Just like every other industry, entertainment industry in general and movie industry in particular have evolved significantly over the last two decades. The days when illustrative graphics stripes are long gone. Thanks to Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), we can now see life like images and photo realism on our screen to an extent where it is hard to distinguish elements on screen to real life ones.
Comic lovers were excited to see that change in comics to cinematic transitions and welcomed it with open arms. If you are into comics then, you might be familiar with Batman, Superman, Wonder Women and other members of Justice League Franchise. They all have their specialized emblems. One super hero that stood out was Aquaman who is also known as Aquaman Costume.
Recently, we saw its incarnation from comics to movie transition. Is it worth your time and money? Let’s find out.
A Mixed Bag: Some Hits and Some Misses
If you have watched the movie or have gone through its reviews on movie review sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, you might know what I mean by a mixed bag. Like every other animated movie, Aquaman has its positives and its negatives. Let’s first explore the positives and then look at the negatives.
Positives
1. Costume Transformation
What distinguished Aquaman from other animated superhero movies was its costume. It retained the original costume without introducing anything new and that is a good thing. The same classic shark placid combined with on screen guise glory gave Acquaman a surreal look. This brought originality to the Aquaman movie, an aspect missing from other superhero movies released in recent past. Don’t get me wrong, Aquaman fans still love the comic look with orange ridges, green pants along with black trunk but the movie version of Aquaman was nothing short of impressive as well.
Momoa is the main attraction in Aquaman with a smoky eye peeking out of water with a trident in hand. The poster is tempting enough for Aquaman fans to warrant a visit to the cinema. According to Momoa, “It is presumed to take the darkness out and bring in the light.” He said this about the tattoo that symbolizes shark teeth.
2. Solid On Screen Performances
There is no doubt that Momoa was the main character that did his best to carry the movie on his shoulders, but you cannot deny the contributions other actors have made. Nicole Kidman showed her acting prowess in every movie scene she is a part of. Combine that with few action sequences here and there and she has done her job well.
Ivan Drago has on screen charisma that only few could match. Another actor that shown brightly on screen was Dolph Lundgren. Playing a role of Nereus, who was the king of Atlantian tribe of Xebel and also played a role of Mera’s father in the movie.
Negatives
There are quite a few flaws that stop Aquaman from becoming a blockbuster it intended to become. Yes, it is doing great business, but you cannot ignore these flaws no matter what.
1. Mediocre Performances
DCEU has struggled to choose a good villain since Man of Steel. Zod did a wonderful job in Man of Steel but since then there have been some mediocre performances. Yes, King Oram or the ocean master might not be as bad as others but there is nothing special about it. Patrick Wilson fail to impress with his role as a villain in Aquaman. The overacting of Black Manta played by Yahya Abdul Mateen made things worse. The movie script was week and most of the character in the movie lack depth and are not developed well.
2. Other Issues
- The dialogues were too cheesy
- Humour does not do justice
- Movie seems like a drag and it would have been better if they could have cut 20 minutes from the movie
- Movie characters do something out of their character on a number of occasions throughout the movie
- There are some continuity issues in the movie
- Instead of explaining subplots, the director left it to the audience to understand it
Conclusion
Overall, the movie offers the eye candy that most movie fans expect from comic to movie transitions. The perfect blend of adventure, action and fun makes a enjoyable experience in cinema especially if you can look past its weak characters and dragging issues. Avoid watching this movie at home as it might seem more worse. Aquaman is made for the large screens that could bring its computer-generated imagery to life to wow the audience with its visuals. Despite its flaws, Aquaman deserves to be on your watchlist.
What did you like and dislike about Aquaman? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.