Abysmal

Rating: 2/10 (2 May 2019)

Wow. One of the worst movies I've seen in a long time. Aquaman clearly demonstrates what Marvel has over DC in the cinematic universe. Aquaman suffers from weak storytelling, a poor script and terrible dialogue, incompetent directing, and some very poor casting choices. I have not seen Jason Momoa in Game of Thrones. Maybe he is excellent in that, but he is unwatchable in Aquaman, delivering his lines in a contrived, shallow manner. Maybe this is not entirely his fault. Given how bad the dialogue is, even Nicole Kidman could not deliver hers with any enthusiasm or sincerity. Momoa speaks almost every line of dialogue with two dimensional, cocky bravado, and his character is basically developed as a rather dim surfer dude, all of which I gather is supposed to be humorous. Whereas Marvel, despite occasional flaws, manages excellent storytelling in which the viewer feels invested, develops characters with genuine personalities, and conveys both genuine humor and pathos through those characters and that storytelling, Aquaman Falls flat on every level.
I understand the overall fun people have with superhero movies, but that generalized enthusiasm should not extend to giving a movie this poorly made an average of 7.1 on IMDb. I don't know where people are getting this. The one thing this movie has going for it is beautiful animation. The fact that it looks like a video game, and more literally resembles a cartoon, is another factor which detracts from the overall effect, but it sure is pretty to look at.