Aquaman balances his duties as king and as a member of the Justice League, all while planning a wedding. Black Manta is on the hunt for Atlantean tech to help rebuild his armor. Orm plots to escape his Atlantean prison.
I loved the first “Aquaman” movie. After so many serious DCEU iterations, “Aquaman,” for me, was a movie that was all about fun. It took itself seriously when it needed to, but, for the most part, it wasn’t afraid to have fun along the way.
Jason Momoa inhabited the Aquaman/Arthur Curry persona perfectly. Everything from his long hair, good looks, and physical robustness made him the perfect fit for the role. The rest of the actors were well cast too, but Momoa WAS Aquaman.
Time has passed since the events of the first film, and Aquaman (Momoa) and Queen Mera (Amber Heard) have a beautiful baby boy together, Arthur Jr. Aquaman splits his time between the sea, where he is the King of Atlantis, governing his people, and the land, where he lives in the lighthouse of his father Tom (Temuera Morrison), along with Arthur Jr. Life is good but then his old nemesis, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) returns, along with a black trident that once belonged to Kordax, a semi-immortal ancestor of Aquaman’s who was sealed in an icy prison for treason. He takes Arthur Jr. and plans to use him as a blood sacrifice, as the blood of any of his descendants can release his spirit, where he will become all-powerful and kill everyone.
Out of options and desperate to get his son back, Aquaman decides that he needs the help of his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), whom he had imprisoned in the first movie for crimes against Atlantis, but breaking him out of the Fisherman Kingdom is only the beginning. As the two brothers bicker back and forth, their familial bonds are tested when their lives are jeopardized. Now, they must put their differences aside if they are to save Arthur Jr. and all of Atlantis.
“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, giving the audience plenty of fun and action, along with some obligatory moments of seriousness. James Wan returns to direct this sequel, and while his horror films, “The Conjuring 1 and 2,” “Insidious 1 and 2,” and “Malignant,” aren’t known for their humor, here, Wan seems to have found his jocular footing as most of the jokes hit their intended targets.
Momoa is in great form as Aquaman, but Wan’s longtime onscreen collaborator, Patrick Wilson, steals the show. While Momoa bulked up for the first film, Wilson outshines him in that department this time, but both men appear to be having great fun, playing off each other, physically and verbally. The one critique I had with the first film was the story’s antagonist, David Kane, aka Black Manta, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. His performance was bland and unentertaining; sadly, it hasn’t improved. It may be Abdul-Mateen, or it could just be that Black Manta is a substandard nemesis; either way, the character is the least exciting aspect of the movie.
Now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are done with the DCEU, starting over with new films and new actors, this is the last time we’ll get to see Aquaman on the big screen, at least with Momoa’s participation. With Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, and Ezra Miller no longer attached to their respective superhero characters, and a new Superman film, “Superman: Legacy,” starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, scheduled for release in 2025, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is the final film in the decade-long DCEU, so enjoy it because we have no idea what Gunn and Safran’s new DCU will look like, or if it will even be any good.
Now available on Digital, and on 4K Ultra HD™, Blu-ray™, and DVD March 12th
