DCEU Retrospective: Aquaman
Cards completely on the table, I very much dislike Aquaman. Not like the dislike I have for Superman in that I still respect him and think he CAN be an interesting character, but like an active dislike and disdain for the character’s very existence and being. He’s just an utterly useless character in the grand scheme of things. That’s why it was so surprising that Aquaman was actually a decent film that made me give the tiniest of shits about the character.
Up to this point, the DCEU had had a massive problem with their visual effects. At best their visuals were immersion breaking, at worst they were utterly unwatchable. This movie actually breaks that cycle and is one of the best looking DCEU movies to date. From the bright colors of the ocean floor to the action heavy chase scene through the Sicilian city to the nightmare fuel that was the trench, this movie actually looked very good.
The acting was also surprisingly good as well. I didn’t feel as if any one actor was overselling the role at any point during the movie. I also felt that the writer’s decision to focus on the more recent comic incarnations of the character wherein Arthur is a bit more of an asshole was the right choice. This type of character plays well to Jason Mamoa’s strengths and is far more entertaining to watch than his original comic portrayal.
Not much to say besides that I am genuinely surprised with this movie. From the actually fun globe-trotting plot to the much improved visuals and writing, this movie was a fun surprise. I never thought I’d see the day where I’m praising anything Aquaman related, yet here I am and I don’t know how to feel about this.
I actually wrote up the review for this movie too and if you want to check out more on what I initially thought, you can check it out here.