Aquaman Review: A Smashing Entertainer That Makes You Yearn for the Seas

Sethumathavan

Fans and followers of DC Comics/Films have been at loggerheads with their counterparts supporting Marvel Comics/Studios for a long time around. Of late the edge has been clearly tilted in favour of Marvel, what with most of the films from their stable working well critically and commercially while DC has had a mixed fortune of sorts. The glaring difference especially has been in the way the multi character superhero films from Marvel Cinematic Universe (The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy series etc.) have been received in comparison to that of their counterparts from DC (Suicide Squad-2015, Justice League-2017). While Wonder Woman (2017) thankfully proved to be an origin film with some substance that received a lot of love and acclaim, DC still definitely required a follow up act to prove that Wonder Woman wasn’t a mere flash in the pan. Aquaman is a character that we were first introduced to in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, before getting more prominence in Justice League.

So there was no surprise as such when DC announced a full length feature centred on Aquaman/Arthur Curry, we knew that this would serve as his origin story of sorts. With James Wan being announced as the director, DC had made their intention of taking this film seriously, very clear enough to the audience. The promos unleashed upon the audience at regular intervals over the last few months or so, were well received and promised a spectacular visual display on the big screen.  In fact there’s nothing much in terms of the plot that one isn’t already aware of in case you’ve been tracking the promos and updates. Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is born to Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the Queen of Atlantis and Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison), a lighthouse keeper.  Many years later certain unexpected situations force Arthur Curry, the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis to step forward to challenge his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson) who seeks to unite the seven underwater kingdoms against the surface world. Arthur becomes Aquaman, even as he reluctantly decides to stake his claim on the thrown of Atlantis, for he knows that it could be the only way to save the two worlds.

It clearly looks like James Wan and the team of writers were sure of what they had set out to deliver. The idea was to choose a straightforward tale but give it enough scope in terms of visual elegance and jazz, so that the right kind of execution could leave us spell bound. But fortunately Aquaman is not just all about glitter on screen; thankfully it doesn’t lack a soul and has a strong emotional chore. In a way it reminds me of our own Baahubali films, Aquaman has two brothers fighting against each other over a throne, a mother who loves both her sons, a woman who is caught between the 2 brothers and some strong supporting characters who add good value to the narrative. No surprise at all that once again that the tried & tested formula seems to be workingJ. It also helps that the film can boast of some really impressive 3D work, making it appear all the more impressive on the big screen.

It’s also good to see some good work done on the characterization front, it’s not just Aquaman and Orm who are at the forefront, but a host of other well written characters also catch our attention. There is a good diversity of sorts seen among the casting choices, Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, the mother of Arthur/Aquaman and Orm as well as Amber Heard as Mera, the daughter of King Nereus and the love interest of Aquaman are given roles of substance and thankfully get to be a part of the action sequences as well. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as David Kane/Black Manta gets to portray an interesting antagonist, someone whom we should get to see more of in the franchise. Dolph Lundgren, seen recently in Creed 2 and Willem Dafoe also get noticed with their portrayals of King Nereus and Nuidis Vulko respectively. For Patrick Wilson getting to play the evil Orm is a welcome change from his presence in the Insidious franchise that he is famous for. While Jason Momoa has been around in Hollywood for a while, Aquaman is the film which is most likely to give him the kind of thrust to stardom that he would get to experience from now on.

Aquaman definitely is a film in the right direction for DC Films; let’s see how they go on to take the franchise forward from now.

Bottomline

Led by a confident director and with a charismatic actor playing the titular role, Aquaman is a fun ride at the cinemas and is thankfully not just a mere visual spectacle.

Rating: 3.5/5