Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) | REVIEW

Directed by James Wan — Screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick.

Once upon a time, the kickstarting of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) felt like such a big deal. Warner Bros. was going to do what Marvel did and actually have a connected cinematic superhero universe and it was going to be this prestige project with the first film, titled Man of Steel, echoing a kind of director-led importance that was supposed to follow in the footsteps of Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy. I think, however, that it is fair to say that it never got off on the right foot. Their Superman-universe opener was met with a mixed critical reception and fans criticized certain choices that they felt were against the core tenets of the beloved iconic character. In the next years, the DCEU was never fully embraced despite certain successes along the way (e.g. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman) in large part due to several films that missed the mark in one way or another (e.g. David Ayer’s Suicide Squad). Online toxicity, director idolization, and mild-at-best reception followed, and now the universe is being fully rebooted by James Gunn. Before that could happen though, they had to release a couple of ‘lame duck’ films that they already had in the can but which everyone knew mattered not. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the last one of those, and, unfortunately, the DCEU went out with a whimper. 

James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom follows Arthur Curry (played by Jason Momoa), the King of Atlantis and Aquaman himself, years after the events of his first solo film. Arthur has become a father and, like many, is trying to manage the work-life balance. Meanwhile, Black Manta (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) continues his search for revenge for the death of his father, and his simultaneous hunt for power has led him to a mystical black trident that possesses him. To stop Black Manta and save the world, Arthur must work together with his imprisoned brother Orm (played by Patrick Wilson).

One notable tendency in the now-passé DCEU is that the longer you got away from the original film in the series, the more new films would be tonally at odds with it. The serious prestige feel of that first film has in recent years been substituted for a subpar imitation of the tone that Marvel Studios has gone for in their MCU. Frankly, you can feel that change at the center of Aquaman 2 as the once Zack Snyder-led gruff and tattooed almost-metal reimagination of Arthur Curry now feels readjusted to fit the comical tone set by Taika Waititi’s Thor reimagining in Thor: Ragnarok. As if that wasn’t enough, this entire film feels like it’s deliberately trying to make you think of Marvel, which is a pretty big problem because you should never remind your viewers that they could be watching something better instead.

The film makes direct Marvel references with one example being that ‘Loki’ is mentioned in conversation, but these references are especially felt towards the end of the film, which, in a way, redoes both the endings of Black Panther and of Iron Man. It’s clearly meant to be silly and tongue-in-cheek, but it feels very cheap and like the story was half-assed or that the dialogue was the result of weak improvisation. It feels like the filmmakers and actors knew this film didn’t really matter and so they just decided to blatantly rip-off other superhero movie endings for a laugh. There are other strange moments such as the obvious Guinness product placement or the new suit that doesn’t really matter and feels like it is only there to sell toys. Furthermore, certain scenes feature sub-par visual effects for a film of this size, and, though there are some visually striking scenes, in general, we sure have come a long way (in the wrong direction) visually since the days of Man of Steel — and that’s certainly not a compliment. Like Man of Steel, however, the film features a lot of weightless destruction. 

The film contains too many subplots that don’t have enough space to function properly, and way too many good actors are wasted in supporting roles that give them very little to do (this is especially true for Pilou Asbæk, who is barely in the film, and who, I assume, must’ve had a bigger presence prior to reshoots or a reworking of the narrative). What, however, does work is the buddy comedy aspect of Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson’s scenes. Momoa and Wilson’s work are the best things about this film (though I also really enjoyed ’Topo’ the Octopus), and, frankly, I would’ve liked this film to have even more scenes of Wilson’s character discovering what life is like on the surface. 

James Wan’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a messy end to the DCEU. It features a jumbled overall narrative, a bunch of actors that have been wasted, a tonal mishmash, and so many jokey references to better superhero films that it ends up feeling like the film is shooting itself in its own foot — or, should I say, fin? It certainly isn’t without laughs, and there are a couple of entertaining performances, but, on the whole, this is a forgettable end to a cinematic universe that is now, ahem, sleeping with the fishes. *ba-dum-tss*

5 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.