We've all seen the
Aquaman origin movie the moment Patti Jenkins and Gal Gadot's
Wonder Woman exploded in the box office. And to be honest, we're all here for it. It doesn't hurt that Jason Momoa is playing a character in one of the beloved TV series of our generation so this is a movie waiting to be made. Good for DC! Good for them they were able to snag James Wan to direct this because if there's anyone who could make this as big and as accessible as possible, it's him. And yes he did.
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| Warner Bros. Pictures |
I'd even dare to say that he captured the vibe of a George Lucas film, or even a Spielberg film even if the latter comparison is quite reaching. But it's pretty close. James Wan has constructed a whole new cinematic world for
Aquaman which can be set side by side with
Star Wars,
Lord of the Rings and other cinematic dimensions. It won't be as iconic as those, but it will be as fun. David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall's screenplay embrace the elements of cinematic epics, purposely injecting cliche'd lines reminiscent of Queen Amidala and Anakin in the
Star Wars prequels to their characters -- whether it's Willem Dafoe whispering the words "
The king has risen", or Patrick Wilson defending his title as the 'Ocean Master', or Nicole Kidman declaring her love for her human lover and sea children.
It's a bit silly and campy, but you will grow to accept it as the film progresses. After all, DC has revamped their superhero films from being too dark to this. At first it felt forced, but it becomes natural eventually. Credits to Jason Momoa and Amber Heard's chemistry. Both are not comedians but they make work of what was given to them. Same with the ensemble who is willing to withstand the goofiness.
It's still James Wan who made this work, though. There are several inspired scenes that are incredibly cinematic. No matter how bogus the CGI appears in some of its scenes, the monster chase scene in The Trench, and the
Avatar-esque waters of 'The Hidden Earth' looked amazing, the touristy but action packed Sicily was also amusing. And the last 20 minutes is just the icing on the cake, where a Kraken along with seawater creatures go on war and it was chaotic but visually astonishing in IMAX.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel without his
Justice League colleagues.
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