Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
December 20th, 2023
MOVIE: AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM
STARRING: JASON MOMOA, YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, PATRICK WILSON, RANDALL PARK, DOLPH LUNDGREN
DIRECTED BY: JAMES WAN
AMovieGuy.com’s RATING: 2 STARS (Out of 4)
The DC cinematic universe coming to a close feels like a blessing. A series of films, which kicked off with Zach Snyder’s 2013 Man of Steel, peaked with the success of 2017’s Wonder Woman and proceeded to fall on its face with flops and fan anger. It ends with James Wans’ Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the sequel to his 2018 hit Aquaman, which established Jason Momoa as the trident-wielding merman superhero. The result this time is more of the same problems that put DC in this predicament, with a story that is a muddled mess, ugly CGI visuals, and unintentional humor. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom dives into the deep end and fails to make a splash with a whimpering finale.
The story picks up where The Flash left off. Aquatic hero Arthur Curry (Momoa) is finding it hard to balance his life on land and sea. He’s the king of Atlantis, but he has a son with Mera (Amber Heard), and when he’s not protecting his people, he’s at the lighthouse changing diapers and sharing a Guinness with his father Tom (Temuera Morrison). Later on, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Matee II) returns with the help of Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park) with plans to harvest some kind of mineral called “Orecorcerum..or something like that”, which allows them to discover a black trident and an underwater world of evil. To stop them Arthur must unite with his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) before Manta brings all of Atlantis down.
As a character, Aquaman is generally tough to make work and Wan proved he could do it with the original. This time there are four writers credited, including the story by Wan, Momoa, Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, and they throw everything into the bowl. It’s a family drama, an action film, a buddy comedy, and even throws in a mixture of a ghost story. Because of all that, it’s an incredibly bipolar film, murky in what its identity is trying to be. The moments of humor between Momoa and Wilson are the highlight, which becomes weighed down when turning back to underwater politics and overwhelmed by ugly green screen CGI.
Speaking of CGI, it is the visuals that are out of sorts, an aspect that feels out of character for Wan. The director of horror classics such as The Conjuring and Malignant loses his themes and styles, making something that feels part of the studio machine, which he’s often kept at bay. That may not be entirely Wan’s fault, as segments look like post-production editing choices, along with obvious re-shoots, making it seem like Lost Kingdom was three movies and they couldn’t decide on one.
It can’t be said that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is boring. That status can be awarded to Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon- Part One. But this is a tough movie to care about and visually it is atrocious. CGI crab people, giant mutant grasshoppers, and underwater ghost demons are only worse in the 3D transfer. It’s not like Aquaman needs to be Avatar: The Way of Water but it would have been nice if the DCU had ended with something memorable as it swam out the door. Instead, the final result is a series of superhero movies that were always lost at sea.
AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 22ND.
2 STARS
Written by: Leo Brady
leo@amovieguy.com
