Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry teams up with his once-villainous brother Orm in James Wan’s superhero sequel. Here’s our full Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom review.
I can’t remember the last time a big blockbuster film sequel arrived in cinemas with as little fanfare as Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom. By the time you’re reading the review, the film has technically been out for 15 hours. The sequel to James Wan’s 2018’s superhero film has been plagued by delays and rumours of disastrous test screenings and reshoots.
Wan has downplayed the rumours, but there’s also a lingering feeling: does Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom even matter? Jason Momoa seems pretty sure that he’s done with the role and cinema managers have been worried about the film’s projections for months now.
Regardless, the film is now here and… Let’s just say that if you weren’t a fan of the first Aquaman, this one isn’t going to convert you.
Wan jumps straight into the narrative, filling in some story points via Arthur’s voiceover, such as him marrying Mera (Amber Heard) and having a cute little kid, Arthur Jr.
Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Arthur’s old foe, returns to cause mayhem, having acquired a mystical, magical trident that threatens not just Atlantis, but the surface world as well. Desperate to protect his home and his family, Arthur is forced to break his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) out of prison to help him stop Manta.
And you know what? There’s a great superhero film somewhere in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, but it’s lost in a sea of mediocrity. For what it’s worth, I didn’t find the film to be quite the disaster I was fearing from the lack of marketing and the oddly timed embargo, but I still can’t say in good conscience that this is a decent film. It’s about as generic as they come, and mostly settles for repeating a lot of the first flick’s tricks.
What’s most frustrating is the amount of potential here. The decision to team Arthur with Orm proves to be a winner; Momoa and Wilson have a fun, playful dynamic and far more chemistry than Momoa and Heard had in the first film. Wilson is particularly good, and proves to have immaculate comedic timing.
In fact, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is at its best when it’s a simple buddy comedy between two brothers. If only there were more moments with just Arthur and Orm, we might be inclined to call this a good film.
And speaking of Heard, her involvement has been a bit of a question mark. She proves to be a light presence, but one that feels pretty essential to the narrative. The focus is clearly on Arthur and Orm’s relationship, but kudos to Wan for not awkwardly shutting her out of the film.
As for the villain, Black Manta is fine, if painfully one-note. Wan does manage to bring some character arcs to an end nicely, but there’s nothing in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom that would set it apart from every other superhero film we’ve seen already.
Visually, it’s more of the same as Aquaman. Wan still has a good eye for colours and perhaps the character was intended as the Guardians Of The Galaxy of DC, but the CGI is mostly an eyesore. Avatar: The Way Of Water obviously brought 3D back in some capacity, but it also completely upstaged any other film doing underwater scenes with its superb effects. The 3D here is headache inducing, with backgrounds often melting into a grainy mess.
Although Wan has defended his film and insisted that reshoots are completely normal, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is simultaneously too long and overly rushed and choppy. It moves at a brisk pace and at two hours and four minutes, it’s one of the shorter superhero films of recent years, but Wan can’t ever quite pinpoint what story he wants to tell. Thematically, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom has it all; global warming, family relationships, revenge, parenthood. You name it, Wan has put it in his film.
Despite all its flaws, Wilson and Momoa’s tangible chemistry gave me something to root for. It doesn’t save the film, but it fills in some of the gaps left by a lacklustre narrative and messy visuals. The film seemingly has no relevance for the future of the DCU; there’s no mention of other superheroes or events that have taken place in the same universe, which feels refreshing, but it’s hard to care when you go in assuming the character will be shelved after this film.
Wan leaves things open enough to perhaps get the gang back together, but unless someone can find a way to do the character and Atlantis justice, it might be best for Aquaman to hang up his suit and trident.
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom is now in cinemas.
