A Noisy Underwater World

AQUAMAN (2018)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

At the start of the overcooked though still fitfully fun "Aquaman," Nicole Kidman gets into a roller derby of action dynamics. Say what? You read that right, as Atlanna, the Queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, she is found ashore at a lighthouse by its keeper, Thomas Curry (Temuera Derek Morrison). They live together and have a son named Arthur, who has a supersonic ability of communicating with ocean life. Before one looks too deeply at this prologue, Atlantean soldiers find Atlanna and they engage in hand-to-hand combat. The movie lays its eggs and the fish hatch a little too soon but hey, this is modern 2010 superhero moviemaking where moments can't be wasted by too much exposition...or too little.

How soon do the fish eggs hatch you may ask? When we first discover the adult Arthur aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa) not along after that opening, he lifts a hijacked submarine to the surface, engages in more hand-to-hand combat, throws people around like confetti, you get the idea. Everything is maximized to the 1 millionth power and though it is often exuberant to watch, it can be a bit mind-numbing in its excess. After a while, you hope for some measure of intimacy and some quiet place with John Krasinski.

Excess defines "Aquaman" - the movie ricochets from one extravagant, mind-blowing, visually detailed set piece to another. From the confines of a local bar to the rolling sand dunes of the Sahara, to the enormity of the Atlantis underwater world (which includes a giant octopus playing drums prior to a death match), to Sicily where just about every gift shop, restaurant and museum is virtually destroyed during another one of those extended fight sequences, to finally the lighthouse in the opening and closing scenes which looks more high-contrast in its picturesque quality than was probably required.

Simplicity is the not the middle name of Aquaman. He is strong, blustery and has a wink and an arched eyebrow to remind us that Momoa is in on the joke. The film is playfully tongue-in-cheek and has lots of comedic lines thanks to Momoa, my favorite being after Amber Heard's Atlantean princess jumps out of a plane without a parachute: "Redheads!"Speaking of Amber Heard, her flamingly-red-hot hair that might burn a man's hand off is its own character and she stands up well against Momoa. Dolph Lundgren as King of an Atlantean tribe and Willem Dafoe as Aqua's mentor are not terribly memorable yet they are adequate for what is required - I might have switched the roles and had Dafoe as the King and Lundgren as the mentor. Patrick Wilson as Aquaman's brother who has dastardly plans is not terribly convincing.

By the time the film concludes with a CGI underwater battle with an epic "The Lord of the Rings" vibe and Aquaman holding his prized Trident as if it was King Arthur's Excalibur, I got confused by which Kingdom was fighting whom (I am not going to get into specific tribe names but it seems as if there are hundreds). Too many sea creatures battling it out crowds the pleasure and joy from the far less busy action workouts earlier in the film (and that is putting it mildly). Occasionally there is the racist reference to Aquaman being a half-breed (a huge difference from the original comic-book) and it is given some heft by the Atlanteans (after all, can a half-breed rule Atlantis?) Momoa rules the film, though when he is knocking down beers with his dad, I felt more at home than in Atlantis.