Aquaman Review

     Aquaman, directed by James Wan, is a completely forgettable, utterly silly, and somehow entertaining mess of a film. I do not know what to say about this movie; I could list flaws for paragraphs. It is good-hearted and genuine, and Wan directs with an absolute dedication to this world. He understands the flaws and the silliness of the movie, and fully embraces it. Jason Momoa also turns in a solid performance, making himself likeable, even though the script is not. Amber Heard as Mira is completely average, and so is every other character in the film. When the film does not make sense, or take its audience down a narrative path that goes nowhere, it still manages to entertain the audience at its own expense. You can laugh with the movie, or laugh at the movie. The CGI is excellent in some parts and mediocre in others, but there is always something interesting to look at. I appreciated the earnest attempt by the director to stick to his vision, because clearly nobody convinced him to leave some things (dinosaurs) out of the movie. Wan directs with a distinctive (I didn't say good) style with endless slow motion and splashy camera angles. This makes for some fun moments, but the story batters you with such a numbing amount of action, it makes what we have less exciting. The score is one of the major flaws of the film, repeating some motifs over and over again. Any sort of revelation or character entrance is accompanied with a cliche undertone "dum-dum-dummmmm." I lost count at 15 times the editor included this played out riff. The screenplay was also sloppy, interrupting almost every conversation with an explosion. It is exposition, explosion, action, repeat. There are also numerous ethical questions posed by Aquaman and his actions throughout the film. Narrative fat plagues the story, but when you thin it out it is actually pretty straightforward and meaningful for the characters. Aquaman is floundering, in your face popcorn entertainment. It is a fun Carnival cruise that lasts a little too long and makes you a little sea sick.

I give it a 5.1/10