Direction by James Wan

Screenplay by David Leslie-McGoldrick and Will Beall

Story by Geoff Johns & Wan and Beall

 

“Okay, so we’re doing things a little out of order. S#!+ happens.”

– Arthur

The series of interconnected DC Comics movies releases its 6th feature and to get back on course they pull out all the stops. Now, let’s stop for a second. I’m afraid when I wrote ‘they pull out all the stops’ you read that as, ‘they tried extra extra hard this time’. No, what I mean is they unleashed a wave, no less than a tidal, and riding it are lion-roaring sharks with little saddles for undersea humanoids to ride. They’re the shark police, people, and you better love it.

Oh, and Julie Andrews plays a Kaiju guarding a Holy Golden Trident.

The kind of insanity that is Aquaman truly cannot be overstated. This may just be the definitive ‘you’re on the ride’/’you’re off the ride’ movie. Let me just add this: A water-breathing Dolph Lundgren rides a seahorse. Still onboard? I sure hope you are because if you watch this movie from just the right point-of-view it really is one of the most fun of the year.

But let’s start at the beginning.

Arthur Curry was first introduced in Justice League over a year ago. That movie was famous for being a three-hour epic reduced to two with about thirty percent more swapped out for Joss Whedon Super Hero Parody sequences. When Batman said, “Tell me, do you bleed?” in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, director Zack Snyder probably didn’t imagine that the follow-up film would have Batman rolling around the grass clutching his leg muttering, “Something is definitely bleeding…”

Moreso than the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC has attempted a naturally organic style, each movie picking up the baton where the last left off. Man of Steel‘s climax led to Batman’s response in Dawn of Justice. Superman’s death in that film lead to the creation of the Suicide Squad. Dawn of Justice also lead to a background check in Wonder Woman as a kind of prequel/prologue for Justice League. And now, having emerged as a hero, Arthur Curry is asked back home to help stop Atlantis from going Imperial.

This progression is of the utmost importance because, had it worked, everything would have fallen into place nicely and the audience would be perfectly situated for whatever lunacy Aquaman has to offer. The copious amount of World Building found in this film wouldn’t seem so burdensome and maybe that could have stemmed some of the overwrought melodrama as well.

Perhaps not the melodrama. Nothing could have helped that.

So here we are, following in the footsteps of culturally rejected films (“Superman killed Zod, my life is over!”) and a director hired for his horror/suspense credentials has to make a Warner Brothers-mandated hard pivot to one of the most colorful pictures I’ve ever seen. And the fact that I think it works? Almost a miracle.

Jason Momoa plays Arthur Curry, the son of a lighthouse keeper named Tom (Temuera Morrison) and the queen of Atlantis, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman). Two worlds that were never meant to unite (the movie leans hard into this theme) produced a hero but Arthur wants nothing to do with his home after training with Vulko (Willem Dafoe) reveals that his mother was executed by Atlantis after force-carrying a child, Orm (Patrick Wilson), who now wants to rule the world.

*Whew!*

The casting of Momoa might irritate comic book purists but they’re simply wrong on this one. The Aryan Aquaman of Super Friends past (the one with the pet Octopus, see Did You Know, below) isn’t necessary in a diverse world. Momoa is affable and raring to go, proving he can carry a picture on his Bro-ish charms. He is also of Hawaiian heritage, which plays quite well into a story about a man who can communicate with fish.

By the way, talking to fish is awesome. Why would anyone think that wasn’t cool??

Truthfully, no Super Hero movies come this ambitious. The scope of Clash of the Titans crosses over with Raiders of the Lost Ark by way of The Lord of the Rings. Add some of the thematic elements of Thor and Black Panther, with much greater visual acuity, and you have Aquaman. There’s even a tidy little love story between Arthur and the water telekinetic Mera (Amber Heard) that has a few cute moments, including her impressing a little girl with water dolphins and eating roses in confusion. Aren’t out-of-towners fun?

