'Aquaman' Seems To Embrace The Camp, But Does It Mean To?
Starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Randall Park
Rated PG-13
Action, Fantasy
Run Time: 2 hr, 23 min
Directed by James Wan
In theaters December 21, 2018
Viewers may be wary of this film, even with its seemingly cool trailer, because of two letters: DC. Marvel’s rival has been trying for years to figure out the tone of its movies. It’s tried for dark, comedic, inspirational and a mix of all three, and the most successful one by far was Wonder Woman. It’s apparent just from the preview that this movie is not following in the footsteps of its Lasso-of-Truth-wielding predecessor.
Aquaman tells the story of Arthur Curry (Momoa) and his attempts to belong in human society despite being half Atlantian royalty. He has a standard tragic tale of a superhero (parents torn apart though they loved each other), the look (insane muscles and hair that men and women alike could envy) and the presence (just his ‘My man!’ still echoes in my mind days after seeing the film). There’s a gorgeous woman (Heard) who sets him on his quest to find a way to both save the world and figure out who he is. And enemies abound. Thus, a superhero story is born.
However, just listing these facts at face value doesn’t quite get across what this movie ended up being. And honestly, I’m not sure it knows either. Some scenes it looks like it’s trying to be a romcom, others look like fight scenes from a video game, still others have a cheesy action flick vibe and then you have the moments that seem like an earnest hero epic. The tone changes so rapidly that at times you aren’t sure if you’re laughing at the film or with it.
It seems that the intense success of movies like Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy gave DC the confidence to lean into the humor more, and some lines truly do work well, but the plot itself is a bit lacking. The villains and their motivation are a bit confusing, the true ‘big bad’ is constantly shifting and Arthur Curry never seems to go on an introspective journey, rather just ‘snapping into it’ at one point and just embracing the hero mode. Sure, the movie is an entertaining romp for theater-goers, but if you have to choose a singular DC movie to watch, my money would still entirely be going into the hands of Diana Prince.