Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – Arthur must enlist the help of his half-brother Orm in order to protect Atlantis against Black Manta, who has unleashed a devastating weapon in his obsessive quest to avenge his father’s death.

My Take – Running for a little over 10 years, the massively decisive DC Extended Universe (DCEU), that began with 2013’s Man of Steel, has finally come to an end.

Though the franchise saw some incredible casting and expansive vision, sadly, in comparison to its main competitor, the Marvel Cinemastic Universe (MCU), the mostly dark and initially gloomy approach just never resonated with the critics and mostly just divided audiences, with some hardcore DC fans rallying hard in support, particularly in favor of filmmaker Zack Snyder.

Who helmed Man of Steel (2013), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), and Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) and produced Wonder Woman (2017) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020). I rather not talk about repulsive Justice League (2017).

Yet, beside the exception of Aquaman (2018), Wonder Woman (2017) and the generally panned Suicide Squad (2016), none managed to hit their potential box office numbers, with their few last releases, The Suicide Squad (2021), Black Adam (2022), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), The Flash (2023), and Blue Beetle (2023), outright just bombing.

But considering how the James Wan directed underwater action adventure was the only DCEU film to gross over $1 billion worldwide in the franchise, it is unsurprising that it’s sequel has been handed the responsibility to close the gates, despite carrying the burden of behind the scenes drama, mostly related to Amber Heard‘s controversial presence, and extensive re-shoots which also saw the cutting of two Batman cameos.

The result is a solid by the numbers’ entertaining sequel that expands the character and doesn’t interest itself at all with the greater DC universe. In a world of convoluted multi-verses and overly tiresome connected characters, there’s a pleasing simplicity to this story that is both appealing and engaging.

Sure, it is not as enjoyable as the first film as not all of the comedy and emotional beats land, but director James Wan and his co-writers David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Thomas Pa’a Sibbett and star Jason Momoa deliver enough action scenes and brothers’ banter to keep things fun, loud, and more interested in color and light than in depth. Perhaps the appeal of costumed superheroes has played out for the moment.

But some folks may enjoy the spectacle of toothy bug-eyed sea villains interspersed with random explosions, mythological analogies, and dialogue about family values, global warming and world peace. And since this one is officially the last film in the DCEU, it does have a kind of peace out moment at the end that fans will appreciate.

Set four years after the events of the first film, the story once again follows Arthur Curry (Jason Mamoa), aka Aquaman, who after defeating his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) became the King of Atlantis, married Mera (Amber Heard) and welcomed a son, who they raise alongside his parents, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) and Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison).

While he is struggling to rule his kingdom and maintain peace with the surface dwellers as his council opposes his views, he is forced once again into action with the re-arrival of David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) aka Black Manta. All these years, David has been traveling the world with Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park), Stingray (Jani Zhao) and a team looking for Atlantean artifacts so he can rebuild his power suit and kill Aquaman.

This led him to find the Black Trident and an ancient kingdom, sending everything on a collision course to catastrophe. And when he starts his attack on both Atlantis and the surface world, Arthur is forced to break Orm out of prison so he can find Black Manta and save the world and protect the seven seas.

Framed as a buddy action comedy, here, director James Wan throws everything at the sinking kitchen sink, including a genetically altered octopus, a rare metallic ore named Orichalcum and seventh mysterious kingdom. Although inferior to its predecessor in all departments, the buddy dynamic in this sequel works because we have two brothers butting heads the whole time.

Arthur is a funny, exuberant character, while Orm maintains a few of his antagonistic qualities and prejudices here, and the way they plays off each other is great. Plus, we get to see hilarious moments like Orm basically doing the “Naruto run” because he doesn’t know how to be above the water.

Yes, there are things the film could’ve gone deeper on; the whole film is a pretty heavy-handed story about global warming. It could’ve also explored Dr. Shen more. Like how a scientist who just wanted to see Atlantis and prove that it exists, aligned himself with a man so hell-bent on revenge that he would sacrifice the planet itself and everyone on it to get the revenge that he so desired.

Visually, the film is just as much of a feast as the original and being a very VFX-heavy film, director Wan uses it to his advantage. The film is bright and colorful taking us from Arthur’s lighthouse home to the bright pastels of Atlantis, neon-soaked vibes of the underworld, and vibrant greens of the jungles of the titular kingdom.

There are of course moments where the CGI could’ve used another pass, for example, the final fight with Aquaman and Manta, where it looks like they’re both CGI models, but most of it works, and it was easy to forget that I was watching actors on a CGI sound stage rather than being underwater, where humans typically don’t fare well.

Yet, holding it all together is Jason Momoa, and it’s hard to overstate his charisma, humor and presence. His timing, especially humor, is spot on, while his Aquaman is convincingly authoritative. Patrick Wilson also works well as the deposed usurper and villain turned hero, and is surprisingly funny throughout. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is somewhat wasted here and is reduced to portraying a stock baddie out for revenge, while his right arm, Jani Zhao, is as one dimensional as they come.

The same goes for Pilou Asbæk who simply underused here. Randall Park is always a likable, while Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Temuera Morrison, Indya Moore and Dolph Lundgren are alright in supporting roles. On the whole, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ is serviceable swan song that is decently fun and entertaining.