Finally, there’s a sub-plot about a pirate who loses his dad, blames Arthur, and decides to craft a giant laser-shooting helmet to kill him with. He calls himself Black Manta. It’s weird but that kinetic action one-take scene in Italy certainly makes up for it. DC excels at hard punches that actually seem to hurt. Not like those wimpy Marvel boxing maneuvers of Captain America’s. Pfft, Steve Rogers couldn’t eat the kelp off Arthur’s feet.

Just kidding, I love Cap.

James Wan is a fine director. There are two sequences of such utter beauty that, thankfully, it seems even Wan is aware of it so we linger with them for a spell. The first is Arthur’s entrance into Atlantis, a neon-light show of underwater extravagance. It’s a reminder what Star Wars: The Phantom Menace could have been in the right hands. Or Avatar, for that matter. The second sequence is a deep-sea dive to escape hideous creatures known as The Trench. The screen slows the image down just enough to help us grasp the enormity of the moment, encapsulating a kind of beautiful terror. This shot alone is worth the IMAX price.

Comic book features are really leaning heavily into their Shakespearian phase. No longer are we content with traditional origin stories about a kid who loses his pet rock, gains the powers of a hamster then learns responsibility while fighting his opposite, the Asbestos Lady. Now we’re shuffling around kingdoms (Black Panther), corporations (Venom), and everyone in the Universe (Avengers: Infinity War). No wonder Ant-Man and the Wasp seemed like such a waste of time. Where this stops, nobody knows. I guess we’ll just have to have a ball until we get there.

Verdict: Yeaaaaaaahhh!!! (They earned it.)

Released 21 December, 2018

Rated PG-13

Aquaman created by Paul Norris & Mort Weisinger

Film Culture: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Steven Spielberg, 1989). George Lucas and Mr. Spielberg planned to bring their boy Indiana out for one final adventure, rounding out a trilogy, and cementing him as a pulp ’80s icon. And they never came back to the character. Ever.

For The Last Crusade, Spielberg felt he needed to course-correct after a bad mood brought out Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), a movie full of crunchy insects, heart-ripping cultists, and the whippings of enslaved children. Then there was the Snake Surprise and Monkey Brains…

That leads us back to Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) where Professor Jones went after the Ark of the Covenant. What other religious artifact desired by the Nazis could we do for this finale, the creators wondered. Why, the Holy Grail, of course! “You chose wisely,” the ancient Knight would have proclaimed, because in pairing father and son (James Bond’s Sean Connery played Henry Jones, Sr.) Last Crusade became an exciting comical romp from beginning to end. Full of birds flying into ‘planes, zeppelins crashing, Hitler signing autographs, and the wrong cup melting your face really had the audience going.

Why, oh why did they have to make Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and ruin it all??

River Phoenix stars in a nice, taut little prologue that doubles as set-up for the father/son relationship and an origin story for all things Indy.

Did You Know: Topo. Surely you’re familiar with the Super Pets? Why, everyone knows Batman’s dog, Ace the Bat-Hound. No? What about Comet, Supergirl’s horse? How about Terrific Whatzit, the Flash’s turtle? Really?? Okay, then you must remember Jumpa, Wonder Woman’s kangaroo…

Geez, I guess that means you don’t know Topo.

Notice the octopus playing the drums before Arthur and Orm have their volcanic showdown? Starting in Adventure Comics #229 (October, 1956), created by Ramona Fradon, Aquaman was paired with his own animal companion. Topo was great. Who needs a stupid dog or monkey when eight long tentacles can tickle or massage your toes? Or shoot four arrows at once (not eight, four need to hold the bows). Topo, in at least one instance, became a one-man band, playing six instruments simultaneously (the piano and the bass required two tentacles apiece).

That isn’t all Topo is good for. He also babysits Aquababy, the two having had many an adventure. You didn’t know there was an Aquababy? Sure, there’s also an Aqualad and an Aquagirl. Aquaman even has an Aquaharem, though come to think of it, that might have been an over-18 web site.

In the modern era, Topo is a squid-boy from Sub-Diego (San Diego crashes into the sea, leaving the civilians to evolve into Atlantean types and start a new society — they should really use this for the second movie), squirting ink at villains when cornered. People got bored of him fast so his appearances are rare. My Topo will always be the octopus. Topo Forever!!

Published in Entertainment