Please let James Wan reboot Superman!!!!

Rating: 8/10 (23 December 2018)

Aquaman has never been one of my favorite superheroes but I was looking forward to this film because I like James Wan as a director. DC has mostly failed miserably over the years trying to create a universe to compete with Marvel. They do have what I think is the best superhero trilogy in the Dark Knight films but since then they gave the keys to Zack Snyder to start their universe with Man of Steel. Even though I kind of liked it, I never really agreed with his take on Superman. My fears were confirmed when Batman vs Superman came out. That film was embarrassingly bad. Snyder had taken two of the greatest comic book heroes and stripped just about everything we love about them. The only good thing I can say about that film is that it is only slightly better than Batman and Robin directed by Joel Schumacher. But that film was just horrible in every way. Justice League was ok, but not near as good as the Avengers series. Then finally DC got it right with Wonder Woman. That film was great. It presented an origin story but it also made the main character something that Mr. Snyder didn't do. Wonder Woman was a HEROIN!!! She wasn't the brooding bores that Batman and Superman were in his films. The film was fun and rousing, as I think these type of films should be.
Well DC has finally got has gotten it right again with Aquaman!!! I hadn't really thought much about Jason Momoa as Aquaman in Justice League, but here he makes the character his own. The setup is relatively quick with Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, an princess that had escaped Atlantis to avoid marrying a man she didn't love.
Temuera Morrison plays Thonas Curry, a lighthouse keeper that notices Atlanna on the shore and rescues her. They fall in love and have a baby named Arthur. Shortly after he is born, they are attacked by Atlantian soldiers and she goes back to Atlantis to protect Arthur and Thomas. Then the film moves forward to Aquaman rescuing a submarine from pirates in a great action scene. In that scene Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is introduced as David Kane, a villain that would later become Black Manta. Then the film goes to Atlantis where we see that Orm, played by Patrick Wilson. He is Arthur's half brother and wants to wage war with the surface world. Arthur is almost killed with his father in an attack with a tidal wave but is saved by Mera, played by Amber Heard. She is an Atlantean that has been chosen to marry Orm but tries to convince Arthur to come to Atlantis to claim his birthright as King. He refuses, he had been rejected by Atlantis as a half breed. Mera convinces Arthur to go with her to help prevent Orm's attack on the surface. Once in Atlantis, they meet Vulko played by Willem Dafoe. Vulco had trained Arther in his youth to fight at the request of Arthur's mother. He tells Arthur and Mera that they should find the Trident of Atlan, a weapon that had been wielded by the first king of Atlantis. If Arthur would get this magic artifact, he would he accepted as King of Atlantis. Suddenly they are ambushed and Arthur is captured, but Vulko and Mera escape. Once captured, Orm confronts Arthur and tells him thT their mother had been executed for the crime of having a half breed son. Arthur challenges Orn to a duel in front of all of Atlantis do determine the rightful king. Orn defeats Arthur, but Mera rescues him. They both travel to find the Trident of Atlan. They go to the Sahara Desert to find where the weapon was forged. There, they unlock a holographic message that leads them to Sicily. They find the coordinates to the location of the trident. Orm had given David Kane weapons to kill Arthur, he used that technology to built the Black Manta suit. When Arthur and Mera are in Sicily, Black Manta attacks them, almost killing Arthur before being thrown from a cliff to his apparent death. Mera helps Arthur heal and tells him to embrace his destiny as a hero as they go find the trident. They arrive to their destination but are attacked by some monsters called The Trench but are able to escape. They find a wormhole and are transported to a ocean at the center of the earth. There, they are unexpectedly reunited with Atlanna. She had been sacrificed to The Trench but was able to survive. Arthur goes to retrieve the trident, facing Karathen, the creature that guards the trident. Arthur is able to prove his worth and reclaims the trident. Arthur emerges with the traditional Aquaman suit. Along with Atlanna and Mera, he goes to confront Orm. Orm had already started the war that would eventually go to the surface. Once Orm's followers see that Arthur has the Trident if Atlan they embrace him as King. Arthur then confronts Orm and demands that he renounce the thrown. After they fight, Orm is deafeated. Orm then discovers Atlanna is alive and accepts his fate. Atlanna finally returns to the surface and reunites with Thomas as Arthur ascends to the throne in Atlantis.
Aquaman succeeds at being an epic superhero story. James Wan and company have created a very entertaining and I evolving film. And as in the case of Wonder Woman made Aquaman what he should be, a hero to root for. Jason Mamoa plays Arthur with a lot of humor but also with heroic conviction. All of the cast is good, especially Amber Heard as Mera. She and Mamoa have good chemistry. The look of the film is predictably spectacular. The world of Atlantis is really great to look at. Even though it is obvious that the characters are not underwater the effects make it as believable as it could be. But the characters and story make the film enjoyable. I'm glad that DC has finally found the way to do justice to their heroic characters. I hope with the success of this film, Jane's Wan is given the chance to reboot Superman the right way. I really enjoyed Aquaman!