Evolutionaries
Podcast
HeritageRadioNetwork.org (HRN) presents “Evolutionaries,” a new radio documentary series...
Move Along, Please
Book
At 10.41am on a Tuesday morning in September, Mark Mason boards the number 1A bus at Land's End in...
Fast Fresh & Tasty
Food & Drink and Lifestyle
App
This multi award-winning recipe app features weeknight meals that use NZ ingredients and what's in...
Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming
Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, Pat Harrigan and James F. Dunnigan
Book
Games with military themes date back to antiquity, and yet they are curiously neglected in much of...
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Aquaman (2018) in Movies
Jul 16, 2019 (Updated Sep 1, 2019)
It actually starts off pretty strongly, as we're introduced to all the players involved, and all of the important locations.
Jason Mamoa is a very likeable guy, but it takes a while to warm to his gym bro approach Arthur Curry, but he managed to win me over eventually, the charming hairy bastard.
Patrick Wilson is pretty good as Ocean Master, and it's nice to see veterans like Willem Defoe and Nicole Kidman (who gets an early and very brief action scene which I reckon trumps anything in Batman vs Superman).
The story set up is all fine and straightforward, and some of the visuals are pretty impressive, especially sweeping shots of Atlantis.
When the story heads back to land at the mid point is where the films takes a bit of a nosedive.
It all just becomes a bit...boring.
It also falls into the weird "play-a-cool-song-at-random-intervals" trap that Suicide Squad enjoyed flogging to death. (Whoever decided to put that God awful hip hop cover of Africa in the mix deserves a slap)
I also feel that Black Manta was sort of wasted here. He's sidelined to make room for other story lines, which I guess is fine if he's being set up for a bigger role in future installments, but here he just feels kind of tacked on.
The last act of the film is a CGI orgy, but it stands apart from a lot of films in the genre, as it's actually colourful! The sheer scope of the last battle is absolutely absurd, so absurd that it kind of works.
The CGI in question is pretty hit and miss throughout the film - sometimes it looks horrific (young Willem Defoe is haunting) and other times, it's pretty flawless, making for some pretty good action shots.
Overall, for me, the DCEU is still struggling to leave it's mark, but Aquaman and this years Shazam seem like a small step in the right direction.