Aquaman (2018)

[baumer]

Do your thing

[Omario]

Good fun. Enjoyed the ride. A proper popcorn flick,Pretty shocked how it got below 75% on RT but i feel there is still some bias from critics when it comes to DC movies. Perhaps deservedly so after all the turds we have got but unfair to the James Wan and co who had nothing to do with Snyders take. 

 

The plot was simple and the journey was pretty straightforward too. I really dug the different kingdoms and hope to see the lost kingdom used for the sequels. The action was really good. So much of it but yet there was also moments of rest and dialogue to move the plot along. Sometimes they would be together. Maybe those interruptions happened too many times. 

 

Momoa was good. I like him. Always have since Stargate Atlantis days. But its obvious emotional acting is not his strong suit. He is a very manly and aggressive actor which is great. i just wish the director had got some more visible emotions from him during scenes like his reunion with his mother etc. When he is fighting though the poses and that gorgeous suit...hot damn! One of the best ever to grace the big screen. Perfection.

 

Heard as Mera is in the same boat at Momoa. I want to see more expressions and emotion. But i liked them both. They definitely have chemistry. Just need to work on it a bit more. Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman had the terrific Chris Pine to bring it out of her. Unfortunately these two don;t possess those gifts. But baby steps, i can wait for them to develop.

 

Everyone else was good. Nicole did a good job while Patrick Wilson as Orm has me interested in his future arc. I would like to see him develop feelings on the mainland like in the recent Aquaman story where he rescued a woman and child and fell in love with them. 

 

Black Manta was good too. Love his suit. I wish Aquaman had decided to come back to save his father but was too late. That would have redeemed him to some degree while us still understanding Mantas position.

 

The special effects for the most part were really good. Atlantis was beautiful as was the final battle scene. Wowza. Bigger than infinity war? in scale anyway. Loved the third act. One of the strongest in a Superhero movie. Some questionable effects during the beach training scene but everything else was gorgeous to the eyes.

 

The music is not out of this world and i didn't enjoy it at first but it has grown on me and i really dig the 80's influence. TBH i cant stop listening to it now lol. Wan is a nutter though, some weird song choices in places but its sort of like you think to yourself what??...and then shrug your shoulders and get into the groove. 

 

Overall a good fun movie and a great comeback from DC. They needed this.  Better than Wonder Woman? in action yes, but Wonder Woman was a tighter movie with a better script. The script needed work in Aquaman. I feel Wan inherited some of Snyders questionable choices. the lead actors being the main thing. But he used them well and they are Aquaman and Mera for me now.

 

A solid grade B maybe B+

 

I feel i will enjoy it even more on the second viewing.

[cookie]

Pros:

- Wan knows how to direct the shit out of an action scene and the entire bit where it turns into a horror movie is absolutely terrific

- Visuals look great, surprised it didn't make the shortlist

- Jason Momoa when he gets to be surfer bro Aquaman is pretty fun

- Heard does her part well even if her chemistry with Momoa could've been stronger

- Morrison is great even if he's not in the movie a lot

 

Cons:

- The supporting cast is damper than wet toilet paper. Patrick Wilson is a loaf of bread as a villain and much of his dialogue is terrible. He should've played it far hammier if he wanted to overcome the bad dialogue but he's disappointingly straight faced. Black Manta is actually somewhat more interesting as a foe but he's basically just a one-note henchman (which tells you how underwhelming Oceanmaster is). Dafoe stands around doing jack shit when he's not delivering exposition and why was Dolph Lundgren even in this movie?

- Speaking of exposition, the first act is drowned in it (pun intended) and it honestly becomes pretty boring when so much of it is "let's go to this spot where I can explain the plot to you, now let's go to this other spot where I can explain even more of the plot to you", plus I'm pretty sure half of it didn't even matter. The movie picks up the pace after that but the first act is a real slog.

- The movie is too long because it tries to be both a treasure hunt storyline and a "take back the throne" storyline at once and so it kinda falls short on either front.

- I felt the climax kinda lacked in stakes despite being a visual feast, not helped that nobody seemed to be in any real peril during it.

