Birthday Special: Movie Review - Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

 

Well it's here, the very last DC Extended Universe film and honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. There have been some great films in this cinematic universe like Wonder Woman, The Suicide Squad, Blue Beetle, both Shazam films and the film that this is a sequel of. There have also been some stinkers as well (Josstice League, The Flash, Wonder Woman 1984 and the first Suicide Squad come to mind here) and then films that people have mixed feelings about like Zack Snyder's trilogy of DC films and Black Adam among others. So many changes in direction and not a clear one when compared to Marvel's own cinematic universe, which itself hasn't been doing too well recently. Not to mention the controversy surrounding not all, but a few of the main actors in these films for various reasons. It's been a good experimental saga of films which have proven to Warner Brothers that they can make great and not so great DC films and not be too focused on just Superman and Batman. They always knew that there would be risks in bringing a lot of these relatively unknown characters to the big screen, as well as establishing a cinematic universe that can compete against Marvel. Given that this was their third attempt at it, they have done reasonably well despite the mixed reception that the films have given them. They know most of the franchise is far from being bad, but at the same time, they know they can't have it continue the way it's going. Hence, why we're getting a James Gunn led cinematic universe going forward, which given his influence on these last few DC Extended Universe films, it is not looking great. But then again, I can be proven wrong. But let's get this over and done with this year's birthday (as in my birthday) special review:

Arthur Curry (reprised by Jason Momoa) has been king of Atlantis for the last several years. A lot has happened in that time, and while he isn't too interested in the whole idea of ruling a kingdom, he finds his own son to be way more fun than that. David Kane (reprised by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is still bent on avenging his father and, with his own crew, sets out to find Atlantean artefacts, eventually coming across a black trident which grants him the power to destroy Arthur. He makes his threat known to Arthur and following an attack on Atlantis, Arthur sets out to stop him from unleashing the power that the trident possesses and seeks help from an old enemy to do just that.

This film, overall, feels like a very underwhelming end to the DCEU. The main villain (which isn't who you think it is) looks too comedic to be taken seriously, the acting is a bit off in places and while the CGI is a lot better here than in The Flash, it still feels a little too fake and cheap in places. I also feel that in a particular scene at the end, they should've used archive footage of the other DCEU films to make it feel like an ending that is more satisfying than what we ended up getting. Yeah, for this to be that other film that James Gunn said will tie in to his DC Universe, it just doesn't feel like it. And yes there is a fair bit of Amber Heard in this, but in a more supporting role than a major one. Also, no sign of Batman as previously hinted. So yeah, overall, not the best ending to a very mixed bag cinematic universe. But at least Jason Momoa is giving it his all again, which he always does, and it does tie up loose ends for Aquaman's story which speaks volumes compared to the other DCEU films released following the announcement of its end where the post credits scenes are unlikely to be resolved (in the films anyway, they may continue in comic book form). 6/10