DC has achieved mediocrity and I applaud them. (Copied from myself with permission)

Rating: 5/10 (4 January 2019)

This one's worth skipping.
Aquaman may yet be a beacon of hope for the DC Extended Universe. This one and Wonder Woman managed to get many superhero fans pumped, without needing to take too many cues from the Marvel Universe - which is a thing that other DC films have done, no matter how effectively one blinds oneself to that fact.
I'm not saying Aquaman is especially good, but at least it's acceptable - sans a few laughable VFX shots and Power Rangers-tier costumes. It is fundamentally competent, thus outranking the likes of Suicide Squad and Justice League. It does everything a movie about He Who Speaks With The Fish needs to do, which really isn't much.
Jason Momoa plays a half-human half-Atlantean prince, going by Arthur Curry on the streets and "Aquaman" on the underwater streets. Amber Heard is his love interested Mera, the daughter of the king of one of the Atlantis tribes (Dolph Lundgren). There's also Aquaman's evil brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), whose plan is to unite the underwater kingdoms to declare war on humanity. Willem Dafoe plays the typical old mentor (wearing his goofiest suit since Goblin) and Nicole Kidman is the Queen of Atlantis.
This, as you can surely tell, is pretty standard and un-extraordinary. And again, this is quite the step up from the bowel movements DC and Warner Bros. normally release. You have accomplished mediocrity and I applaud you. On some level it is complete.
Sitting in the director's chair this time around is James Wan, a man more at home in horror although not completely dreadful here, even if it goes without saying that this is more of a product than an art project. I wouldn't say this film exemplifies Wan's voice. He was just doin' his job. That said, the action is fairly well shot.
The cityscape of Atlantis is admittedly an interesting setting and probably the main reason to see the film. It's pretty, albeit no more groundbreaking than worlds like Pandora or the city ruled by King Triton. I'm glad DC fans have gotten something more promising, even if my own thumb points downward, but we'll see what this means for the future of the DCEU (recall that key actors have dropped out and people are more hyped for the Joker of another canon). There is some speculation that next year's Avengers finale will double as a finale for the persistent superhero film craze. They say that this might be what finally - FINALLY - kills the comic-book movie. I'm sorry we didn't get to Darkseid.