Aquaman 2 Review - Peachy & Explosive Oceanic Finale To The DCEU

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review: James Wan returns for another Oceanic superhero flick for DC with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. DCEU was having a dark patch when James Wan directed Aquaman (2018) and delivered a HIT as well as being the only non-dark and crowd-pleasing entertainer for DC Universe. The hopes were again the same, but then again, the tide betrayed him. Nobody actually thought that DCEU would end so early and with such a lukewarm filmography. Though Aquaman 2 gets preachy and predictable with its storyline and screenplay, the underwater action sequences come to rescue the oceanic war drama from drying away. No matter how weak the superhero movie scripts are, most of them always cover them up with explosive action and terrific visuals. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is another addition to the list. It may lack the novelty factor in the script, but it swims well deep down with some tide-breaking action extravaganza.Our hero, Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa), is living on the shore with his wife, Mera (Amber Heard), and his newly born baby boy. He hasn't quit his duties at Atlantis, and there is a big threat coming. David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has unleashed tremendous powers from the cursed Black Trident of the king of the lost kingdom. His motive is to seek revenge for his father's death, but slowly, the power possesses him to destroy not just Aquaman and his family but the entire world with some global warming threat. David builds an armour suit and uses ultrasonic waves to beat Aquaman and his Atlantis army. In order to stop David, Aquaman will have to seek help from the last person on earth he should go to, his half-brother, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson). Together, they embark on a mission to find David and stop him at any cost, but will it be easy to beat his dark powers?Written by a group of four people—James Wan, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Jason Momoa, and Thomas Pa'a Sibbe—the storyline of the movie doesn't really have anything to go swimming fast for. The idea is old. Two rival brothers coming together to save the family is nothing new for us. Many internet-era kids would know it from Thor and Loki easily, and as always, DC is too late to explore that idea. The screenplay is engaging, though. You may find some over-the-top with an extra amount of dramatic flavour, especially the pre-climax and climax scenes, followed by that social help exhibition. It's so mediocre to see such stuff in 2023. I thought the ultrasonic wave thing would be used well with the kid, but it ended up being so childish. Again, the same thing. One of the villain's men goes rogue, and he will receive a typical dialogue from the villain: "You took the wrong time to grow the spine." Some sense that was. But wasn't it too predictable? Wan was never a brainstormer with the writing; he always believed in simple writing and then making it look better on the screen. Aquaman 2 is just the same old practice for him.Jason Momoa's physics will attract you, and that swag is really something. As a performer, he delivers a decent act that can't be hated. Amber Heard has barely 15 minutes of screen presence, and she does nothing else but look gorgeous. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II had played Black Manta earlier in the 2018 flick, and naturally, he went unnoticed. This time, he made sure that everyone noticed him and noticed him well. This is surely one of the deadliest on-screen characters he has ever played. That introduction scene of Patrick Wilson will have you all scratching your heads with his physical appearance. Wilsom takes not more than 5 minutes to get into the shape and swims upstream without getting riven by character's limits. Nicole Kidman as Atlanna looks more beautiful than Amber Heard, and that's more than enough, I guess. Randall Park goes with the best supporting role, as others don't really have much to do.Coming back to visuals and action, these two are the biggest strengths of the film, I believe. Hardly any big-budget film goes wrong with the VFX, especially a 3D format release, so there was no chance that Aquaman would drown there. It swims beautifully there. There are three major action sequences in the film, and all three keep you hooked on the screen, while most of the time you will be adjusting your 3D glasses and trying to get rid of them. Don Burgess's cinematography is fine; Kirk Morri's editing seemed nice; and the production design was lavish. It all comes down to James Wan's handy vision, after all, because superhero movies aren't supposed to be intellectual. Wan never really believed that because he was James Wan and not Christopher Nolan. He simply thought about the audience and the die-hard fans, and he gave them enough content to spend two hours at the movies. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom may not be a critic-friendly movie, as the writing and execution both lack something extraordinary, but be assured, it makes for a decent watch and the water doesn't flow your head at all.