Aquaman from the very first trailer he carried the weight of the whole project on his shoulders Worlds of dc: despite a well-defined line of the project, the lack of success and the numerous criticisms have made the whole cinematographic world of DC Comics something indefinite and out of context, unable to find its space in the cellulose world called Cinema. Perhaps seeing a glimmer of a smile in discovering Jason Momoa's Arthur Curry in Justice League, or the very idea of giving it a shot and getting back on track, prompted DC to bring Aquaman to theaters. Despite being one of the most important characters in the Distinguished Competition universe, the King of Atlantis he has always been mocked for his powers and how he found a place in comic stories. This has led me - and will lead many people - to think of this Aquaman as a series B cinecomic. Don't do it, now I'll tell you why.
Dirty Mudblood
The Aquaman of this film is not modern Orin, but is inspired byArthur Curry (Jason Momoa) of the Silver Age: son of the human Thomas Curry (Temuera Morrison) and the Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), he will only grow up with his father as his mother was forced to return to the Kingdom to prevent her loved ones from being attacked. Trained in great secrecy by Vulko (Willem Dafoe), trusted vizier of the king, after learning of his mother's death he completely abandons his legacy as the Queen's firstborn, deciding to give himself to a life of simplicity (and beer). Taking advantage of the flashback technique (not too well), we quickly discover all the problems and talents of Arthur, then catapulting ourselves into the present, where Aquaman has now almost completely embraced the heroic path of being a Meta-Human (after the events of Justice League). From here a series of events will start that will see characters such as Orm (Patrick Wilson), Arthur's half-brother, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) but also Mera (Amber Heard) e King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren).
The plot faithfully follows the hero's journey, proceeding hand in hand with the growth and acceptance of Aquaman himself of his legacy: around him, almost absent twists in favor of a linear but sometimes chaotic plot, capable of being followed much better in the second part, where the flashbacks end and only the real heart of the story of this film starts.
Explosive… too much
Aquaman unfortunately it suffers from some really unclear, but above all poorly managed authorial choices: the scenes are achieved almost rhythmically, giving a sense of repetitiveness that is dampened only by the choice of spectacular locations and the use of a photograph capable of leaving you speechless. Unfortunately you will clearly notice how often the engine of the entire film will be the explosions: every single dialogue scene for a good 75% of the time will change the status quo thanks to some explosive attack, becoming really obvious already after the second time.
As already mentioned, DC Comics had to find its own identity for the cinema: Aquaman it is not the film that succeeds, but the one that lays the foundations. Although he tries to be funny with jokes that are saved only to Jason Momoa's acting skills, he feels the weight of wanting to follow a line already drawn by Marvel for more than 10 years. If you then think that inside Aquaman you will also find romantic scenes that can be classified under the worst love comedy ever and political plots so obvious that they were guessed even before the beginning of the film, there would be all the conditions to define the film a flop. Yet, among the rubble of old experiences, a glimmer of light rises at the end of the tunnel: Aquaman has visual cues worthy of the best cinecomic ever. With a wise use of slow motion, a very high level CGI and an authorial eye in the construction of the scenes, this film will give you breathtaking visual experiences, supported by the highest level of combat choreography. The adrenaline flows freely, but is also accompanied by scenes full of suspense and some relaxing and exploratory frames. Atlantis is divinely well structured, the locations are thrilling and even in the most bare scenes the details are the masters.
A film with alternating plates
In spite of everything, Aquaman it is an enjoyable film: you will have to hold your breath for some totally out of sense scenes (and yes, Pitbull also has to do with his reinterpretation of the Toto song Africa), but if you can do it then the film will scroll to the end of its two hours and a half.
If instead of varying between great scenes and horrible scenes they had kept a good and constant level, surely the film would have been much more appreciated. The fact remains that after the three hooks got straight in the face, it looks like DC Comics - and his Worlds of dc - is catching his breath so he can get back into combat and maybe assert himself. Hope remains, which by now was almost completely gone, but the terror of the upcoming standalone films (Joker) could revive all the work done by Aquaman in the sea.
