Review by John M. Delia, Jr.
After being introduced to this historical superhero in Justice League, now we get to see where it all began for this mysterious underwater champion. With the world divided this hero has to find a way to belong to both, above and below the ocean surface.
Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison) a lighthouse keeper along the shoreline of Maine discovers a person laying along the rocky shore during a very bad storm. He rescues her from the dangerous waters and discovers she’s Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), the princess of an underwater nation called Atlantis. Thomas helps her get better over time and they also learn how to communicate with each other. Eventually they both fall in love and have a child, they name Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa).
Atlanna believes he is a special child and will someday have the strength to unite the people from land with the kingdoms in the ocean. When danger returns to Atlanna’s life however, she decides to return to the sea to keep both her one true love and her child alive and safe from the dangers she brings to them.
As the years pass Arthur never sees his mother, but is trained by Vulko (Willem Dafoe) a counselor from Atlantis. Arthur’s destiny is to one day be the rightful king who must draw the Triton to make the land and the see become one and finally become Aquaman.
Along the way Arthur experiences many things while getting to know his people. His conflict with King Orm (Patrick Wilson) however becomes a problem. The upside though introduces him to Mera (Amber Heard), daughter of King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren) and King Orm’s bride to be.
Director James Wan includes it all in this spectacular action adventure film that adds to all of the Marvel and DC films of the past. He includes romance, adventure, action, family, honor, and faith, brings the magnificent origin story to the screen with excellent special effects.
But, with so much going on in this very decisive film, there are areas that I feel did not need to be included. The Black Manta origin I felt was not necessary to make this film great.The biggest problem is there’s too much action that takes away from the dialog of the story. I do understand that this character needs to be introduced so we can anticipate his return in a future sequel, but still felt it was not necessary.
The most anticipated storyline does not disappoint and delivers on all its promises. And it is the best action adventure film between all the Marvel and DC films released this year. It is definitely an experience that should be seen in IMAX or on a big screen at your local theater to get the full effects of the story.
Final Comment: I base the following grade on the awesome storyline that incorporates a strong but emotional origin of one of the better characters. It also includes excellent special effects that brings excitement and fantasy to the adventure. But it did have a few too many battle scenes that extended the story out excessively. (4.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information
Cast: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Defoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Beach, Temuera Morrison, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Directed and written by: James Wan
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language.
Running Time: 2 hours and 23 minutes
Release Date:Â December 21, 2018
Distributed By: Warner Bros.
Released In: IMAX, D-Cinema (3D), Dolby Vision, and Standard.