Aquaman, directed by James Wan is the 6th film in the DC universe. We can all agree that this universe has faced more hiccups than any other universe but the only thing that has remained constant is the fan support that they've been receiving. We can also agree that they don't deserve it considering what they've been doing with their heroes. Box office numbers have always been low, too many studio interferences have spoilt their big budget flicks and the director choices have also not been perfect. In the midst of all this, Aquaman stands tall as probably the best movie in the current DC universe in terms of plot, special effects, and casting.
Marvel managed to establish a proper universe after the same six movies span. If we take the comics, without a doubt anyone with decent knowledge would agree that DC has way better characters, villains and storylines so we can't blame DC comics as a whole for failing to meet expectations. If anyone, Warner brothers are to be blamed for their current predicament. They've had successful movies in the past but they should have been more careful with this current universe, maybe they were overconfident, maybe they cut off too much, maybe they picked the wrong storylines, maybe the wrong director to direct but whatever it is, so far, this universe has been one huge mess. Nothing is going well for them, Henry Cavill has quit as Superman and Ben Affleck will no longer play Batman. They've pretty much screwed up their best heroes and there's no forgiveness for that, whatever the reason is.
At such a difficult time, every movie made henceforth gets about ten times more pressure than usual. When they said James Wan would be directing it, I had faith just like I had faith with the previous directors who screwed up the other movies. Wan had to play it safe with Aquaman and there wasn't much hype initially. Jason Momoa stars as Aquaman, with Amber Heard playing his love interest, Mera, Nicole Kidman playing Queen Atlanta and Patrick Wilson playing King Orm. The casting here is on point, Mera is definitely one of the best female characters in any comic book movie till date and I totally loved Amber Heard so much that I would love to see a solo movie for Mera.
So the movie's plot is quite simple, Atlanta falls in love with a guy Thomas Curry, a lighthouse keeper and then has a kid, Arthur Curry who has the powers of an Atlantean. Since people pollute the oceans too much, the Atlanteans, lead by Orm want all-out war against the people of the land. Arthur Curry sharing both their DNA will try to unite the land and the seas. Just a straightforward DC comics storyline about Aquaman. Maybe this sounds similar to Black Panther, but we have to understand that this is how it is in the comics and that sometimes just following the source material without tampering it would make things much easier and better. So far, comparing all the six movies Aquaman is the most comic accurate movie and we really have to appreciate this.
The movie was visually amazing, it's quite shocking to know that the budget was just half as that of Justice league considering how crisp and clear the CGI looked. The special effects looked better than ever here, almost as good as Man of steel and Batman vs Superman. Jason does a fantastic job, he totally owns every scene he's in and they couldn't have gone with a better choice for Aquaman. 2018 is truly the year where we have to bury all the Aquaman jokes ever made. Khal Drogo doesn't disappoint and he's one of the best things that ever happened to the DC universe.
Wan has decided to play it safe and playing it safe now is the only way to keep this universe alive. Shazam is another movie I'm looking forward to and another movie that looks like a popcorn flick and DC definitely needs a lot more of these before making huge decisions. Aquaman is a perfect popcorn flick, and it knows to balance humour, action and is a CGI masterpiece. Definitely worth watching in IMAX and more than once.
It's clear now that DC can make good solo movies and maybe they should stick to this for now, before going into big crowded movies like Justice League or Suicide Squad, not everyone can match Avengers Infinity War, not without a proper backstory for each of them. But I really don't see a future for the DC universe maybe we should just enjoy the present. I'm still heartbroken because of the fact that Henry has been fired as Superman and that Ben is out as Batman, after all, they're the pillars that built the DC universe, I'm happy to see other heroes get the limelight once a while but I'm not able to digest the fact that the DC universe screwed up their best heroes. Definitely not hyped for any other DC movies, stopped reading their newsletters, stopped subscribing to fan pages, but I'll definitely watch their movies when they do come. It just feels like they don't deserve such passion from their fans.
Verdict:
Fan in me: 8.5/10
Critic in me: 8/10
Fan in me: 8.5/10
Critic in me: 8/10
Looking forward to Shazam and Wonder Woman 2 but the usual hype that I had for the DC movie universe is now no more. I still love DC with all my heart, Batman will always be my favorite superhero and Superman will always have a special place in my heart. Well done team Aquaman, a much-needed win for Warner Brothers. Directors like James Wan should be given more chances and they should handle the bigger movies in the future maybe if they do that, there might be a future for their movies after all.
