Sister + Friend Movie Review: Aquaman

We saw Aquaman last night, and DC did not break my heart!

Some context: I like Aquaman, I read the comics (New 52 and Rebirth), I enjoy the character, I know the backstory and some of the comic history from Sub-Diego to the years he replaced his lost had with a harpoon. Okay,  I love Aquaman. He is my favourite (with a few others in close second). I've been anticipating this movie since his 10 second his cameo in Batman Vs Superman (which was, in my opinion, the best part of that movie). I was excited that the character was getting the movie yet fully expecting it it be on par with most of the DC extended universe movies...a mess.

For the last few weeks I have been avoiding reviews, in spite of my phone repeatedly giving review notices. The headlines I read didn't look promising. I didn't want to know if the movie was bad. Till I remembered I often disagree with critics. There are movies that were panned that I love. I enjoyed Fifth Element (1997), Cowboys and Aliens (2011), John Carter (2012), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017). I enjoy out there Sci-fi that are kooky, weird, and ridiculous. Maybe I just like bad movies. What I do know is I liked this one.

Now on with the review and for those that need it WARNING: There maybe spoilers ahead.

The Good
Susi: This was a fun, entertaining movie. I enjoyed watching Arthur. The character seemed real with the genuine reactions of a reluctant hero.
Stuart: I liked Arthur. He was a good character with the had a the right touch of humour and and humanity. Seeing his transformation from the beginning with leaving the pirate to showing mercy was satisfying. There were great gags, that were just enough funny without over doing. One was in the gladiator area showing the stats with Arthur's as "Half-Bred" with no Pros and all Cons.
Boy Age 10: The mind controlling. And the waves had to be tsunami, and that storm was crazy so it had to be a hurricane. Oh, and all the explosions and special effects were cool.
Sister: The bug-man [she means Black Mantis] getting yeeked into the sea
Me: There was so much for this movie to cover; Aquaman comics have a lot of weirdness and unknown mythology.  The movie embraced story of Arthur and elevated what people know and mock. A perfect example happens in the bar with the fish-boy comment, that was well done and fits with the comic. The movie also kept the telepathic link to sea life including the "invisible" rings and updated look of the giant seahorses.

I liked changes to the New 52 mythology. They made for a better movie and stayed true the source (and not the first or biggest changes to Arthur's origin story). I also liked the inclusion of Black Manta with his origin story and the building of the armor.  It fit this movies story and wasn't just a set-up for a sequel.

I enjoyed all the visual locations and travel, Atlantis was beautiful, the Trench and its inhabitants were spot on, and the costumes were great. They included things that surprised me in a good way. And the camp! I loved the campy moments. There were also these great serious moments that Sister would lean over and whisper something like "Gandalf is that you?" that made me love the scene all the more. And how could I forget there were real mermaids...um I mean "fishers" and they visited a lost kingdom and the dessert.

Less than Good
Susi: Orm was one dimensional.
Stuart: The arrival of Arthur fighting everyone and everything in the final massive battle. As an epic ending it made sense, as a visual option it made sense, but it didn't seem to match with the goal of avoiding causlties. Also, shouldn't Arthur welding the great trident of legend riding on the beast of myth be enough to grab everyone's attention and show he was worthy?
Boy Age 10: They broke physics. And in the final battle there wasn't any blood spatter or even blood filling the water. People were dying there should have been blood. [I tried to explain if there was that much blood and gore shown the movie would have had a rating that wouldn't have let him see it. He told me the lack of blood wasn't relativistic.]
Sister: The soundtrack was bad.
Me: I did like the movie, but it's not without some issues. For me, there was a too much voice over at the beginning and a lot of exposition. I understand the reason but I wonder if they could have opened with the sub rescue and then did a quicker origin story after/differently.  My next issue was the end battle, I got lost at times because of the editing and found the editing/cinematography choices confusing. There were times the troop count didn't seem to match earlier shots. It was also how they did the CGI, it wasn't great. I find I judge all mass battles against LOTR's battle for Helm's Deep. This didn't match up even with the ancient monster.

It also took itself too serious in a few places that felt like it was trying too hard but those were few and didn't stop me from enjoying the movie. I could have done with a bit more cheese.Some smaller issues: The over reliance on how good Jason Momoa looks delivery a line over his shoulder. The glowing eyes always distracted me and made me giggle. They took it over the top when it was looking through a trident. In that same vein, Orm's hair. Every it showed the back of his head I was trying to figure out what the hairstylist did. I'm not sure how I felt about the flash backs to Vulko training Arthur. The first time I didn't like it but by the last one I grew indifferent. I wanted someone to call Orm out for working with Black Manta. Lastly, The location of the Trench felt off, they were on the Mediterranean when looking out the bottle. In the movie they never say where the Trench is but the comics say it is located in the Mariana Trench. How would the small fishing boat get there? It was enough for me in the theater to go huh?

Favourite Scene or Line
Susi: Having heard the message, Mera destroys the device. Arthur, looking shocked, yells "WAIT! Shouldn't we have written it down?" Mera, looking confused, "I memorized it. Didn't you?" Arthur, "Uh, yeah." Mera, "What did it say?" Arthur, "Something something trident."
Stuart: Mera and Arthur are going to her ship that has been stored with chum. Arthur makes a comment about not wanting to shell like chum. Mera, "it would be an improvement." Followed by Arthur doing a subtle sniff test.
Boy Age 10: The storms, and the explosions, and that warrior crashing through walls.
Sister: The bikers in the bar asking if Arthur was "that fish boy" and Arthur standing up and saying "It's fish man"
Me: How do I choose? It think its a toss up between him stepping out of the waterfall in the gold and green suit with the trident or the fight with the creatures from the trench. I wasn't expecting that and I am glad they were included.

Most ridiculous moment
Susi: In the underground desert location Mera uses the water, magically taken from Arthur, to get the device working. His response, "Show-off. I could've just peed on it."
Stuart: Mera jumps out of the plane, the pilot reacts in shock. Arthur shrugs saying, "Redheads, gotta love them..." and then jumps  after her.
Boy Age 10: The same peed on it
Sister: Most of it. It was a really intense fairy tale in a good way
Me: The moment Arthur grabs the ultimate trident there is a flash into his eye followed by electrical flashes similar to other animations of synapses firing mixed with flashes of sea animals. It was weird. I also found a few lines over the top ridiculous like, "Permission to come aboard", "A king fights only for his nation, you fight for everyone," and my favourite: "What's better than a King?" "A hero!" Just before the hero response was given Sister leaned over and whispered, "an emperor, a demigod, God, Jesus." Seeing this with my Sister made the movie that much better

Rating
Susi: 3.3 tridents out of 5
Stuart: 4 battle seahorses out of 5
Boy Age 10: 3.215 mind controlled fish out of 5
Sister: 3.9 funny puffer fish face masks out of 5
Me: 4.1 jelly fish dresses out of 5

Final Thoughts
It is a superhero movie, if you don't like those you won't like this. If you can't suspend disbelief you probably won't like it either. The movie is ridiculous, cheesy, and in places almost not cheesy enough. It had some great visuals and less then stellar CGI moments. There are places if falls short, but overall we all enjoyed it. Stuart commented it was good to see in 3D. I think it was true to the character and fun. They made me want to see it again, I'm even considering IMAX. And the biggest success, it didn't break my heart.