DC finally learns the most important lession from the MCU: PURE IMAGINATIVE FUN!

Rating: 8/10 (24 December 2018)

AQUAMAN is one of the strangest superhero movies ever made and it is also one hell of a crowd pleasing popcorn flick. It sucessfully combines action, adventure, fantasy, romance, and even horror in spectacular fashion!
Director James Wan (The Conjuring; Furious 7) handles the gargantuan scale with gusto, unafraid to embrace the absolute absurdity that comes with a superhero that can talk to fish. Atlantis is a glistening metropolis of aquatic creatures, skyscrapers made of lava and coral, and technology that would feel at home in a Star Wars movie. Aquaman battles sea monsters that look like the offspring of the Xenomorph while underwater gladiators ride atop giant seahorses, laser equipped sharks, or even draconic leviathans.
The movie looks HUGE and the action scenes are outstanding. They put most of the recent DC movies to shame, with perhaps only being rivaled by the unfairly maligned Man of Steel. Instead of having to rescue a city of human civilians, Aquaman has to fend for the lives of his fellow Atlanteans plus crab people, and even mermaids!
If the movie was po faced and self serious, it would fall apart and result in a disaster. But James Wan luckily remembers how much fun and joy can be had in a superhero story. The visuals are bright and wondrously imaginative while the tone is pleasantly cheerful.
Jason Momoa is a swaggering roguish hero that smiles at danger and cracks one-liners aplomb instead of frowning in scorn, That is Patrick Wilson's job as the villainous Ocean Master (yes you read correctly). And with a name like that, he hams it right up. Momoa has the chops to be a strong likable action lead. As Princess Mera, Amber Heard acquits herself to the action surprisingly well but unfortunately, some of her lines are wooden.
Indeed, their romance is one of the weaker links of the movie. But due to the movie's earnest sincerity and the buoyant spirit, it remains digestible. Also there is a key character who is built up as a major villain (even remaining true stylistically to the comics). But then is promptly dispatched as soon as they appear. Patrick Wilson is appropriately smarmy and haughty as Aquaman's half brother King Orm (aka Ocean Master). But it feels odd he doesn't have this other antagonist at his side as a henchman in the big climax.
It may sound hokey but there is a heart to the proceedings that falls back on the warm family ties between Aquaman and his parents (Morrison; Kidman). Their family dynamic clearly serving as a metaphor of biracial families. And isn't it nice to see a superhero movie where both parents are still alive?
Aquaman is yet another step in the right direction for Warner Brothers' DC film franchise. It's a blast from start to finish with outrageous action and an enormous sense of fun.