But like Patty Jenkins before him, director James Wan is able to mold something that repositions where this franchise should steer itself. And it is unavoidable that this one is at times as lethargically bloated and lugubrious as its (much worse) predecessors.

The film however represents an about face to the often deathly self-seriousness of the current DC era, opting for decadence instead of the franchise’s defining grimness. You didn’t know that Kidman kicking ass in feverish video game fashion was something you needed, but Aquaman proves it to be so. If you’re wondering about one of our greatest actresses starring in a project that once was something of a punchline, you should know outright that no one is having as much fun as she is. Nicole Kidman stars as Arthur’s queen mother Atlanna, cursed to marry Orm’s father and later sacrificed for her romance with Arthur’s earthly father. Yes, Aquaman is a film for those resolving some mommy issues. When Amber Heard’s Mera reemerges to recruit Arthur to reclaim his birthright against Orm and his plans for destruction, Aquaman begins a quest to reckon with ancient history and his own feelings of abandonment. Smartly the film scatters the usual origin story benchmarks throughout its narrative, detailing Arthur’s training at the hands of Willem Dafoe’s Nuidis Vulko. Jason Momoa’s hero Arthur Curry returns to save both land and sea from his half-brother Orm, Patrick Wilson’s evil caped ruler of the underwater Atlantian kingdom. For some it might be an acquired taste, but it succeeds by pairing simplistic narrative ambitions with an authentically wild visual experience. It’s both beyond absurd and the guiltiest of pleasures, like Lisa Frank for dudes or gay underwater Indiana Jones. Here is a superhero epic that skews closer to something like Stephen Sommers Mummy trilogy, enveloped in sincerity and willingness to dazzle without winks or too-cool posturing.īut cut that with an over-caffeinated, sugar rush aesthetic packed to (forgive me) the gills with technicolor extremity, and you get a superhero film that’s delightfully batshit.

There’s an element to Aquaman’s chutzpah that feels lost to contemporary cynicism, as if its as much an artifact as the trident our titular hero chases.

Index of aquaman