Progress in the right direction - as long as you're hoping for fun and grandeur

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2019)

They've finally done it: DC has embraced the cheese and abandoned their attempts to make superhero movies with both the dark, serious atmosphere of the Dark Knight trilogy and the light comedy of Marvel movies. It didn't work with Batman vs. Superman and it certainly didn't work with Suicide Squad, but they came much closer with Wonder Woman.
What we have here is a movie which doesn't try to be grounded and gloomy like before, yet doesn't aim to be clever. Aquaman is proud of its corniness, with all the lame jokes, unexplained phenomena (do none of the underwater folks need gills?), and impressively epic deep sea battles. This last part is where the film soars. I have seen few movies with such a beautiful and grand scale of action that works in spite of its flaws. There are hordes of creative ocean monsters, ancient and colossal predators, Lovecraftian horrors, and jaw-dropping sceneries which make the boring, gray-scale landscape of Justice League almost forgivable.
By no means is this a perfect movie. You can expect the usual plot holes and details that don't make much sense. There is little emotional connection due to pacing during dialogue that at times feels choppy and second-handed. The characters are fun and refreshing, but mostly predictable and, except for a couple, one-dimensional. The performances are good but nobody in the cast will be expecting nominations during awards season. I would point to both Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson as having the most interesting chemistry simply because of their obviously clashing personalities. Nicole Kidman had some bright scenes with real life in them. Willem Dafoe seemed suppressed in his role. In general, most of the other characters were just "okay". One of the main villains (Manta), in all his high-tech glory, is afforded a brief half-assed origin story to make him more relatable.
But in spite of this, Aquaman seeks to be FUN, and it does a much better job than any of DCEU's previous endeavors. The change in scenery is even more perplexing than the first half of Wonderwoman. There are so many intricately-designed creatures and characters that I'm shocked the film's budget wasn't significantly higher. Also importantly, Jason Momoa plays a hero who just doesn't really care about behaving like one, which works - at least until a certain very specific turning point in the film. After the first half-hour or so, we are shown scene after scene of gorgeous visuals and battles to rival the most ambitious Marvel projects. It is a comic book movie, after all.
There are some not-so-subtle critiques on mankind's treatment of the environment, and though it's a good message, it doesn't strive to go much deeper than "humans bad, but not all bad". Don't see Aquaman to have your life changed, but if you want an ultra-fun time at the movies with some significant progress in setting, buy yourself a ticket.
6.5/10