Aquaman review: Jason Momoa's superhero origin story evades the DC shipwreck

This entertaining movie is worth your time if you don't put too much thought into it

Aquaman review: Jason Momoa's superhero origin story evades the DC shipwreck Jason Momoa stars as the titular hero Aquaman

DC's latest venture, Aquaman, is a fairly simple tale of how the half-human half-Atlantean Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) must fight to win an underwater throne, albeit reluctantly, to avert a war between the two worlds he represents--one above the waters and the other below. His father is human and his mother an Atlantean queen who gave birth to Arthur out of wedlock.

To stake his claim of the throne, Arthur must retrieve the golden trident that belonged to the ancient king Atlan. So it is a part-action, part-adventure tale. But it is one that feels like you've seen before, which means it is pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.

Having a straight-forward origin story, one can tend to give in to cliches and moments of cheesiness. And that is where director James Wan seems to have avoided adding a dash of creativity to make the story stand out. He nails the birth and growth and Arthur, which Arthur narrates is the result of two worlds from the same planet that are not meant to be. But the glaring miss is the most important element of every superhero's tale―the moment the child discovers his powers.

Amber Heard as Mera and Jason Momoa as Aquaman Amber Heard as Mera and Jason Momoa as Aquaman

Arthur's childhood is shown in a couple of brief flashbacks, but there's a huge leap from a scrawny kid and a teenager that is upset when he learns of his mother's death, to the tall, beefy, beer-chugging hero. Reluctant to challenge the throne of Atlantis that is now held by his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), he is later pretty easily convinced to do just that. Arthur's reluctance to return to Atlantis is because he was earlier rejected for being a half-breed.

Barring the flashbacks, the story is set largely after the events of Justice League, in which Arthur plays a role in defending the planet. Thankfully, there is only one small reference that acknowledges that the movie is part of a larger project, where Arthur is urged by Mera (Amber Heard) to stop the war before it starts.

She says that he defeated Steppenwolf and that is enough to tell us where the movie stands. Which is a good thing. Because it shows that Wan has been given a free hand to make his own independent movie, apart from the giant mess that the DC extended universe is, at the moment (Wonder Woman being the exception).

There is a distinct comic book feel to the movie rather than a realistic one that movies these days try to imbibe. But several plot holes and a whole lot of gullible lines and moments takes the sheen off the storytelling. There is even a weak attempt to address the bane of human-induced water pollution. And while the underwater kingdoms want to destroy the land-dwellers for doing so, the rulers of the land seem to be mostly oblivious to all the goings-on of the sea world throughout the movie.

Jason Momoa does a fairly decent job of being a superhuman warrior, though his exaggerated grunts might be a tad bit annoying. He plays the Thor to Wilson's Loki (pardon the Marvel reference), although in this instance, it is the illegitimate son who is the good guy. Wilson isn't given much room to make his character interesting. Same with Arthur's sidekick/love interest Mera.

Aquaman review: Jason Momoa's superhero origin story evades the DC shipwreck

But it is the older actors who really make the most of the small roles they have. Willem Dafoe as Nuidis Vulko (vizier to the king and the one who trains Arthur) and Nicole Kidman (Queen Atlanna) portray their strong characters with grace and charm.

For all the vibrant colours in the ocean world, the costumes are a let down. As is the forced humour to lighten the mood. Wan tries to squeeze in as many elements of the story as he could, but it still makes the 142 minutes of runtime seem a bit stretched.

If you try not to give it too much thought, Aquaman is entertaining and worth your time. It has everything from a swashbuckling hero to explosive action-packed and CGI-packed fight scenes and a quintessential origin story. Anything more than that is just passable. One should only fear the insufferable sequel that is likely to follow this.

Movie: Aquaman

Director: James Wan

Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman

Rating: 3/5

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