There's something to be said about a movie that not only acknowledges the absurdity of its premise but truly embraces and owns it. Aquaman is such a film. The (boring) hero powers... the fantasy/sci-fi pastiche... the earnest acting... the cheesy action-movie one liners... the arrow-straight plot... none of its individual parts would likely stand on their own. But mixed together, they form a delightful, action-packed fantasy romp that makes this viewer almost want to rewatch Justice League.
Aquaman has always stood to the side of the other core members of the Justice League as the weirder, less-cool Hero. He swims fast and talks to fish! The powers are uninteresting, and so everything has to be pulled from the characterization of the hero. Thankfully, Jason Momoa's screen presence is as big as his muscles. He reminds me of Chris Hemworth's appearance in the first Thor--unpolished but brimming with charisma.
The supporting cast is equally strong. Amber Heard makes a wonderful deuteragonist as the fiery, independent Mera, and she has plenty of chemistry with Momoa. Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II give earnest energy to their cardboard villains. Willem Defoe, Dolph Lundgren, and Nicole Kidman round out the supporting cast with performances filled with sincerity that the script doesn't earn on its own.
Aquaman isn't flawless. It suffers from many of the typical pitfalls of an origin superhero film: a slow start and cardboard villains. There's a great deal of world building that has to be slogged through, but once those pieces are mostly finished, the film takes off and never stops. The pacing of the film covers for the straight forward plot and the cast rounds out the edges of some of the sillier moments.
Much of the credit must be given to James Wan's vision of the alien, underwater world that the film mostly takes place in. Unlike the Superman films of the DC Cinematic Universe, James Wan fills Aquaman with a rainbow of colors and gorgeous CGI scenery. Gorgeous CGI mayhem is somewhat expected at this point in super hero films, but Aquaman doesn't disappoint and raises the bar at many times throughout. The action scenes are exciting and well-choreographed.
Aquaman is great fun. Anyone who enjoys the super hero genre (or shirtless Jason Momoa) should see this one on the big screen.
3*/4*
