Flawed but Undeniably Fun

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2018)

Is Aquaman the savior for the DCEU like people want it to be? Well, I would lean towards saying no, but it's far from the disaster some may have expected. James Wan not only brings a new flavor to the universe, but makes a separate entry into a series that desperately needed it.
There are two mindsets at play here, one being that Wan "clearly" meant to make a overly dramatic and bombastic adventure with cheesy dialogue, the other that the film is a tonal mess that at times takes itself far too serious, and at other times, almost having too much fun. I fall somewhere in the middle. I can acknowledge that a film that has a massive octopus playing the drums under water has a certain sense of self awareness, but there's no doubt in my mind that the mixture of tones just doesn't work in some moments.
Jason Momoa is the perfect Aquaman/Arthur Curry and I'm mad that I had any doubt over his casting all those years ago. Despite not having the best chemistry romantically, his love interest Mera (Amber Heard) plays well off of him. When they aren't making out in the midst of an all out under water war, they share some of the best action scenes of the film, including a rooftop chase that displays the true genius behind Wan's framing/camera work.
I could have completely done without Black Manta as it felt very much like the unnecessary presence of Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange. Also, his costume is absolutely absurd, and I don't care how close it is to the comic book iteration of Manta. The other villain, Patrick Wilson's 'Oceanmaster', is an overcooked & cliched power hungry super villain that did next to nothing for me. There's a good antagonist in there somewhere for Aquaman, but it sure wasn't in this origin story.
I'd be remiss not to mention Nicole Kidman, considering how great of a year she is having, and her turn as Atlanna is no different. Owning her action sequences and elevating all of her dialogue, Kidman is likely the most memorable thing from the film, and I hope to see more of her character at some point or another.
Extravagant, colorful, bombastic, a tonal mess, and cheesy, Aquaman is right around where I expected it would be. And hopefully the beginning of a new era of DC movies. Here's hoping.
7.5/10