Review of Aquaman (2018) by Jacob B — 21 Dec 2018

There's something oddly ironic in the fact that the DC hero that has been the butt of jokes for decades seems to have one of the more well-received DCEU movies than the "cool" heroes like Batman and Superman. While the only one I thought was weak was Suicide Squad, I personally consider Aquaman to be my favourite DCEU movie. The performances are great with Jason Momoa truly making Aquaman badass. The supporting characters are good as well. Like Man of Steel and Wonder Woman, this movie remains self-contained. It takes place after the events of Justice League with origin story stuff told in flashbacks but it remains its own thing with the only mention being an offhanded mentioning about the defeat of Steppenwolf (sorry for the spoiler, folks). And I've saved the best for last. The visuals and action. Atlantis looks breathtakingly gorgeous with a brighter colour palette that doesn't feel like Warner Bros. desperately trying to tell audiences "look, we're not always dark with muted colours". The action is likely some of the best that the DCEU has to offer. It's not to say that Wonder Woman's action was bad. But in Aquaman, it's incredibly stylish and I felt like I was there. I wanted the good guys to win and the camera even tried to make takes as long as possible. This is only James Wan's second non-horror film as director yet he directed this movie as if he's been making blockbusters for years. Say what you want about this movie but for me, Aquaman is a step in the right direction for the DCEU as WB makes DC great again.

P.S. Why is it that the best-received post-Man of Steel DCEU movies are the ones that Zack Snyder was the least involved in?