Edited December 22, 2018 by cookie

[YLF]

The movie was downright awful. From the synthetic wigs that mera and Nicole Kidman wear(for gods sake could they even bother to brush the fucking hair or spend some type of money so it didn’t look so bad?) I have never seen such bad wigs used in a high budgeted movie. Yikes. 

 

Every scene with any dialogue had to end with an explosion. It was action overload. They would talk for two seconds then... EXPLOSION!!!! It gets too exhausting after awhile and overdone. I understand that it’s a superhero movie, but at least let me get some semblance of a story, character development, etc. the scenes where he was young or with family last for 2.5 seconds. The dialogue in this movie is the most cringeworthy I have ever seen. I thought ant man and the wasp was bad, but this is way worse and it isn’t even close. “I could’ve just pee’d on it.” And the scene where the guys take a pic with him at the bar with his PINK smart phone lmfao fucking ridiculous. How could anyone write this and have the gall to actually turn in this script? The worst part is that the script was actually approved by people. Every “joke” in the movie fell flat and Momoa and ambers chemistry was nonexistent. You can’t have two actors like this with such cheesy dialogue. It’s just not going to work.

 

Also, what was up with all the random music throughout the film? The most vexatious one was the scene where black manta was building his suit. That music did not fit that scene at all and was jarring.

 

The positive is that the action scenes were well choreographed and shot really well. Some of the visuals were great. The first action scene with Nicole Kidman was fantastic. At least the movie has that because most people will be entertained by the visuals and action, but for me that’s not all I want from a movie.

 

 

I thought I was crazy and maybe letting the reviews get to me. But my friend that literally likes EVERY movie, especially when it comes to action films said it was the worst he’s seen this year. He didn’t even want to stay for the end credits scene. I’ve never seen him react so negatively towards a film. 

 

C-

Edited December 24, 2018 by YLF

[filmlover]

This actually reminded me of a comic book movie from the 2000s (in a good way, unlike Venom). Liked how self-contained it was given how every comic book movie the last several years has felt tied to a bigger universe. But it never becomes better than “enjoyable.” The stakes felt low and it takes too long to really get going, even if I was never bored. But the underwater visuals are definitely a treat, and James Wan crafts a handful of exciting action scenes. The cast is similarly competent: Jason Momoa clearly doesn’t have the strongest range as an actor but makes for a good superhero, Amber Heard is appealing (even though she and Momoa only intermittently show chemistry), Patrick Wilson makes for a generic villain, and Nicole Kidman and Willem Dafoe bring a touch of class to the project and don’t treat their secondary parts like easy paychecks. Overall, fun but forgettable: much better than the likes of Justice League, but nowhere nearly as good as Wonder Woman among films in the DCEU. B-

[RichWS]

This was terrible. I don't really know what to say other than it's a complete failure. Lumbering exposition, bad acting, explosion, fight with camera twirling around, rinse and repeat every 10 minutes. Some amusing Dafoe expressions, though. 

[CoolioD1]

swashbuckling imo.

[TMP]

I mean.... at least the VFX were good?

[Deja23]

I liked it overall. Parts were very boring to me, but I liked Mera and I was really moved by the parents’ story. Just took too long to get going and was overstuffed. I didn’t think having Black Manta or the whole back story with his father’s death was necessary, especially if it was just set up for a sequel. The way others talked up the 3rd act, I thought I’d be in for a treat. But I ended up having to close my eyes because the fight scenes were giving me a headache. Just so much going on there. And there were so many fight scenes. It was like a movie crafted by having plot devices that get the characters from one fight scene to the next, and not necessarily to tell a story. Nicole Kidman and Willem Defoe were the MVPs in terms of acting and I didn’t quite buy Arthur and Mera’s chemistry. But yeah, solid fun overall. My audience was no where near full, but started clapping at the end so most seemed to enjoy it. C+/B-

[excel1]

Fun and enjoyable though the writing/acting combo by Momoa, Heard, and Wilson is terrible.

 

Nicole Kidman looked fucking incredible btw. WTF was Tom Cruise thinking. 

