Aquaman is flawed, naff and cheesy — but in the perfect way
Comic books are often the source of great debate online, often dividing the film fan from the entertainment lover. Over the past two decades we have been treated to some bizarrely good (‘Hellboy’, ‘Sin City’, ‘V for Vendetta’, etc.), some awful (‘Daredevil’, ‘Green Lantern’, etc.) and then the incredible (‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy of course). What is often forgotten about when debating the worth or value of any comic book film, after release, is the source material. Comic books were invented as a short, quick and quirky fictional book. Something for young people to read quickly, rather than holding down a large novel. When Marvel and DC brought their characters into the world and created the industry we know today, their characters were one thing above all else around in popular culture, fun. ‘Spiderman’ is a young man bitten by a spider who swings around New York in red and blue plastic. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ is a scientist who is exposed to a radiation blast and suddenly has the ultimate anger issue. You could keep on detailing but we all know that superheroes have the most bizarre and unbelievable storylines, but that is why we like them.
In a world full of Brexit and Donald Trump, who doesn’t want to sit down and watch a Norse God fighting aliens for the fate of Earth (basically the plot of ‘Avengers:InfinityWar’). We even get treated to some cinematic genius every few years, often from their greatest source material (‘The Dark Knight’ is a direct adaptation of many of ‘Batman’s greatest works including ‘The Killing Joke’ and ‘Batman Year One’). Yet, when I started to see the reviews for 2018’s ‘Aquaman’, I was really confused. Many film critic’s were claiming the film was ‘ridiculous’ and ‘cheesy’, even calling the film ‘over the top’. I would very much recommend these critic’s to have a look at where ‘Aquaman’ came from and his character background. He is a Demi-god who can talk to fish and controls the sea, I don’t think we should expect the next Academy Award winner. This is the where the film ultimately triumphs, it takes a plot and character that is hard to imagine due it’s glamorous fantasy and gives it life, with more fun than I could have ever imagined.
Jason Momoa is the centre of all things dreadfully great about this epic, and this film is epic. When you watch the end battle scene, with sharks fighting crab men, it almost feels like you have jumped into a mash up of ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’. That is the only way I can describe its chaotic brilliance. The city of Atlantis is beautifully designed and the cinematography throughout the city are gorgeous and reminiscent of a far away planet in ‘Star Wars’. The baddie (the main on) is genuinely believable and almost defendable in his cause (this seems to be a common theme of late with Thanos and Killmanher). He wants to clean the ocean of the waste the human world has destroyed it with. You almost want to win so you can see The Great Barrier Reef again. Patrick Wilson is blonder than ever but very good and his team of evil baddies are again, dreadful but funny. It’s all just one long rollercoaster of bad jokes, funny fighting and enjoyably terrible scenes. Even the fact Nicole Kidman is jumping around in fight scenes and doing her usual long stare into the camera, adds to this films charm.
In terms of genuine negativity, DC still have a really big issue with the writing of female characters in cinema. In ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’, they are all very flat and used as plot devices, even ‘Catwoman’ and ‘Talia’ in the final instalment fall short of what they could deliver. ‘Harley Quinn’ in ‘Suicide Squad’ is irritatingly pointless and I can only thank Margot Robbie for trying her best with one of the worst scripts of the decade. ‘Wonder Woman’ was the closest we have seen of a true character and hero but even then, her charm and character has often resided on formality than on genuine development and power. In ‘Aquaman’, Amber Heard’s character, Mera, is extremely badly written (even for this film). She is often just a plot device or method, moving everything along quickly and happens to be in the same two outfits for most of the film. You want to like her because this film is crazy, but also because of who she is in real life. I want Amber Heard to succeed. Nicole Kidman is always a weird choice here and maybe her character should have been cast as an unknown actress but the character is failed upon her. Their is a twist I shall keep away but when its revealed, it’s almost uncomfortable for viewers.
We are also treated to not one but two baddies! The other is of the human world and he also is rather enjoyable, if not short lived. ‘Black Manta’, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is really angry. His character is enjoyable and I can’t complain in seeing more black actors on the big screen, especially when they are well written and not used tokenistically.
I can’t write a review of this film without discussing the elephant in the room. Julie Andrews is in this film. Marry Poppins. The women who makes everyone cry…every year. Her cameo may be the best cameo of the 21st century comic book cinematic universe. I won’t say who she plays but it’s brilliant. Also, William Dafoe is great, just to add on to this really fun and well casted movie (apart from NK).
The film is exactly what you need right now. It’s cold, miserable and you are poor from buying presents. So why not be even more poor and go see a two hour film about fish fighting other fish and a really cool man flying around with a beard in leather trousers. Their will be more of these and I, for one, can’t wait.