Well worth the wait

Rating: 9/10 (17 December 2018)

For me, Aquaman is a character which I thought was made for a feature release ever since I first heard his story (8 years ago). There was something about him that made me gravitate towards him by being born from two different worlds, but comes to be rejected by both is a brilliant starting point. And his ties to Atlantis and the various stories are intriguing. His film might not have been what I had thought it would be, but it was still excellent regardless of my initial thoughts on what an "Aquaman" film should be.
The film does a great job setting up Arthur's worlds and the perils that he faces below and above. Blank Manta was slightly stronger for me, only because this is also his origin film. We see how he comes to hate Aquaman and why he want to make him suffer, and it comes from a natural place, neglecting to save someone. Once that happens in the opening, I was on board and could completely see why this pirate would trade in the possibility of riches, and take the revenge plot instead. Ocean Master is fine, he just comes off a little bit sillier from the whole pollution idea. I know it ties into social and environmental issues at this time, but it just didn't feel the same for me. Nothing against Patrick Wilson, who was great at conveying the unyielding want-to-be ruler.
Jason Momoa and Amber Heard were just great at their respective characters. Jason was a standout to me in "Justice League", so to see him getting his own film was great and well deserved. While I was worried at first casting, he combines is physical presence with his fun loving side to make the character his own. Amber is a big surprise for me, I knew she would be good as Mera, but she exceeded my expectations. Her curiosity and relationship with Arthur was great and whenever she used her powers I kept wondering when her film comes out.
The cinematography and visual effects are out of this world. It reminded me of "Avatar", seeing this world brought to life that looks like it was straight off of Pandora. All the credit goes to James Wan for putting together a film which is satisfying to enjoy as well as look at. The only nitpick I can really think off is with the quest for the Trident. While fun and giving us those fun iterations between Arthur and Mera, it does drag and feels like it belongs to a film like "National Treasure". I don't know if it was a leftover from a previous script, but it just felt that way to me. (That's from the plane ride to the beginning of the Blank Manta fight)
Overall this film was amazing, good performances, stunning visuals and a mostly great story. For me as a fan of the character, this film was well worth the wait.