Visually great but bad storyline! 5/10

Rating: 5/10 (12 May 2019)

Review:
I was surprised to see that this movie is in 21st place in all-time box office takings because I really didn't think that it was that amazing. Jason Momoa is the perfect Aquaman, but the script was awful, and the music throughout the film REALLY got on my nerves. Some of the scenes looked great, especially on the big screen, and the few witty moments were delivered well from Momoa but I found the core of the plot to be predictable and a bit annoying in places. The whole "step-brother wanting to gain the power to control the seas" theme was weak, and Aquaman's sidekick, Mera (Amber Heard), seemed to take centre stage during the important parts of the concept, more than Momoa. Dolph Lundgren put in a decent performance as King Nereus, alongside Patrick Wilson (King Orm), but that Fly looking "Baddie", Manta (Yahya Adbul-Mateen II) was completely useless, and the acting was terrible. I liked the relationship between Aquaman and his father Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison), but Nicole Kidman seemed a bit out of place, as Atlanna. Visually, it was a great achievement because it must have been hard to make the characters look like they were actually underwater, and some of the action scenes were put together well, but it's really Momoa's fresh acting style, that saved the day. He would have been great in a Marvel movie, but now he's stuck with DC's Aquaman, it really could do with Ragnorak's director, Taiki Waititi, touch. With all that aside, it is a decent watch, and it's much better than some of the movies that have come out of DC's camp, but it wasn't memorable and I'm glad that I didn't pay top dollar to watch it in the cinema. With a sequel due to come out in 2022, it's a shame that the same director is making the movie because I can't see it being dramatically different from this one. Now that Aquaman is king, there are many different avenues that they can take the character, but I don't think that the director is willing to take many risks, in terms of wit and really letting Momoa loose. Judging by the scenes after the credits, it's obvious that Manta is returning to revenge his dad, and the fact that King Orm is in a room with a view, I'm sure that he will be returning to gain the throne but it really needs a charismatic character to make this movie something to remember. Anyway, it's worth a watch, especially if you're a comic book fan, but I preferred Wonderwoman. Watchable!
Round-Up:
This movie was directed by James Wan, who brought you Saw in 2004, Dead Silence, Death Sentence starring Kevin Bacon, Doggie Heaven, Insidious 1 & 2, The Conjuring 1 & 2 and Fast & Furious 7. He has quite a versatile filmography, which was originally based on horror mysteries, so he was a questionable choice to bring this epic movie to the big screen. He also produced all of the Saw movies, Annabelle, Demonic, Lights Out, Jigsaw, Annabelle: Creation, The Nun and the Curse of La Llorona, so he has a passion for the supernatural genre. As this is the highest grossing movie from DC, including all of the Batman movies, it certainly passed all expectations, especially after the disappointing Justice League movie. I just hope they cut down on the visuals, and concentrate on a decent plot for the sequel.
Budget: $160-$200million
Worldwide Gross: $1.15billion
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Lundi Lin, Michael Beach and Randall Park. 5/10