‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Film Review

One thing’s for sure about James Wan’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”, this one is for the kiddies. Not that any comic book movie is Shakespeare, but David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick’s screenplay (from a story by Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, Jason Momoa, and Wan) is beyond simplistic. There are many lines of dialogue where one can only imagine the actors were counting their big paychecks to help get them through. While the film isn’t a total wash, this is really pedestrian stuff.

The first Aquaman movie was a (sort of) fun-enough time waster. The film was full of color and life and had a sense of humor, unlike most DC fare that are always dark and somber. Of course, the film’s monumental success meant there would be a sequel. So here we are, saddled with another FX-heavy comic book film that assaults the eyes and ears of the audience, while tricking them into believing they are experiencing something different. A CGI-sleight of hand, if you will.

For Aquaman’s second (and final) solo outing, Wan returns as director, with most of the cast from the first film reprising their roles. Momoa is a fun actor to watch, but his work as the underwater superhero is more like a surfer “brah” having a good time on Party Beach. The actor is all smiles and wisecracks; a good thing, but to the point where the actor is just playing himself.

Arthur “Aquaman” Curry is once again out to save Atlantis and the world entire. This time the villain is Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who seeks revenge after our titular hero caused the death of his father back in the first film. Manta wields the Black Trident, a weapon that will help awaken a bad king who has been cursed (frozen) in his “lost kingdom” deep under the ocean. That’s about all the dreaded trident does, rendering its existence fairly boring, in the scheme of things.

Aquaman rescues his former King of Atlantis half-brother (Patrick Wilson) from prison. The two have an adversarial relationship, but team up to bring down Black Manta.

As far as the screenplay goes, that’s it and that’s that. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is nothing more. The paper-thin plot is laid out and the film zips along, throwing in CGI imagery (most of which is pretty good) and silly wisecracks to keep audiences interested. Wan and company haven’t crafted a bad film, but beyond Momoa’s infectiously giddy performance and the somewhat creative world-building, there isn’t any real fun to be had. There is always something happening and the film never seems to take a breath, but the action is nothing new and the thrills aren’t that thrilling.

The movie finds some merit in its creation of the undersea kingdoms. Their designs (while not holding a candle to the incredible worlds of James Cameron’s “Avatar” films) are imaginative. The movie doesn’t take itself seriously and the cartoonish backdrops work well for the filmmakers, as everything is full of color and movement.

Bill Brzeski and Sahby Mehalla’s production design is certainly the film’s MVP, as is Richard Sale, whose costume design is inventive. Sale’s work compliments the comics and their changes throughout the years. The villainous henchmen and women who run Manta’s ships and laboratories are cleverly outfitted as a cross between the “Flash Gordon” serials and Mario Bava’s “Planet of the Vampires”.

Rumors of a chaotic shoot and a whittled down film are obvious, as most of the action sequences have no rhythm. From time to time, Kirk M. Morri’s editing is a mess, but it may not have been his fault, as studio interference was afoot.

The cast is fine enough, with Patrick Wilson looking a bit lost, Dolph Lundgren getting by on his iconic stature, Temura Morrison collecting his pay gracefully, and Nicole Kidman seeming too good for it all.

Randall Park does pretty well doing his normal shtick, as a conflicted scientist who is under the thumb of the baddie and the great Martin Short adds comedic spice voicing a creature with his unique brand of humor and talent for wild characterizations.

There are moments peppered through Wan’s movie that certainly keep it watchable and Momoa gives the audience some chuckles as he and Wilson do their comedic bickering, but for all the pomp and circumstance, there’s really no reason for this one to exist and the picture does nothing compelling to make it stand out.

Modern comic films (both Marvel, DC, and everything in between) have had their day. While this is to be the last of the current “DC universe” (my stomach churns using such fanboy-culture phrasing), it is past time to put a moratorium on the whole comic shebang. Let them simmer for a decade or so and make the audience hunger for them again. For 15 years, Hollywood has shunned most other genres in favor of putting their money and media blitz behind any and every director who pulls out their old comic collection, making films out of even the most uninteresting characters. Cinema doesn’t need a three film arc about Batman’s hair stylist or Iron Man’s delivery boy, but that is where we are heading.

If video did kill the radio star, over-saturation has demolished the fun of comic book movies.

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” isn’t necessarily bad, but for all the wild goings-on that constantly fill the screen, it simply fails to register.