Three movies crammed into one, bad dialogue, poor character and plot development

Rating: 5/10 (2 April 2019)

There's a lot of worthy praise about this movie's visuals and action sequences. The movie really is stunning. Some incredible visuals, truly. That being said, that's about all that's praiseworthy about Aquaman. The character and plot development is either rushed or sorely lacking. It really left me hurting for more. Not in a good way. A few of the one-liners made me chuckle, but most made me cringe or groan. The dialogue is poor and the story seems hastily patched together amidst a deluge of action scenes.
Honestly I was most disappointed because of the incredible potential of this material. Wan really showed incredible imagination, he just crammed way too much into one movie. The incredible potential for Atlantis world-building is clearly there, but it's just blasted through at such a wastefully fast pace. There's enough content for three movies crammed into a span of two and a half hours...
Picture this: (SPOILERS ahead) The first film could have simply introduced Aquaman and Black Manta, two origin stories, as the core of the film. This would allow more time for proper character and plot development. Glimpses of the Atlantis culture could be included, Mera's character could begin investigating this half-breed, assisting Aquaman with his battle against Black Manta, and the end of the film would tease the unrest of the seven kingdoms.
Film two: the war of the seven kingdoms begins. Aquaman is not crowned king yet, but still plays a vital role in protecting the surface-dwelling world. Perhaps Orm remains prince (a minor antagonist) and his father, still alive, is the primary antagonist that stirs conflict. This allows so much more time for world-building and character development for these amazing seven kingdoms.
Potential film three: Orm becomes the main antagonist after the defeat of his father (in film two) and stirs conflict again in the seven kingdoms. Aquaman journeys to the trench to discover his mother, claim the trident, and become king, ending the conflict, defeating Orm, and bringing peace to Atlantis.
This is just spitballing, but my point is that this movie covered WAY too much content in one sitting. Such a waste. So much potential. So much imagination, just horribly paced. I had no TIME to really digest or appreciate anything, since it was flying by at the speed of light. Justice League suffered from the same issue: trying to accomplish too much in one film.