet, we never really see them. With such a build-up over the course of the movie, the film owed it to itself to have a dramatic climax. It didn’t, and King Kordax’s screentime was limited in the end.
Aquaman recruits the help of his brother, King Orm (Patrick Wilson), to find where Black Manta is hiding. The best part of the film is the back-and-forth sibling moments with Orm. Outside of that, the film is pretty basic. The CGI of Atlantis and the various sea animals may appeal to the modern eye, but with little story to pair with those graphics, you’re left with one hanging on to the other for dear life.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom gets a 7 out of 10. This is a film that was geared toward little kids for sure. The dialogue, making evil not so evil, and the corny happenings between Arthur Curry and his child, make for a film you can drop your kids off to see without supervision. It’s sad to know that this is Momoa’s last stint as Aquaman as he looks like the perfect, gnarly-looking man for the job. But the way this goes down, it’s truly time to wrap this chapter of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Treat yourself this opening weekend to an IMAX screening. You’ll thank me later.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is in theaters now.
-Jon Jones
Photos: Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / ™ & © DC Comics