Aquaman

2018, James Wan - in theatre

Yes, the orange tunic does make an appearance.

 Simply stated, Aquaman is an absolute mess, but an entertaining one.

James Wan didn't seem to know what kind of film he wanted to make this, so he just tried to make this all of them. Action, adventure, superhero, drama, comedy, science fiction, fantasy, romance, giant monster, horror... at some point he steers through all of them with absolute conviction, if little coherence. Part Indiana Jones, part Star Wars, part Excalibur and beyond, it's genre whiplash even if the glib and balls-to-the-wall tone sort of persist throughout. There's an energy to it all, and a conviction from the people involved, that make the sum of its parts equal "good enough".

Yes, it really did seem like Willem Dafoe gave
a crap.

Aquaman was always going to be a hard sell. He persisted as a running joke in fandom for decades, even if comic book and cartoon creators took him seriously. Zach Snyder(/Joss Whedon) introducing him as a surfer-dude/he-bro in the messy-in-all-the-wrong-ways Justice League and this movie has to recover from that. The narrative thrust asks us to believe that Jason Momoa's Arthur is worthy of being king, but beyond the story telling us its his destiny, it's a role that doesn't quite fit. Taking down his war-mongering half brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) seems certainly the job he's equipped for, but despite being a complete dick, he's a far sight more kingly than Aquaman. The film wants to send Arthur on a quest of discovery, finding a fabled trident that will prove to the seven underwater kingdoms that he is the true ruler, but it gets distracted too much by action and romance and origin stories to build up Aquaman as a leader.

Yes, that is Nicole Kidman looking amazing
as a fish lady and kicking ass while doing it

It is rare, though, to feel a director's enthusiasm so prevalently when watching a movie. There's a decided amount of care, thought and detail put into the each sequence, if only forgetting to see how it fits as part of the whole. The costume, character and set designs are all quite outstanding, the undersea effects fared far better than the trailers suggested (and certainly better than what Justice League gave us), and there are more than a few moments of real awe and stunning beauty.

The score from Rupert Gregson-Williams is as all over the map as the film itself, and in more assured hands could have aided the tonal consistency of the film rather than accentuating its incongruities. The composer uses a lot of 80's synth sounds throughout juxtaposing against traditional orchestral (and some of that guitar riffing which the DC cinematic universe is strangely keen on) and it winds up invokinga heavier sci-fi feel than the script really demanded. The consistency of the film would have been helped by a more assured hand. That said, it is these synth elements that stand out and are the most appealing aspects of the score, they're just incongruous to the overall narrative design.

Yes, Dolph Lundgren is riding an armored
sea horse.  This movie really is bonkers.

The supporting cast is quite stellar and surprisingly committed to this utterly bizarre production (riding giant seahorses or sharks and a lot of floating about or fighting with giant crab-men), with Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren and Nicole Kidman delivering earnest and likeable performances. Their acting chops give the film a needed gravity that Momoa and Amber Heard just aren't quite capable of. The two leads seem to be starring in a goofier B-movie to the rest of the cast's A-list blockbuster. It's unfortunate, since both are quite likeable, but at times it seems painfully obvious that they are thinking about acting and not so in the moment.

Aquaman isn't a good movie, but it's not a bad one either, it sort of transcends these labels through sheer enthusiasm. It's a really weird, massive experiment with a playfulness that had me smiling broadly more often than not. I did notice a walkout at the end of the first act, which I totally get. This isn't going to appeal to a lot of people, but if you're in for seeing stuff you've never seen before on screen, this definitely has that.

Yes, they actually did Black Manta comics-
accurate.  Amazeballs.