I'm just back from AQUAMAN and the good news is that its not a waterlogged mess. It's better than any of the other DC film bores, but not quite up to 2017's terrific "Wonder Woman".
You can't blame Jason Momoa, who takes a ridiculous concept and turns Arthur into an incredibly likable, funny and winning superhero.
Director James Wan (Conjuring 2, Furious 7) brings style and a strong sense of action to the movie. He clearly knows how to stage the big moments.
The special effects and designs teams are superb, creating the coolest new cinematic universe since James Cameron brought us "Avatar".
Most of the cast is strong. Nicole Kidman is very good as Arthur's mom, Queen Atlanna. Her story that opens the film builds a strong and surprisingly powerful origin story.
Patrick Wilson is having fun as Arthur's brother and current ruler of Atlantis, who's got a taste for war mongering against the Earth's landlubbers.
Willem Dafoe brings some backbone to his important role and Dolph Lundgren continues his strong year at the movies after his appearance in "Creed II".
But why in the hell is this movie two and a half hours long? The plot is simple. There's a very good 2 hour movie under the seaweed here.
Couldn't they have shored up the search for the Tritan by a couple stops?
The weakest part of the film is the main human villain Manta, dully played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen. His reactions seem a bit extreme (ya think?) and he's forced to wear a villain costume so stupid that I almost laughed out loud the first time I saw it. He looks like the Elephant Antman.
Amber Heard is fine in action mode as Mera, but anytime she had long dialogue scenes, I started having bad George Lucas/Natalie Portman flashbacks.
However, when Momoa is on screen, AQUAMAN is a blast.
There are some great sequences, including a spiraling plunge into the depths by Arthur and Mera, with their in-hand torch providing the only safety as thousands of nasty creatures that are afraid of light circle nearby.
The climactic battle featuring just about every creature of the sea you can think of is visually spectacular too.
When the sharks with lasers came on screen, I was looking everywhere for Dr. Evil, but he was nowhere to be found.
Fun but flawed, Aquaman left me feeling like I'd been in the pool a little too long. For a DC Movie, it's top notch.
As a superhero movie, I'll give it a B-.
Movie fans: listen closely to the voice of the massive creature guarding the Trident. That's Julie Andrews. Who would have thought she'd have a film launching the same weekend as Mary Poppins comeback after 5 decades?
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