Our take on... Aquaman
While the Marvel juggernaut steams ahead towards “Avengers: Endgame”, DC have decided to take a different approach to their superhero films. Following the mixed reception to “Justice League” (which I personally enjoyed), they have decided to follow in the mould of “Wonder Woman” and instead of their heroes overlapping and having big team ups, they are focusing on making great stand alone films that don’t require any prior knowledge of the larger DC universe. As I said, “Wonder Woman” started this trend, the upcoming “Shazam!” continues it, but here we have the first ever solo film for one of DC’s longest running heroes, “Aquaman”, aka Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa).
If you are picking up this film without having seen “Justice League”, fear not as you will be brought right up to speed with who the character is, and his origins. The action comes thick and fast as we are introduced to Arthur’s mother Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) as she flees the underwater world and ends up with Arthur’s father, a lighthouse keeper (Temuera Morrison). Sometime after Arthur is born, Atlanna flees back to the ocean, leaving Arthur, a product of two worlds, to learn who he is by himself.
“Aquaman” sees DC at their most creative, and in this film they have finally shaken off the shadow of Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder who presented versions of Batman and Superman that were enjoyable, but very dark. “Wonder Woman” introduced us to a world of colour that we don’t see much of in comic book movies, but “Aquaman” multiplies that tenfold. From the opening scenes with Kidman and Morrison’s time in their lighthouse, to Arthur and Mera (Amber Heard) heading off to Sicily, this film is like a comic book come to life and features some brilliant use of colour.
It's a mash up of the best parts of Flash Gordon, He Man, Aurthurian legends, Avatar, and so much more in between. It wouldn't work if the cast, which includes Willem Dafoe and Patrick Wilson, weren't fully invested in it but they all give it socks. The other major boost the film has is the charm and enthusiasm of Jason Momoa, who brings his "most likable dude in the world" presence to the big screen. He has great chemistry with Morrison, Amber Heard and pretty much anyone he comes into contact with. Director James Wan does an amazing job with the action too. The fight scenes in the DC movies favour longer takes, slow motion, and ambitious camera movements, which means the action is so much easier to follow than most movies of this type. In addition this film has another stunning DC score from Harry Gregson-Williams which, like the film, marries old fashioned tropes with modern technology.
All in all, I had an absolute blast with this film. It’s a huge amount of fun, and for my money the scene set to “Mystery Girl” by Roy Orbison is one of the best scenes in any comic book movie I’ve seen to date, and I’ve seen a LOT of ‘em. What are you waiting for? Pre-order it straight away!
These are gifted and humorous words of our man Kevin Dillon, @kevinwritestuff.
Aquaman is available to buy on DVD, Blu-Ray, 4K Ultra HD, and 3D at goldendiscs.ie and in all Golden Discs stores nationwide.
