Jeri Jacquin

Coming this Friday to theatres from director James Wan, DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures is the return of AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM.

Arthur aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is splitting his time between the land and the sea and enjoying being a dad to young Arthur, Jr. Being the King of Atlantis is no easy matter for a man who is completely bored by all the royal duties. He is also not happy that he cannot make things happen without the Atlantean council’s approval, like making contact with the land people.

What he doesn’t know is that David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has become Black Manta and is out for revenge against Aquaman. Kane enlists the help of scientist Stephen Shin (Randall Park) who just wants to find Atlantean artifacts. One such artifact is the black trident and Kane becomes a powerful enemy.

Coincidentally, a few months later something is happening with the weather causing disease in the sea and devastating weather around the globe. Black Manta attacks Atlantis as he looks for their storage of orichalcum and it becomes clear who is responsible for the world’s changes. Someone who can help them is Orm (Patrick Wilson) and the only way to get him is for Aquaman to break a few rules.

When the brothers look for Kane, Orm handles the black trident and discovers that there once was another kingdom called Necrus and a battle of brothers led to the confinement of Kordax. Aquaman learns that all that is needed to release everyone, including Kordax, in Necrus is a drop of royal blood.

The battle begins as brothers come together and all Atlantean’s fight to the finish!

Momoa as Arthur/Aquaman/King makes darn sure that he is having a good time playing this character. Even when Aquaman is angry, he turns things on its ear from start to finish. Momoa gives his character the right amount of fight and an equal amount of humor as the story of what being a King does for him. He’s not happy but then again, now that’s he’s a Daddy – things are different for him.

Wilson as brother Orm is still uptight yet there is a part of this character that somehow believes he should be punished. When brother Arthur comes calling and the ocean calls, Orm tries in his own unique way to understand his brother the King and the problems facing Atlantis. Realizing what Black Manta is up to, Orm uses his own skills to do the right thing by his fellow Atlanteans. Wilson is the straight man to Momoa’s comedy and it actually works well.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta is the typical angry, vengeful, super smart bad guy and every move he makes is predictable. He doesn’t say much but lets his character speak volumes. The problem for me is that a Black Manta doesn’t fit in the under-water world. All of this because he has daddy-revenge issues but spends very little time going after Aquaman. I just didn’t get it.

Shout out to Park as Shin playing the scientist who is afraid of Black Manta watching him go from relics to power hungry.

Other cast include Nicole Kidman as Atlanna, Dolph Lundgren as Nereus, Temuera Morrison as Tom Curry, Vincent Regan as Atlan, Jani Zhao as Karshon, and Pilou Asbaek as Kordax.

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AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM is a total cgi-fest from start to finish. The colors are vibrant and the underwater scenes are exactly what you would expect from special effects. That being said, the 3-D is unnecessary and not as crystal clear as I would expect for having to wearing uncomfortable glasses over my glasses.

The story in my opinion is muddled and doesn’t give the viewer time to invest in getting to understand what is happening. Sure, the saying of ‘watch the first one’ is a way to look at it yet it doesn’t change how I feel about the film as a whole. There is a funny Dad king, a brother with sibling issues and a mad bad guy – done.

I’m sure that people who are totally invested in DC will have no problem with the film. It seems geared toward that audience and maybe grab a few who just like Momoa (and who doesn’t) as Aquaman. I do like the relationship between Arthur and Orm as Momoa and Wilson with a combination of comedy and sibling rivalry. When the brothers are on screen it became easy to forget there are other characters.

Scrooge is here to tell you nahhhhhh but I know that isn’t going to stop anyone from following the trident that gives Aquaman its audience pull. That being said – enjoy and happy holidays.

In the end – the tide is turning!

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