Aquaman HIts Theaters

By Jason Gonzalez

DC Comics’ oceanic hero and Justice League member, Aquaman, is finally starring in his own solo feature. Former Game of Thrones cast member Jason Momoa, headlines as Aquaman, the king of the seven seas on the big screen this Friday. Although the film falls short of hitting a grand slam; it does meet expectations.

Thus, making it an enjoyable watch. Director James Wan does a solid job of translating the accuracies of the comic book panels into the movie. Simply put, Aquaman is a character that the audience can easily root for.  

TheBronxChronicle.Com was in attendance for the advanced screening of the film at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater a few days ago. 

Aquaman is the child of Atlantean queen Atlanna [Nicole Kidman] and Thomas Curry [Temuera Morrison] a human lighthouse keeper from Massachusetts. Without giving too much away, the plot revolves around the ruler of Atlantis, King Orm [Patrick Wilson] as he attempts to unite the military of the undersea to wage war against the people living on the surface, due to their propensity for polluting the ocean that Orm and his kingdom live in. Aquaman then intervenes by opting to challenge Orm for his title as king because a lot of innocent lives will be lost. 

As you follow Aquaman over the course of his epic journey, spectators go on a fantasy adventure in which he is assisted by his female sidekick/love interest Mera [Amber Heard] around the globe. It is at this juncture in which the movie hits it’s mark. The graphics and the swimming scenes were spectacular. The costuming was superb, and the villains were of top-notch quality. The choreographed battles weren’t bad either.

Lastly, all of the scenes at each particular region were reminiscent of the landscape, infrastructure, characters and architecture observed in Game of Thrones, Avatar, Jurassic Park and Star Wars. 

In my estimation the flick lost points by recycling the redundant theme of the protagonist refraining from his designated responsibility as a superhero due to either lacking confidence or simply because he hasn’t accepted his alter ego as a part of his identity due to being conflicted internally.

Credit: Jason Gonzalez

Secondly, the simplistic concept of an action hero bridging the gap between two worlds by serving as a buffer between both is so cliché. It’s played out folks, and Wan could have done a little bit better at reinventing the wheel. Wan should have slightly deviated from the comic book story line and put his own twist on things.

But instead he followed in the same direction as every other movie about a comic book hero. Originality is priceless, you get credit for trying and there was a lack of effort that was noted in this department. Don’t feel bad if you come to the conclusion that Aquaman is DC’s equivalent of Thor. 

Nonetheless the film served its purpose by delivering with it’s gorgeous underwater visuals, exciting action, and good humor, which was a great recipe to keep the viewers engaged for the duration of the movie, two hours, 22 minutes.

TheBronxChronicle gives Aquaman a rating of 3 out of 5 stars. 

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