Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

 

Once again, I emerge from the darkened movie theater to share my thoughts on my latest film viewing: Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.  

First let me apologize for keeping this one short, it’s a cold rainy day and my desire to curl up with a hot mug of tea, cuddle under a blanket, and watch one of my annual Christmas movie films supersedes spending too much time on this review.  Second, it should be noted that any and all desire to see this film evaporated months ago. Too many controversies plaguing it for too long and the trailers weren’t exactly screaming “must see”. 

So why go?

Umm, Jason Momoa and curiosity of course.

Yes, there was a fair amount of dread going into this one for sure, but I admit it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Nice surprise there. However, when it comes down to it, I didn’t find ATLK as good as it could or should have been.

Momoa does his best to bring the fun and joy from the first film and does a pretty decent job, but it still feels flat and forced overall.  Pretty much the case for the entire film actually. 

Everything about Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is a very hit and miss proposition.  

Returning cast of Momoa, Wilson, Abdul-Mateen II, Kidman, Morrison, Lundgren and more? Great.  The elephant in the room? Not so much. Clearly not in the film as much as originally intended, but more than should be with cringe worthy results.

Humor throughout? 

Yes. Sadly, it falls flat as often as it lands. 

CGI eye-popping or downright gawd awful depending on the scene. 

Great action sequences interspersed with pure silliness. 

A plodding “been there seen that got the t-shirt plot” that’s both simplistic yet overly convoluted, somehow managing to do too little and too much simultaneously.  

Dialogue that offers up a few tasty morsels but is arguably mostly trash. 

There’s a weird boring energy that persists throughout the film and a sense of laziness from all the things you’ve definitely seen before in other films which did it better.

While more watchable than I expected, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom suffers from all the delays, numerous studio recuts, and an identity crisis surrounding what kind of film this wants to be.  All which hang over the end product like the sword of Damocles and you never get past that feeling of dread/doom while viewing. 

Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom has its moments, they are definitely few and far between. I enjoyed the music, a lot of the back and forth between Orm and Arthur and, seeing other returning characters, and various other bits and bobs that pop up. But I never found myself fully engaged with the film. I didn’t hate it, but I’m far from clamoring for more.  ATLK is leftover DCEU fair, and it shows. No one involved seems invested in the end product and I left the theater feeling the same way.  

Still, I’m going to give Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom an overly generous 6, largely based on my fondness for Momoa and several other cast members alone. The snacks were also particularly tasty too. 

In actuality Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is more of a 4.

BTW, there’s one credit scene.

#Aquaman2