Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the sequel to the highest-grossing DC movie ever, so all things being equal, expectations for the new film would be high. Things are not equal, however, as we know the current iteration of the DC universe on film is ending with this movie, and based on the critic's response to the new film, it sounds like everybody knew there was no future here.
While Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom isn’t without its charms, the general consensus appears that the movie is largely aimless. While the movie finds its footing, to some degree, later on, the movie struggles in its initial setup IGN’s Amelia Emberwing says…
The first Aquaman – and much of Lost Kingdom – works because while it’s not the best movie, Jason Momoa is having the time of his life so the audience has fun too. Let me tell you, it sure doesn’t feel like Momoa is having the time of his life in the first act.
The thing that does help the movie pick up steam is when Patrick Wilson’s Orm joins the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom cast, and the pair become an unlikely team. James Wan has said he saw the Aquaman sequel as a buddy comedy, and it sounds like, as one, it works pretty well. Writing for Inverse Hoi-Tran Bui says…
Once The Lost Kingdom becomes a buddy-comedy adventure between Aquaman and Orm, the film really starts to sing. While Momoa’s bro-y performance as Aquaman — which has not much evolved since the first film — can get old fast, Wilson makes it bearable by understanding exactly the kind of wavelength that Wan is on.
The strong chemistry between Momoa and Wilson is remarked on by several critics, but in pretty much all cases, the view is that it isn’t enough to save the movie because everything else is a mess. Tessa Smith at Mama’s Geeky writes...
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom suffers from a lot of issues such as a weak villain, anti-climatic ending, and cringey dialogue. The VFX aren't great (that could have been the 3D effect?). But hey, Arthur and Orm are fun together so... there's that?
While the movie may be good for a few laughs thanks to Momoa and Wilson, one of the issues, according to Valerie Complex at Deadline is that the movie is full of too many laughs. Ultimately the movie gets so silly that you can’t take it seriously, even when you should. She explained…
While the first Aquaman film maintained a balance of seriousness and fantasy, The Lost Kingdom veers into cartoonish territory. This tonal shift was so obvious the audience couldn’t stop laughing especially at the moment the audience is supposed to take seriously.
And while Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, may struggle in the first act, before having some fun in the second act, it all falls apart again for the third act, as the movie’s finale just doesn’t have the weight that it should, due to badly handled stakes. According to THR …
What’s most disappointing are the stakes. Even as Momoa and Wilson leap, kick, fight, tease and save themselves and each other all the way to the Big Finale, the drama of their story stays at the same level. There are rarely any plot turns here when you really fear that Aquaman might fail or that his faith in Orm could be misplaced.
So it looks like the DCEU is going out with a whimper, not a bang. That’s maybe not surprising but it is disappointing. If you want to find out for yourself Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s release date is this Friday.
