Review of Aquaman (2018) by Cheryl M — 25 Dec 2018

A REAL superhero film! I cannot express how amazing this film was. Instead of getting bogged down in dialogue, cliches, and worry about other or later films, this film just DOES IT. Everything you would want from a superhero film about Aquaman is here. It has its own unique style while still feeling like a DC film, meaning that the character and his adventure feel distinct from anything the rest of the Justice League are or are doing.

Follow Aquaman as he lives his life as a part of the world, gets wrapped up in political intrigue, is called to be the hero Atlantis needs--and then promptly says no because reasons that he explains and the audience doesn't have to feel out or guess at. However, because of WHO he is events unfold, and not because the plot said so or had to hit certain beats. The villains are excellent, and are clearly defined. Everyone comes off as a person in their own story who simply is also a part of Aquaman's. The special effects are AMAZING, and the film gets full mileage from them! We get to explore the undersea, Atlantis, and then go on an adventure above land. There is humor from time to time, and it fits with the characters and the setting. No one breaks character for the sake of some one liner, but they can still be funny.

Some probably consider this film a bit corny, and to that I have to ask: What did you come to a super hero film for? We're watching a man, born of a human and a mermaid, punch mermen riding sea horses and shooting laser beams while a pirate calling himself Manta hunts him down. This is in the same universe as a superpowered alien with heat vision, an intelligent martial artist who dresses like a bat, and a guy that's so fast he can go backwards in time to stop his mother from dying to another time traveller. What part of "realistic" is exactly a part of the super hero formula? I come FOR the spectacular, the adventure, the fun yet familiar, for the characters, and to see someone's imagination at play on the screen. And, boy, I cannot TELL YOU how much AWESOME is in this film without spoiling it! The story made promises it kept, and I felt like this could be the only Aquaman film ever--and that would be perfectly fine! But, I still want another, submariner tale of the depths coming to threaten the surface! Yet, one fish man will bring them all together. He is, the Aquaman!