While comic book movies are the biggest genre at the box office, DC has been having a rougher time making their classic heroes work on screen. Only Wonder Woman has been a smash success with both fans and critics, and now the franchise turns to a somewhat unlikely new hero, Aquaman. The water-based hero is frequently the butt of jokes due to the fact that communicating with sea life is part of his primary power set, but it looks like the Atlantean might be the hero we need after all. We at CinemaBlend are on board with this one.
CinemaBlend Managing Director Sean O'Connell reviewed Aquaman and he gave the movie 3.5 out five stars, saying the film was visually stunning and praising Jason Momoa as the titular hero.
Aquaman is epic in scale, and a technical marvel to behold, as James Wan figured out how to properly film an underwater adventure without drowning his cast. Jason Momoa grows into the role of Arthur Curry, fully transitioning from "dude bro DC hero" to "majestic heir to the throne of Atlantis." Much like Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, Aquaman thrives as a standalone story with no hitches tying it to the DCEU. It's corny at times, but visually stunning. See it on an IMAX screen for the best results!
If you are on the fence about seeing Aquaman, perhaps you're one of those people that have been underwhelmed by recent DC endeavors, CinemaBlend Video Producer Alli Ladd encourages you to not wait, as the visual spectacle of the film demands it be seen on a big screen.
If you're going to see Aquaman at all, you better see it in theaters. The film is too visually stunning to skip seeing it on the big screen. Yeah, it's a tad goofy in places, but roll with it and you'll have an amazing time.
Goofy and corny are two words you don't have used to describe many of the previous DC movies, and yet, both Sean and Alli admit that Aquaman does get a bit silly at times. If you saw Justice League that fact isn't necessarily a shock, Arthur Curry did have his comedic moments there as well, but at the same time, this movie shows that DC movies aren't afraid to have a little fun. And this movie certainly seems to be the better for it.
One person who doesn't mention humor in his review is CinemaBlend Events Editor Eric Eisenberg. Whether or not Aquaman has fun, he thought the movie was just an exciting blockbuster movie, thanks to the visual effects and a solid performance by Jason Momoa.
Wonder Woman demonstrated that DC Extended Universe movies can be great so long as they're not stuck trying to rush the franchise with excessive world building, and James Wan's Aquaman has wonderfully solidified the legitimacy of that approach. Built on a strong character arc from its central hero and a fantastic performance from Jason Momoa, the new blockbuster is a blast, introducing the majesty of the underwater kingdoms with a ridiculous and awesome adventure. It's loaded with jaw-dropping action sequences and brilliant visual effects, and is easily one of the biggest surprises of the season.
The one constant seems to be that Aquaman is a visually impressive film. Certainly, with so much of the movie being set underwater, the movie had to make those sequences pop, and that meant a significant investment in digital effects. It appears that investment has paid off.
As far as myself, I had a great time with Aquaman as well, but the thing that stuck with me is the way the movie, rather than trying to distance itself from the traditional Aquaman character and trying to make something very different, leaned into the sorts of things that people like to joke about and made them work.
Aquaman: We're going to make talking to fish badass.
Who would have thought the guy who talks to fish would have such a great solo debut, but here we are. Jason Momoa is perfectly cast, the action and visual effects are stunning, and yeah, he talks to fish.
The holiday season isn't necessarily a time that we think about comic book movies, but spending the holidays with Aquaman might not be a bad idea.
