Review of Aquaman (2018) by Viniciusbrito — 21 Dec 2018

The world building that they created down in the sea is just fantastic and one that I don't remember in any other super hero movie with this level of quality and details, the first time that you get to Atlantis you can already see how beautiful and different it is, I don't really remember of any other world that existed in under the sea in a movie, so maybe this is the first one that are out there. The scene when we arrive there, Wan first showed an outside view, ships around the "street" flying in a way that really remembered me StarWars episode 2 when that scene in the beginning where there are a lot of ships flying everywhere, but in here the cgi is way better, when we finally got inside of the drowned city we can see the the nature working together with the edifices, it is all very good looking, they did gave a neon atmosphere in everything, the colors make contrast between the blue in the ocean giving everything a very nice aspect to it.

The action in this film is fabulous and giant, there are first solo fights from the characters against the soldiers of Atlantis, the cgi in one or another moment could have got heavy in some of these, but in overall, I think it got really nice, the choreography in some moments isn't really different, but in the fights with the tridents, and down in the ocean, things got really interesting, the floating in the sea is already really nice, to see the characters swimming arounde here and there, is a already nice and different situation, but fighting with all of this together gave some possibilities that, for me, was well made, the details in the water particles while the character were moving and hitting fast, so as the choreography in those one on one were pretty good. The power of Mera was a lot of fun, the water manipulation is a really interesting thing that can be used in some different ways, they used it as a weapon, as a escape exhaust valve and a solution for some situations, that in general it was really well used. The Black Manta visual was dope, and his action was also really nice, giving load to his strikes, and the laser was also really well done. And finally, for the action, the fantastic and giant war that have happened in the end, oh wow, that was great, the cgi wasn't really noticiable there, things were pretty there the animals fighting, the different beings doing different things, and some giant things happen there, wich i'm not going to spoile, but it was beautiful.

Technically this movie is great, the art direction is amazing, there are a lot of shots that I could just put in my wall for just how beautiful the frame was. The costumes are also amazing, the suits and armours that the royal people use in Atlantis are fantastic, the armour of the soldiers are different and also really interesting, and the main guys suit are unbelievable, Aquaman with his golden suit and the Ocean Master with the silver one, those two costumes are one of the prettiest and most loyal from the comics that have ever existed in super hero movies, the contrast that it had when they were battling got fetching. The camera movimentation that Wan uses in here is also a big differential, he uses rotating cameras in some moments, he uses the camera so nicely during the action sequences and also together with the montage, there are also moments, where he uses the camera and the atmosphere in favor to do what he is very familiar in horror movies, so it kind of gives some horror atmosphere sometimes, wich is good and different.

The script is where there is the biggest flaws in this film, first they introduce things well, saying that are different kingdoms and stuff, but things really feel rushed. There are moments where the vibe of the movie changes completely, together with the songs, there are moments where things are, intentionally, very goofy, there are moments that reminded me of baywatch, or trash comedy movies, in other things felt like blade runner, in some moments these crazy things works, in others not that much. There are some solutions that the movie found that I really didn't bought, some explanation situations also feels to conventional. There are some dialogues that are dumb, some really fun moments, some nice reliefs and some moments where more dramatic things happens that do work. The relationship between Mera and Arthur are way to rushed, I didn't really bought that, it does make sense, but definely felt rushed. Black Manta in this movie he have the function of, first to be apresented for us and the universe, second, make things a little harder for Aquaman and Mera, but he isn't really necessary for this film specifically, but he works as in this function. They say that are a lot of kingdoms in the sea, but I really think that I didn't saw all of them, and towards the end I think that in that context, would really make sense on having all of them there, the story is very predictable, we don't really have much surprises going on in here, but it is a solid story.