Huge Disappointment

Rating: 5/10 (21 December 2018)

I am a huge fan of comic book movies and while the DC universe movies are no where near as close to the Avengers movies, I still enjoyed and rate highly the majority of what DC has brought to the big screen recently. However, I was expecting big things from Jason Mamoa's character in Aquaman based on his performance in Justice League and maybe that was the problem with this movie is that my expectations were not met by a long shot. Mamoa's appeal is his raw crudeness as a character but he comes across less than sophomoric and actually quite boring. I think DC was trying to bring a Thor-like character to Aquaman, strong but humorous in nature but they missed the mark greatly. Mamoa's dialogue is weak and wasn't even slightly funny. So basically, Momoa's is more of a supporting actor in my opinion and hasn't yet risen to lead actor. Nicole Kidman's performance was fantastic and so was Amber Heard's. Even Dafoe, Wilson and Lundgren did great jobs in their character, which probably made Mamoa look even weaker. I imagine it is tough to look like a star when playing alongside movie greats like Kidman and Dafoe.

Second issue I had with the film is the writing. The story is weak and predictable. If this had been a "pre-marvel universe" movie such that it had come out prior the epic series by Marvel, I would have given the movie much closer to a perfect score because it was cinematically well done. But that is just it, it now competes and measures up against what Marvel is doing and it is no where close. The movie feels self-contained and focuses on delivering a jaw-dropping visual adventure while forgetting the story. The graphic visualization of Atlantis and the underwater battles are fantastic, but that is just it, it overwhelms the audience and leaves the story to just that, a battle of good against evil with nothing else. There is no Superman, or Batman, or Flash or even Wonder Woman that make an appearance to somewhat tie the movies together. So if you like the self-contained movie in a box experience, this isn't bad. But if you wanted to see a DC universe film that extends "justice league" concept, I am not sure you will find it here.