Aquaman Plot Summary:
Arthur Curry AKA Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Mera (Amber Heard) search for a powerful relic in order to prevent Arthur’s half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) from waging war on the surface world.
It’s no secret that the DC Extended Universe is a mess compared to the nice and tidy Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Marvel films all feel like they take place in a cohesive universe and the movies have a consistent tone. With DC, I wouldn’t have believed Man of Steel and Wonder Woman took place in the same universe if I didn’t already know. Aquaman feels like it connects to the past couple of DC movies, but has a tone somewhere in the middle, part serious and part comedic.
Though there are surely fans who would’ve preferred a more traditional Aquaman, I’ve learned to like the heavy drinking bro we have in his place. It might be Jason Momoa just playing himself, but that’s what makes it seem so natural. And the rest of cast does a respectable enough job, including Patrick Wilson as Orm/Ocean Master and Nicole Kidman and Temuera Morrison as Arthur’s parents.
There was a point early in the movie where I realized the plot wasn’t going to be anything special. Aquaman is not going to wow you with amazing and surprising twists. In fact, during the middle of the movie, I was starting to lose interest with the by-the-numbers story. But then something happened: I started having fun.
While the action was already good, it ratchets up later on with the encounter with Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) from the trailer. It’s here that the spectacle gets bigger and bigger. It didn’t matter so much that I could see where the film was going from a mile away. The underwater world was also already impressive, but it kicks into overdrive as Aquaman reaches its climax.
I’m not usually one for style over substance—I’m not the biggest fan of movies like Avatar. But Aquaman is at least not as unabashedly manipulative a movie. Plus, we’ve seen a lot of space movies, but with its array of real and imaginary creatures, Aquaman is more than a space opera set underwater.
I’m not going to tell you Aquaman is a masterpiece, or even a great movie. It’s all brawn and no brain. But it’s a competent and exciting superhero movie, and right now that’s what DC needs. It may be one of those cases where I look back and decide it wasn’t that good. But I can say I’m happy I saw it.