[Kalderic]

I felt like I had a teenager screaming at me for two and a half hours that what I’m seeing is awesome and I should love it and it’s fucking cool.

 

I left feeling like I had a hangover, without having the good time to deserve one. The movie is so loud and obnoxious... the visuals are fine, but after awhile, so much is thrown at you that you just become numb to it all.

 

its too long, the dialogue is awful, the acting is subpar, and the camera is on crack the whole time. 

 

Solid 4/10. If this is the future of DC, I think I’m gonna find my way out.

 

now, someone give me some fucking Tylenol.

[Fancyarcher]

My review.

 

https://dailyuv.com/972351

Edited December 26, 2018 by Fancyarcher

[dashrendar44]

Wackaman. A gazillion dollars gonzo schlock fest like Michael Bay can only master. The kind of schlocky blockbuster when your brain sends you mixed signals all the way through "Jeez, this is so dumb that it is awesome...But it's so dumb and wack...But yeah THAT was awesome BUT Terri-bad at the same time!" throwing everything and the kitchen sink at you. The kind of schlock your inner teenager will indulge, if you're in the mood for it, watching a lump of meat and a block of wood (sporting a dollar store Halloween wig/weave) trying to painfully emulate Harrison Ford and Anne Heche in 6 days 7 nights or Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz in Sahara for 140 minutes. I was in and out of it for the most part.

 

The script put the main character back to almost square one to give him an ersatz of a character arc except Momoa doesn't have any range as an actor except frowning and smirking like a surf bro so reuniting with his long lost mom feels more like he's going to have a hell of a threesome out of a Brazzers production than a dramatic reunion.

Edited December 26, 2018 by dashrendar44

[Omario]

5 hours ago, dashrendar44 said:

Wackaman. A gazillion dollars gonzo schlock fest like Michael Bay can only master. The kind of schlocky blockbuster when your brain sends you mixed signals all the way through "Jeez, this is so dumb that it is awesome...But it's so dumb and wack...But yeah THAT was awesome BUT Terri-bad at the same time!" throwing everything and the kitchen sink at you. The kind of schlock your inner teenager will indulge, if you're in the mood for it, watching a lump of meat and a block of wood (sporting a dollar store Halloween wig/weave) trying to painfully emulate Harrison Ford and Anne Heche in 6 days 7 nights or Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz in Sahara for 140 minutes. I was in and out of it for the most part.

 

The script put the main back to almost square one to give him an ersatz of a character arc except Momoa doesn't have any range as an actor except frowning and smirking like a surf bro so reuniting with his long lost mom feels more like he's going to have a hell of a threesome out of a Brazzers production than a dramatic reunion.

[fabiopazzo2]

On 12/25/2018 at 6:33 AM, Fancyarcher said:

My review.

 

https://dailyuv.com/972351

Error

[Plain Old Tele]

Wild visuals, but really not my cup of tea.

 

edit: adjusted my grade a tad; I was probably a little harsh initially

Edited December 28, 2018 by Telemachos

[La Binoche]

 Aquaman is terrible. The tired storyline, the bad dialogue, the lack of chemistry between Jason Momoa and Amber Heard (how can someone so beautiful be so dull onscreen?), her $5 polyester Ronald McDonald wig, Patrick Wilson's complete failture as a compelling villain (he's supposed to be in his 20s? lololol), the other villain who feels so irrelevant you forget he exists, the bad guys' cheap Power Rangers suits, the shoddy underwater visuals, Nicole Kidman's random outfit changes in the middle of a raging battle and her showing up a the end in a glittery Studio 54 outfit... 

 

A disaster...but still oddly entertaining despite it all. C-

[Morieris]

8 hours ago, La Binoche said:

(he's supposed to be in his 20s?

 

The saltwater + light refractions from being underwater aged him terribly.

[CoolioD1]

orm.

[Frozen]

I assumed Orm was supposed to be in his 30s. It wasn’t to too obvious that Patrick was way too old until the land battle when they messed with his hair 

 

Also “Mom” was almost as bad as “Martha”.