Aquaman

Year of release : 2018

Run time : 2h23m

Genre : Action / Fantasy

Cast : Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren, Nicole Kidman

The superhero movie is based on the DC character of the same name, and it's the 6th movie in the DC extended universe.

The year is 1985, and the queen of Atlantis, Atlanna, is found washed upon the rocks of a lighthouse, by the keeper, Thomas Curry. The two fall in love, and have a son Arthur, named after the hurricane.

They live together for a few years, until king Orvax's soldiers find her. Atlanna fled to escape an arranged marriage, and she tells Thomas she has to go back in order to protect them, for next time Orvax will send an army for her. Atlanna promises to Tom she'll return when it will be safe.

She sends her advisor, Nuidis Vulko, to train Arthur, and in the end, he tells Arthur, she was executed for having Arthur and being with Tom.

 

Flash forward to present day, and Arthur is a metahuman, called Aquaman, who helps people in trouble. He manages to rescue the submariners on board of a Russian submarine hijacked by pirates.When the father of the leader of the pirates gets caught or trapped by a torpedo falling, and his son asks Aquaman for help (the nerve!), Aquaman says he only helps good people, so David, the son has to let him die. From then on, he swears vengeance, a promise he made to his father (what an amazing couple!)

In Atlantis, king Orm (Arthur's younger brother from his mother's arranged marriage) is the new leader of Atlantis, who is trying to convince other leaders of the 4 underwater world to join his quest of starting a war with the surface, as the humans are polluting the oceans,meaning their world. He also seeks to become Ocean Master, the ruler of all underwater kingdoms.He manages to get king Nereus of Xebel on his side, after their meeting is interrupted by a submarine firing torpedoes at them.

We later find out why David and his father were hijacking submarines, to help king Orm persuade the other kings of the underworld to join his cause faster, portraying the humans as evil, wanting them dead (when humans actually had no idea of their existence).

Nereus' daughter, Mera, engaged to be married to Orm in an arranged marriage, finds Arthur and asks for his help. Arthur agrees to help, after a tsunami unleashed by Orm almost k1lls his father.

Arthur's mother's advisor, Vulko, tells him he has to find the trident of Atlan, the powerful weapon of Atlantis' first ruler, in order to become Atlantis' king. Arthur also has a power the other Atlantians don't have: he can talk to and understand the sea creatures.

I personally enjoyed the movie, it's a visual delight, action packed and doesn't miss a beat. The characters are likeable, they add heart and soul to the story, through Atlanna who loves her family, Arthur who wants to help anyone who needs his help, through Mera who wants peace, Vulko who cares for Atlanna and Arthur, and wants peace. The movie also has funny moments, in the DC style.

The fighting scenes were great, I particularly loved the one with Nicole Kidman in which she fights the soldiers sent after her, in one of the first scenes.

The underwater scenes were beautiful, I liked the world they created, although the story behind how Atlantis became Atlantis, and how the people could breathe underwater made no sense.

The two leading ladies, Atlanna and Mera were beautiful, could fight, were strong, and I loved their look and outfits.

I liked the end credits scene, and the song which had beautiful lyrics.

What I didn't like was the fact the humans, like David, who didn't have any superpowers, were hard to k1ll, when they were hit with or by heavy weapons! Nothing was broken, he barely has a scratch on him! There's a last fighting scene between David and Aquaman, in which Aquaman throws two very heavy concrete balls connected with a chain at him, getting wrapped around his neck. That alone should have broken his neck, then the fall on the rocks should have broken his neck, spine, whatever, but later on in the credits, it's revealed this villain has 9 lives, and he just won't effing die,as he is perfectly fine, not a scratch on him except for, he might have lost an eye!

The actors were good.

The visual effects were great! I loved how they made the hair look underwater.

I liked the soundtrack.

The movie was in development since 2004!

Fun facts : Nicole Kidman (58 years old) plays Jason Momoa's mother, who is 46 years old, and Patrick Wilson's, who is 52! Patrick Wilson plays Jason Momoa's younger brother but he is older than him!

The credits are 10 minutes long, with a scene with David inserted in between.

The movie grossed 1.152 billion dollars at the box office, against a budget of about 200 million, making the movie the highest grossing DC extended universe movie, the highest grossing movie based on a DC character, the 5th highest grossing movie of 2018, and the highest grossing 20th movie of all time!

The movie received mixed reviews, and received many awards nominations.

Cinema Score audiences rated the movie A-,on an A+ to F scale.

Rating : Worth a watch !