THE best thing about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the fact that it allows Momoa to delve deeper into the Aquaman character. He revels in his role, further solidifying the fact that the film is the sequel to the 2018 Aquaman movie, and the final movie in the now-defunct DC Extended Universe.
Because of this fact, there’s an inherent feeling while watching the movie that nothing really matters. Nobody knows if any of the characters from this movie will carry over to the new DC Cinematic Universe. As such, you are immediately disinterested in the actual movie before it even begins.
But that’s focusing too much on the overall grand scheme of things. Looking at the movie by itself, it’s just a fun little movie to watch on the weekend.
After the events of the first Aquaman movie, Momoa’s Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman is now the king of Atlantis. He’s also married to Mera (Heard) and have a son together. The next big antagonist they have to face off together is Black Manta (Abdul-Mateen II).
Black Manta comes into possession of a magical dark trident which tells him to speed up the global warming of the planet so that a long-forgotten evil power frozen in the Antarctic ice shelf can finally escape. To defeat this new and existential threat, Aquaman teams up with his estranged half-brother Orm a.k.a. Ocean Master (Wilson).
Now if the basic plotline of this movie seems a little preachy, that’s because it is. The movie tries to tell us the harms, both real and fictional of global warming. But the way they go about it makes it hard to take seriously at times. I mean they’re talking about an evil skull-faced bad guy being the end result of global warming. That’s pretty hard to take seriously.
But it’s not all bad either. Once the movie finally teams up Aquaman and Ocean Master, the film turns from being an apocalyptic tale to being a buddy-cop movie. The chemistry between Momoa and Wilson is one of the most enjoyable parts of this movie. The way the two leads manage to riff-off each other while still being in character and adding to the plot really elevates this movie to bigger heights.
Another thing to note is the fact that Wan and his production team have once again done an excellent job in building out the world of Atlantis. The new characters and new civilisations all explored in the film fit perfectly into the already established world, instead of coming across as a poorly executed after-thought. The CGI and VFX in the movie is also top notch, especially the scenes that take place underwater.
Abdul-Mateen II also does a phenomenal job as Black Manta. But the climax fight scene falls flat, mainly because the movie decides that instead of Aquaman fighting Black Manta, he should fight the “real” big bad of the movie, which just doesn’t land right at all.
In sum, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a fairly middling addition and conclusion to the DCEU, but it could be a fun way to spend a couple of hours on the weekend if you have nothing better to do.
– Deviprasad Nair
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