SYNOPSIS: 

Arthur (Jason Mamoa) is a product of love between Queen Atlanna of Atlantis and a normal lighthouse keeper. Being the first born, he is destined to be the King of Atlantis and no matter how much he wanted to deny his own rights, situation forces him to unleash his own potential and be the bridge between two worlds. In more simple and direct words, Aquaman doesn't want to be king but his asshole younger brother wants to start a war so Aquaman has no choice but to be king. 

James Wan is an interesting director for me. When he was assigned to be Furious 7's director, I had my doubts because how come he who is specialized in making good horror movies is given the task to direct such a fun and action filled franchise? Well, he nailed Furious 7 as the action parts are so over the top and fun to watch. James brought the same elements into Aquaman and managed to take a different turn from other DC movies so far by not making it too gloomy and serious but instead, full of wonders and fun. 

Okay, making Aquaman a surfer dude may not be James Wan's idea but he embraced it and fully exploited it. I love the concept because the Aquaman in the comics is too serious and kinda depressed about not wanting to be king and wanting to belong somewhere in the world sort of thing. Movie Aquaman just lay it out to everyone - "Hey, I don't want to be king. But if you keep pressing me to do it!!!!! Whatever, I'll do it." DC cinematic Aquaman is so laid back and cool, it's hard not to fall in love with him. 

Going back to assessing the movie, as I mentioned, James Wan managed to make it fun by putting so much over the top action scenes. My favorite is the part in Sicily, Italy which is revealed in some of the marketing efforts before the release. Even though I have watched the scene before the release, it's just so cool to watch. 

The action scenes also showcase Aquaman's strength as a hero. We can finally see how strong he is and how talking to fish is not an ability can be taken so lightly. I'm just so happy with the amount of work being put into the action parts. 

Besides that, I am impressed with how Atlantis turns out. In the comics and animated movies / series, Atlantis has always been portrayed as a bit primitive with some spices of technology. In this movie, it's the other way around. Atlantis is so modern with little touches of ancient customs and elements. James Wan's Atlantis is like a mixture of Tron cities and Star Wars. 

The CGI is tremendously wonderful. I love the Trench scene when the ship is being attacked. It's very Snyder like and reminded me of scenes from 300. As expected from Zack Snyder. 

The costumes are awesome to see and pay homage to the comics especially at the later part of the movie. So glad to see the bright original colors are used on Aquaman. Orm or Ocean Master's battle armor at the end is also awesome. I love the face cover. Well, I don't have to mention how happy I am with Mera's. Honorable mention? Nicole Kidman. Phew. Man, she still got it. You know what I'm saying?

Of course, this movie is not perfect. The obvious flaw is in the script. I get that Aquaman / Arthur is a surfer dude with a vocabulary of a ten year old but in my opinion it would not hurt to give him one or two cool, memorable lines. I also wish they had done a better job at writing Mera's script. She's a princess for God's sake. Throughout the movie, she speaks like a bimbo but acts like warrior, which I think do not match. 

Maybe I love comic book Mera too much that I feel conflicted about movie Mera. Amber Heard is awesome but I think she needs to bring more fierce into Mera. Comic book Mera is not to be messed with. In the comics, even Aquaman kinda fears her a bit. In this movie, Mera seems more flirty or easily charmed. Hey I get that Aquaman is the most manly man in the whole seas but come on, she's a warrior princess. I was hoping that she would have Wonder Woman's characters a little bit because when I think about it, both are quite similar in background. 

Even though Aquaman is the main, to tell you the truth, I kinda fell in love with Orm / Ocean Master a bit. It's probably because the production gave Jason Mamoa with little to work with while Patrick Wilson has so many inspiring yet evil lines. Like I mentioned, they should give Aquaman more cool lines and not portray him as too dumb. 

Lastly, I just had to say that I am so glad to see Willem Dafoe in this. He's awesome. 

To conclude, Aquaman is a fun to watch movie as the action is over the top fun and the scenes are beautiful to see. Though, I expected more clever and memorable script. 

4 out of 5 stars