Aquaman

An unexpected surprise before the end of the year and James Wan confirmed that he can make anything. Aquaman, according to the trailers, looked like a marine digital mess, but in the end I got a visual orgy and I'm not afraid to say it’s Avatar underwater. Jason Momoa may not be a good actor, but he's good to watch and in fact I can't imagine anyone else in the role, Amber Heard's as his red wet colleague with her alluring cleavage will give many a man an erection in the cinema and I definitely have to praise the supporting cast of familiar faces featuring Nicole Kidman, the bad guy Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe and Dolph Lundgren. The film is incredible from start to finish, the action is loaded, spectacular, there are even contact fights, and the finale is so monstrous that it puts Godzilla and Pacific Rim to shame. In one scene, Wan even serves up a dense horror atmosphere with sea creatures reminiscent of Alien, and it really tugs at the heartstrings. The only thing that didn't work too well for me was the humour, but that can be forgiven. A visually impressive underwater adventure that hasn't been seen before and needs to be seen in the cinema! 90% (12/23/2018)

DC tries its best and Aquaman is definitely not bad. James Wan was a good choice for the director’s stool and Jason Momoa as lead was also great. I can’t imagine anyone playing such character in a different and better way. I only add that the biggest surprise for me was Dolph Lundgren, who was having fun in his role and I can imagine him playing more similar parts. The problem of this film lies in the scenes that try so hard to be funny that they end up being painfully awkward. Jason Momoa tries to emulate Chris Harmsworth’s Thor’s humor, and in the beginning he didn’t manage to convince me. Over the time, however, I’ve become used to him and it wasn’t so bad. Patrick Wilson, too, is a rather ridiculous adversary, I don’t understand why everyone praises him so much. You see that when I’m writing this review it surprises me how many faults I’ve found with the film. I don’t even know why I’m so critical as I was actually more or less happy with it. It was a pleasant surprise from DC, even though it’d be a routine standard had it been made by Marvel. (04/15/2019)

The essence of adventure, which I haven't seen in a long time and which I still go to the cinema to find, written specifically for the rugged couch potato with the most likable dose of pure testosterone in his pocket. In the excitement of amazing special effects, unstoppable pacing, and spot-on casting, I easily forget how much the journey and combination of comic book themes resemble its neighbors from Marvel, specifically Thor and Black Panther. But for once, such imitation works perfectly, maybe because it easily shows its own face and with every major attraction (a battle between brothers, Sicily, the Depths), it shows how much heart and enthusiasm the creators, led by James Wan, put into it. Therefore, I wish the best of luck to those perpetual complainers, who were the loudest in complaining that DC comic adaptations are being taken too seriously, so they can now object intensely about carefree coloring books. However, after Wonder Woman, I myself can definitively say that infinitely interconnected worlds and teams are outdated in this universe, and innovative solo performances, mining their thankless world to the last drop, are on the right path. (12/18/2018)

Aquaman is a lot of things (suddenly and gradually). The origin story telling about the birth of the protagonist and the history of a nation, maternal melodrama turned upside down (from the perspective of the offspring, not the mother), an underwater Flash Gordon, a buddy movie (serving as the basis of an insipid romance), a fairy tale about two brothers, of whom only one can be king, a film in whose climactic scene the protagonists mounts a seahorse and his partner a killer whale ... ___ In purely structural terms, it holds together (thanks to a superfluous storyline with a vengeful pirate that motivates the hero’s transformation and forms the foundation for a sequel) and works rhythmically, but the tone changes every ten minutes (making Aquaman unintentionally reminiscent of South Korean multi-genre films) and the narrative is constantly helped along by the same processes (the dry “humanising” one-liners with which the protagonist responds to epic moments, shifting of the story with unexpected attacks by “water” soldiers). ___ My other reservations are rather problems that I personally have with the film – Jason Momoa does not come across as sexy to me and I am disgusted by the solving of problems with brute force, which he represents; Mera has to deal with most of the story in a scaly latex jumpsuit with a plunging neckline, and she acts competently mainly due to the fact that Aquaman is terrible by her side; the most reasonable actions are those of the villain who wants to start a war with humans because they pollute the oceans with their waste. ___ Visually and musically, Aquaman is great in places (it reminded me of Avatar, Blade Runner and Luc Besson’s better films; experts in old comic books may spot inspiration from other sources), and at least one action scene (Sicily) does not look like a noisy CGI clusterfuck, even if it steals from The Adventures of Tintin, The Bourne Supremacy, the second Captain America and scrolling video games. ___ As a guilty pleasure with overwrought ambitions (and a ginger Dolph Lundgren and sharks with laser cannons and Willem Dafoe, who plays a vizier named Vulko), it can be enjoyed without major pain. 65% (12/13/2018)

I am incompatible with the new DC films; in fact, I am specifically allergic to their tone. Momoa is a nice guy, but as soon as Wan steps on the pedal and the camera pulls him in to the sound of guitars, I lose the last bit of interest in the character. And I have even less interest in the modest underwater people. This universe is not for me. (05/05/2019)