Review: AQUAMAN

Release Date: Malaysia, 13 Dec 2018

Genre: Action

Running Length: 2:23

Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Yahya Abdul Mateen II, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison

Director: James Wan

Screenplay: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall

What's this movie about?

Arthur Curry aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa), learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. He rejects the idea as he doesn't believe he has what it takes to lead. 

Predictably, circumstances would force him to accept his fate, step up and become the hero by uniting both land and sea.

Highlights and Lowlights

Let's start off with lowlights of the film. Whenever there's too much CGI, my brain desensitizes and will disengage. Think Avatar. 

As for the plot, it's overly complicated but yet predictable. It involves politicking to unite three other kingdoms to go to war against the humans, the quest to look for THE trident and everything in-between. 

Some of the acting and dialogue are just terrible especially those involving Yahya's character. 

That said, Jason Momoa is perfectly cast as our towering hero with an easy-going-surfer-dude personality. In the opening sequence, when the bad guys go after him, you know they won't stand a chance.    

The action sequences on land are more believable than those underwater. There's this kancheong (white-knuckle) rooftop chase scene in Sicily which was well executed.

I also enjoyed a semi-horror sequence involving our heroes being chased and attacked by an army of scary looking creatures.

In summary

When the trailer to AQUAMAN hit months ago, I wasn't particularly excited as it looked like it's going to be a pesta CGI (CGI fest). Some of the graphics especially the shark in the aquaria, looked really fake in the trailer. I was thinking, "I can't imagine how it would look like on the big screen".

I'm glad to report that this movie is not as bad as I imagined it to be. Not to say that it's fantastic but it didn't sink either. 

It had so much going on as though James Wan & Co weren't expecting to return for a sequel. There are monsters from the deep, an outlandish sea creature voiced by Julie Andrews (!), an army of talking crustaceans, a ring of fire under water (what?), sequences inspired by Indiana Jones movies, war sharks and war seahorses, an octopus playing drums (for reals!) and so many more batsh*t crazy scenes!

Eventhough this movie is long, it definitely isn't boring. In fact, it got better as the movie progressed.

The most memorable moment for me: When our hero Aquaman emerges from a waterfall wearing a glimmering gold armour while holding a powerful trident in one hand. Cue electric guitar riff. 

RATING: 6.5/10

JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017)

Genre: Action / Adventure
Running Length: 2:01
Cast: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Ciaran Hinds, Connie Nielsen, J.K. Simmons, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Joe Morton, Billy Crudup, Amber Heard
Director: Zack Snyder
Screenplay: Chris Terrio and Joss Whedon, based on a story by Zack Snyder and Chris Terrio

JUSTICE LEAGUE is a much better film than expected. I was expecting another CGI laden mindless carnage outing (which to be fair, it still has plenty of it) but surprisingly, it has heart. Well, it's much better than Avengers: Age of Ultron and even Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

What I really appreciated about this movie is the balance of action and the quieter moments between our superheroes. For those who are unaware, Justice League actually has two directors. Zack Snyder had to step aside due to a family tragedy and Joss Whedon stepped in to do some re-shoots. It almost seems that the grand action pieces and the signature visual flair was helmed by Snyder while the light-hearted moments were done by Whedon.

Hey, I'm not complaining because it somehow worked for me. And thankfully, there is flow and hardly any inconsistencies. As mentioned, it's the "slower" scenes that actually made the camaraderie between our heroes believable. And there are many of these and most of these moments have smart dialogue and is quite funny. And speaking of funny, I'm glad the filmmakers didn't do a course correction and amped-up the comedy because I actually do like the "dark" and seriousness of the DC movies, but all of it just lacked soul (except for Wonder Woman).

The "new" characters to the team namely Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg could definitely have benefited if they had solo movies to explain their origins before this outing. One the film's best moment is when Wonder Woman reacted roughly to Batman when he mentioned her "dead boyfriend". That scene wouldn't have played out so powerfully if Wonder Woman didn't have a solo outing earlier this year.

Also, this movie has a very weak villain. Steppenwolf (a motion captured Ciaran Hinds) is not scary at all and is just another forgettable Big Bad Guy who wants to conquer the world. It seems the only reason he exists is to provide a catalyst to bring the Justice League together.

Lastly, I'm glad they brought back Danny Elfman to score the movie (replacing Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL). It's less bombastic and it goes back to basics drawing heavily from his own Batman (1989) theme as well as inserting hints of previous work of other composers. And I do very much dig Blues-rock guitarist Gary Clark Jr cover of the Beatles' Come Together. 

Overall, this film worked for me as I do like the characters. It's definitely a step in the right direction for the DC folks because I'm looking forward to see these superheroes on the big screen again, whether in their own films or as a team.

RATING: 7/10