Have you seen Thor : the Dark World? Great! Did you dislike Thor : Love & Thunder? *Bada-Bing Bada-Boom* Aquaman 2 : the Lost Kingdom.
Acquiring, mining and subsequently abusing the fictional substance the ‘Ether’, Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith the Accursed…Oops, I seem to have mixed up my second solo outing for a royal character based on myth and legend, drenched in brotherly disdain amidst a sea of distrust, as one, has to break the other out of prison to fight side by side and save the known world...
Let me start again… Acquiring, mining and subsequently abusing the fictional substance ‘Orichalcum’, Yahya Abdul-Mateen’s Black Manta, who played a secondary villain role in the Box Office smash Aquaman (2018), personifies evil in his quest for revenge in his fathers name.
Online discourse and general ribbing aside, through the utilisation of practical costumes and effects, we get some relatively enjoyable fight sequences, great land to sea transitions and a pretty faithful adaptation of the Black City from the pages of DC Comics. With a dash of the aforementioned family drama and a few goosebumps revelations sprinkled throughout, you will find yourself pleasantly surprised with a portion of the ‘Marine Marvels’ last hoorah! Tack on the first appearance of fan favourite sidekick, Topo, a cybernetic octopus that debuted in ink during the golden age (Adventure Comics #229 (1956), and you have yourself an all time box office destroying superhero epic do you not?!
....
You do not.
By heavy handedly smacking you across the face with misplaced humour and poor characterisation, the genuine danger the earth faces due to global warming and the ignorance of man that the movie attempts to highlight, sinks to the bottom of the Seven Seas.
For every positive the film presents, it hands you a big fat pile of s*#t, courtesy of Amber Heard, who, surprisingly, features a-lot heavier than I would have expected, providing the majority of the movies badass moments or painfully obvious last ditch saves. For a movie primarily set underwater, awkward CGI hair, janky model movement and overall poor character design, allow for the best of its action set pieces to take place on the surface, which is not a good look for Jason Momoa’s final outing as Arthur Curry, King of ATLANTIS!
In what was always a strange casting move, Momoa is let loose and turned to 200% becoming a parody like, silly, over the top, at times meta, rambunctious oaf. Romping across the screen from start to finish. Jason Momoa, was never a good fit for a regal king, however, he will return in 2025… AS LOBO, THE MAIN MAAAANNNNN, LIKE HE SHOULD HAVE DONE FROM THE START! Jeez…
