Aquaman Review

This month brought the release of the much anticipated Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard. DC has faced intense scrutiny over the years, the films in its roster are a mix of box office successes and flops, never quite standing up to its rival, Marvel. The most recent films released by the studio before Aquaman were, Justice League which is the lowest grossing film in the DC universe so far and Wonder Woman, the studios highest performing film, critically and in the box office. Luckily for DC Aquaman is following in the footsteps of Wonder Woman.

Up until now, Jason Momoas Aquaman has only had a small introduction into the DC universe in Justice League. This film gives a great introduction to the character from the perspective of someone like myself and Im sure many others who didn't have any previous knowledge of the character. Jason Momoa seems to have been born for this role, he is as close to a perfect Aquaman that could be achieved, he definitely has the look.

The films tone is fun and very family orientated, focusing on Aquaman, his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) and his mother Atlanna (Nicole Kidman). The movie has some great one liners and a strong sense of humour which makes the film unique compared to some of the other DC movies that sense of humours lack or are not a main focus within the film.

The VFX in the movie are sometimes questionable, being a film that half of which takes place under water would have always been a challenge for the team working on the visual effects. The director seems to take the film into a surreal place (especially in the under water scenes) which I think worked in the films favour as this then excuses some of the VFX that doesnt look quite right.

Amongst all of the story elements and the VFX the most important message the film carries is the message of protecting our oceans. Throughout the film the pollution of our oceans is brought up multiple times and is the main drive of the character Orm, who wants to wage war on the surface world for destroying the ocean. For such a large scale movie by a studio like DC its great for them to use their platform to highlight real issues our world faces and to introduce younger generations to the protection of our oceans and the creatures that live there.

Overall, this movie is a hit for DC, the film has a great sense of humour and although some of the visual elements are not quite up to standard, the filmmakers made good steps to make this more of a surreal aspect rather than something that looked hyper realistic. The film uses its platform for a great and important cause that needs more focus and will hopefully be promoted more through this film and story.