Visually striking, but little else to hold your attention

Rating: 4/10 (27 January 2020)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is a half man, half aquarian warrior, who has been raised on Earth, and uses his special abilities to fight for justice. His latest escapades have seen him rescue an underwater boat from a group of vicious hijackers, one of whom is now eager for revenge. Meanwhile, in his underwater second home, tensions are brewing between rival kings Orm (Patrick Wilson) and Nereus (Dolph Lundgren), plunging him into a desperate inter-world battle, alongside the beautiful Mera (Amber Heard), to discover his true self.
Suspension of disbelief is sometimes something you must be willing to engage with any regular movie, but with superhero movies, it's always something of a foregone conclusion, naturally with the inevitable fantasy element that is attached to the story. But, even by these standards, Aquaman, one of the most recent additions to the staple, rather pushes the boundaries. Opening in 1985, Nicole Kidman, as a mermaid, leaps out of the water by some guys house and comes into his life, living as a couple and raising a son (without, it seems, raising any eyebrows or contravening any marriage laws.) But this brief spark of incredulity serves as a sweetener for the lengthy vapidness that is to follow.
Jason Momoa was a guy I'd never heard of before this film, and who on the back of it, it would seem, suddenly garnered the star power to charge Â£95 for his autograph at Comic Con. He certainly has the physical frame to fit the title role, and within the constraints of it, pulls off the grunting, edgy, wise-cracking tough guy in a perfectly serviceable manner, but nothing more than is required. The support cast is littered with big names, from Dafoe, Heard, Wilson, Kidman, and Lundgren making a pleasing big screen return in a none fighting role, all of whom are pretty much equally perfunctory.
The film's big saving grace is it's magnificent visual spectacle, with some amazing CGI capturing a wonderous underwater kingdom, along with some snazzy costume design and amazing action. But it's at least twenty minutes too long and over indulgent, with a threadbare, unengaging story and empty, soulless performances. And that renders all that pretty meaningless. **