Aquaman was one of the better DC Films.
If I were to sum this movie up in one sentence, I would say that “it’s pretty good”. I definitely enjoyed seeing Aquaman in theaters on opening weekend. It was better than a lot of DC movies, like the recent Superman vs. Batman film, which I did not care for. Aquaman was about on par with the most recent Wonder Woman movie.
The character and portrayal of Aquaman seemed indecisive.Â
Jason Momoa’s portrayal of Aquaman was a new take on a legendary super hero. He was a little less royal and elegant than cartoon/comic versions, and a little more…. well, just more. His first couple scenes as an adult portrayed him as an angry and hardened individual. He beat up some bad guys and rescued a submarine. He left a bad guy to die, and then he proceeded to almost get himself into a bar fight.
At this point, I was pinning Aquaman as more of a Batman style “super hero”. But just when I thought I had Aquaman figured out, he started cracking jokes and being all sweet. We begin to see Aquaman’s “gentle caring” in his conversations with his father. We also see that he has a sense of humor when he meets up with Mera, played by Amber Heard. The two of them have an immediate on screen connection, and it’s easy to tell that Mera is going to be a love interest.
Aquaman was kind of a confusing character throughout the film. Aside from his mother leaving at a young age, he didn’t have a reason to be hardened. He had a pretty simple and straight forward childhood. He had a close relationship with his father, and received special combat training from a man I think was his uncle. Either way, he seemed rather happy growing up. So when we see him as an adult and he’s all angry and hardened, I was slightly caught off guard. Luckily he quickly changes to a more upbeat funny sort of character that matches his character development.
I don’t blame Jason for this inconsistency in the character of Aquaman. In my opinion, Jason Momoa did a fine job acting, and I think that he could do an even better with a sequel. From an acting standpoint, I would argue to say that Amber Heard did a better job than most of the actors/actresses in the movie. She was a central character to the film and followed Aquaman throughout.
It didn’t feel like a traditional super hero film.
This movie has some weird stuff in it. Parts of it felt like a SciFi film, with crazy water cars and laser guns. Other parts felt like a fantasy adventure with giant monsters and epic fight scenes, and then there were the parts that seemed more like a normal super hero movie. The movie was kind of all over the place.
Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe
Runtime: 2hr 23min
Rated: PG13
HFR Rating:
