by dude hallenbeck on 27 Dec 2018, 06:28
I'm just going to copy my Letterboxd review, I really hope it's not too wordy for you guys, please ask me to edit down if it is.
Aquaman isn't quite able to reach the lofty heights that Man of Steel, Batman v Superman (Director's cut duh) and Wonder Woman occupy, when it's good it's within a frog's hair of them, but when it's bad and it does get bad it gets worse than anything people shit on Suicide Squad over.
When it's at its best, it's the DCEU we where promised by Zack Snyder, a grand epic fantasy tale, leaning heavily on Arthurian legend, Campbellian monomyth of great journeys of self discovery stepping out of the mundane and into a greater world, of finding your inherent good and the power within yourself to become who you're meant to be. And not forgetting the existing emphasis on parenthood, the religious reverence to motherhood and it's absolute power to be a source of good, spiritual guidance and deep down inside a source of protection.
When it's at it's worst however, it's the Geoff Johns perversion of the series. Cringe inducing cheese, lame credit stingers, epic music swirls that suddenly stop to service a horrid joke Marvel style, off putting awful pop music transitions that make you long for Suicide Squad's track list, bad self serving continuity where you get a direct visual reference to the oil rig in Man of Steel and then minutes later a news montage where Dr Shin gets laughed off television because "Atlantis isn't real hurr durr" in a world where two major American cities where levelled by an alien invasion and ancient eldritch horrors 3 years apart. Once again, I can 100% guarantee you there's key footage on the cutting room floor. Also for some reason he's got a fetish for sidelining black characters, but that's neither here nor there.
But thankfully it's James Wan's immense talent, and an amazing cast that help drag this over the line to the win column. When it's concerned with being a high fantasy epic adventure, there's a spectacle here to behold unlike any other, every bit as vivid as Avatar, with some amazing action sequences, a smorgasbord of anything you could ask, trials by combat, Lovecraftian horror, long take parkour chases, and big massive battles.
Jason Momoa is a star. This guy could end up taking Dwayne Johnson's spot as the next Arnold Schwarzenegger if he plays his cards right, his charisma and swagger is so natural and the man's a creative force with a hunger to strive towards greatness, whereas Dwayne has gotten stale and complacent. Amber Heard makes for a great warrior queen and I'd love to see her team with Gal Gadot and Amy Adams on a ladies adventure in Wonder Woman 3. Patrick Wilson is a fantastic antagonist, playing Orm like Season 1/Book 1 Jaime Lannister. Willem Dafoe finally gets to play a kindly mentor who both remains kind and doesn't get executed by the Russian mob, which is nice. Nichole Kidman is Jason's runner up for MVP, she's amazing in this film. Temuera Morrison is having lots of fun. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has all the potential in the world to be a mega star, but is shortchanged here despite an excellent intro scene. Last but not least is Mr Dolph Lundgren who once again executes a brilliant face turn in the space of a month.
There's still a ton left unsaid about this movie, and I'll definitely try to catch it in theatres again before it leaves, but thankfully it's a solid win for a fanbase that a very dear friend of mine describes perfectly, a fanbase permanently manning the fucking Alamo.. in hell.