‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Movie Review: The DCEU Ends On A Messy, Yet Fun Note
Photo from IMDb
From Joe Peltzer
Pour one out for what could have been as the release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom marks the end of the DCEU with James Gunn’s rebooted universe hitting theaters in 2025. The first Aquaman was a hoot and a half, so heading into this sequel that was plagued with poor audience tests and numerous reshoots, I just wanted to have a good time. While James Wan’s follow-up to the billion dollar-plus first is plagued with a choppy story, messy CGI, and some brutal dialogue, it’s still a good time and a reminder that sometimes it’s okay for comic book films to not take themselves too seriously.
In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Black Manta (Yahoo Abdul-Mateen II) continues his quest for revenge, securing an ancient trident that imbues him with immense power, threatening not only the King of Atlantis (Jason Momoa as Aquaman), but the world at large. To stop him, Arthur Curry springs his imprisoned brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) and sets differences aside for the good of Atlantis et al. Where Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom works best is in its jovial banter between Aquaman and Orm; a large portion of the film is them journeying through a jungle with ridiculous threats mounting, jokes flying, and a rocking soundtrack/score similar to the first film. Love the DCEU or hate it, Momoa perfectly embodied the character he was tasked with bringing to life and seemed to have a hell of a good time doing it. That makes a flawed film just a little bit better. Wilson for his part is perhaps not as exciting as he was when he was a menacing younger brother in battle with Momoa, but he’s intriguing enough.
Abdul-Mateen II has kicked his villainous side into high gear here playing a man with nothing left to lose and nothing holding him back… and that’s before he is possessed by an ancient evil. His back and forth with Randall Park’s Dr. Stephen Shin is often silly and a bit uneven in tone from the rest of the film, but it’s nice to see Park’s character, introduced in the first film’s credits scene, get more to do. He is unfortunately victim to some of the choppy editing, however, when his frightened character just watched a monster take a colleague to his death and then just seconds later is delivering an overture about what the team has found as though nothing happened. It’s just one of the signs that this film experienced a lot of reworking, an attempt to make a more interesting story work when there are numerous pieces in the balance: Aquaman is married and is a father, he needs his brother to help him, their is a lost kingdom long forgotten reemerging, and oh, climate change is bad. It’s a messy (and not so original) mix, for sure.
Left on the side of the road (ocean?) are Nicole Kidman as Atlanna and Amber Heard as Mera. Kidman’s first appearance has her swimming alongside Heard on Atlantis’ version of speed bikes with some weak and silly dialogue between the two and pretty rough CGI work. She pops up a few more times in a failed attempt to establish some form of emotional undercurrent, but she is largely unused. The same goes for Heard’s Mega who, despite rumors that her character would be killed off in light of her personal woes, does have an impact in the moments we see her (and gets her butt properly kicked by Black Manta). I have never been fond of Heard as an actress, but a scene that calls for an emotional outcry from her was well-delivered (for comparison, Momoa’s cry was met with uproarious laughter from the audience).
Look, this is a throwaway film for Warner Bros. and for DC as they have their sights set on the future. There is enough to enjoy here due to the it not taking itself too seriously and because of Momoa’s infectious excitement to make this an enjoyable, yet forgettable watch. The inclusion of the octopus sidekick Toro was both ridiculous and hilarious. The third act’s big battle is a CGI slugfest, but it’s fun and engaging (sans Dolph Lundgren’s lines as King Nereus that are nauseatingly poor). The film ends with a ridiculous scene that I won’t spoil, but Momoa does get a mic drop moment that was well worth my time.
Rating: 3/5
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hits theaters on December 22nd, 2023.
