Flawed But Entertaining

Rating: 6/10 (24 December 2018)

Film Review: Aquaman (NO SPOILERS)
Indiana Jones style adventure mixed with Black Panther style of tussle between two contenders for the throne. I was expecting the story to take a different route but it didn't. Also, it's fast paced and that can be a bit jarring because at times the way it abruptly cuts to a scene that explores another subplot.
It feel like it's just another superhero film with just another okay pair of villains. But it's an entertaining one.
Why was I entertained and engaged regardless of cliches? I cared about the characters of Aquaman and Mera. I was rooting for them and was invested in their adventures. They learned from each other and what they went through. This is how a character arc works and while it is a pretty simple form of character arc, it works.
There are some really awe inspiring visuals in underwater scenes especially near the third act. The use of bright and vivid colors in some of those underwater moments is so good that the same cheesy Aquaman moments in some of the old comics pre-New 52 that you would've thought will never work in live action somehow look great. Action scenes are fantastic as well.
While it is beautiful at times, at other times, it looks very very cheesy and artificial. This is one of the negatives that I'm going to discuss in detail. Maybe it's a personal preference but at times the comic book-esque costumes don't mesh well with the world they're inhabiting. This is one of the reasons I don't like visual aesthetic of some of the MCU films. Their worlds look too plain and the costumes end up looking silly.
And talking about silly, I have to say that Aquaman should've taken itself a bit more seriously than it did. Jason Momoa is constantly trying to make you laugh, villains are making cheesy entries in slow motion like Bollywood films. It feels DCEU is giving in to MCU's approach in order to please the critics.. I'm not saying MCU films are bad but DC needs it's own signature style. But Aquaman does not feel like it belongs in the same universe as MoS, BvS or WW.
I preferred Zack Snyder's dark and gritty style. Snyder knew how to balance realism with comic book visuals. Zack Snyder also brought that sense of "gods among humans" to these heroes. In his films, you felt the weight of their powers. How the world reacted to them also added to that but in Aquaman it seems like they have kind of nerfed these powers and brought him down to earth in order to make him more human. Yes Aquaman does a better job at making you care for it's hero than Man of Steel did but it doesn't quite treat it's hero like the godlike being he's supposed to be. I preferred the latter approach (with good writing of course)
Back to the pros. Surprisingly, Amber Heard is pretty good in this, I was skeptical about her but she was very charismatic and charming in the role. Jason Momoa did a decent job of carrying the film as well considering he has never really led such a big blockbuster all by himself. Nicole Kidman put on probably one of the best performances in the film. Patrick Wilson was just okay.
My verdict is that Aquaman is a flawed but decent ride for film goers. I will not say that it's a step in the right direction for DC because I want them to at least tone down the humor just a little bit especially with characters that are not entirely comedy based.
Even with the flaws, it pleased me with heroes that I could root for, certain moments of sheer badassery and nicely tied up character arcs. I hope they improve upon the flaws in the sequel.
I give it a 6.8/10