Review of Aquaman

By Dave B.

In Aquaman (2018), the titular hero, born of both sea and land, must save both realms from a cataclysmic war sure to devastate both sides. To do this, he must claim his birthright and become more than a hero by facing daunting trials and uncovering his destiny.

I’ve got to admit, Aquaman surprised me. I was kind of expecting an overly-long, overly-serious, bore (like some other DC movies that I could name). Instead, Aquaman is a lot of fun. The film is fairly light-hearted, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and is a visual feast, with underwater kingdoms rendered in exquisite detail. The humor in the film (of which there is quite a bit) mostly works and the main characters are generally likeable. Viewers can kind of get a feel for when a cast enjoys working on a project and its clear that’s the case with this one.

​However, at 145 minutes, Aquaman is just too damn long. Watching this film in the theater would have been almost unbearable for me because I can’t sit still for over two hours. Exacerbating the issue, the plot is EXTREMELY generic. You’ll know what’s going to happen in this film literally hours in advance. I understand that origin stories can be a bit rote, but in Aquaman it feels like all of the creativity went into the (admittedly stunning) visuals and “witty” dialogue, leaving the plot itself as an afterthought. 

That said, Aquaman reminds me a lot of “Jupiter Ascending”, in that it’s not great, but it’s fun to look at and I like it more than its quality probably deserves. Most important for me when it comes to movies is that I have an enjoyable experience and overall, Aquaman is a blast. Even the underwater fight scenes that are compelling and entertaining. For it’s fun factor and great CGI, I definitely recommend this movie. Just make sure that you’re prepared to get nothing done for half a day if you decide to watch it.

Rating: 8/10