Unfortunate attempt..

Rating: 3/10 (11 April 2019)

Aquaman is nothing like the other Superheros we have recently seen come from the DC Universe. Traditionally, this mighty king was known as an Aryan-looking Atlantean who wore orange and green spandex. In addition to his striking fashion he wielded an intimidating golden trident, representing power, in defence of his kingdom. However, in the most recent movie, this stalwart image is replaced with a powerful Hawaiian who is covered in tribal tattoos and shaggy hair. This change brought shock to DC fans across the world. They were expecting tradition, similarity to the comic books that they so dearly loved. This is one of the many reasons why Aquaman is receiving questionable reviews. If evaluated solely on entertainment, a story about a forbidden child who returns to claim the throne from a tyrant and saves billions of lives in the process, the movie sounds extremely interesting. However, the plot was weak, the acting was far from perfect and aside from the occasional surprise, the 2 ½ hour movie was fairly predictable.
Just years ago, the mere mention of creating an "Aquaman" movie was quite literally laughed upon in HBO's "Entourage" series as he was considered relatively useless to the DC family. However, in a year when no fewer than 10 superhero movies were created, ranging from Incredibles 2 to Black Panther, it suddenly seemed logical to give life to such a well known hero. When I initially saw the previews for this movie, I was ecstatic! I loved reading books about Aquaman as a child and I considered him an inspiring hero. However, as the movie began, I better understood why the Entourage series considered him a joke. First and foremost, there were key details and storylines that did not follow the comic books in any way, shape, or form. For example, the true Aquaman from the comics was a broken man when he was first introduced to Atlantis, yet he overcame an internal struggle and became the man we know him as. Jason Momoa on the other hand, is a boistrus lad who enjoys drinking and fighting with little to no care in the world. When we think of the DC heroes, who comes to mind? A man of matchless strength named Superman? A human vigilante known as Batman? Or how about one of the very first female superheros who is generally known as Wonder Woman? The common ground that these three have is their ability to fight for truth and right in a magnificent way due to their extraordinary gifts and talents. Aquaman is considered by many to be the "butt of pop culture jokes", as stated by IGN, because he simply is a man who can swim really fast, talk to fish and breathe underwater. Although this is extremely useful while underwater in his kingdom, many of his talents and gifts do not extend beyond the realm of Atlantis. His strength and instincts are quite impressive regardless of where he is, however, in the earthly realm he is not much of a "superhero." Because of this, many consider him quite useless, especially if the DC heroes were suddenly needed, for example, to defend the world from an alien invasion as we commonly see in modern films.
As the movie went on, I found myself bored a times and able to predict scenes fairly consistently. The events were great in theory, but there was simply too much plot and it all moved too fast to really get attached to anyone or anything. By the time you begin to appreciate something, another equally important scene happens and you quickly forget what had just taken place. Marvel, in comparison, does a phenomenal job of weaving together scenes full of action, with simple and informative scenes. Through this, we are able to understand and come to love certain characters, rather than just watching them constantly fight throughout the course of the movie.
Finally, a storyline with as much anticipation as Aquaman brings immediate interest and enthusiasm. However, throughout the movie, certain pieces do not fall into place and we begin reminiscing on the comics and the heros that we idolized all those years ago. I would recommend this movie if you are interested in the DC Universe and want to watch a movie that doesn't require much emotional investment. However, not only was the plot extremely weak, the acting was par at best. If you are interested in a memorable movie that will touch your heart or inspire you, this is far from what you would enjoy.