There has been rising argument among few that comic book movies could lose its popularity in time due to its repetitive nature. But trust me when I say that Aquaman movie is a fine example of a superhero film’s ability to grapple on several elements from different genres to appeal to the masses.
Aquaman is adventurous, humor-filled, fast-paced and hits the rights points to keep the audience engaged and entertained though it has minor flaws. But those issues are a bigger problem which was set out due to the setbacks of past movies like Justice League.
The movie mostly stays in its primary battleground (underwater) and has managed to deliver a visually thrilling experience thanks to its intense CGI developed scenes.
Comic book movies, in general, have gradually started to depend heavily on VFX to deliver the best moments. But often, presents them as an unfinished product and sadly have managed to get away with it(Example: Black Panther’s final fight scene). But Aquaman might just be the first superhero movie to have a well-established CGI with a good story for a solo outing.
Aquaman, in its attempt to appeal to the audience with different parts of entertaining elements, does fall short to present an engaging romance between Arthur Curry and Mera. Their first spark moment in the movie seem too typical which even prompted a few “oh the cliché romance’ giggles among the audience. And it was among the Indian audience who have grown up seeing movies where the primary plot revolves around love and romance.
Perhaps, A 3 hours duration movie could have eliminated a few flaws which are hard to ignore due to the film’s fast-paced nature. Moreover, it may have also set this DC title further above in the list of best comic book movies.
Fortunately, the movie has some of the best unique fight sequences throughout the first, second and third act which quite frankly would prompt a lot of fans to revisit the movie once again in theaters.
Over the years, Warner Bros. DC Cinematic Universe has struggled to find its place in the superhero genre though brilliant directors such as Zack Snyder and David Ayer presented their own unique elements in their DC films. Before Aquaman, DC films were only appreciated by a niche audience (excluding Justice League which was a disastrous mess). But finally, director James Wan may have just presented a DC film which I predict would appeal to the masses similar to Marvel Studios’ MCU titles.
Unfortunately, it also seems like the upcoming DC titles would distance itself from Snyder’s style of making a superhero film. While every director would have his own vision when producing a superhero film, I believe a pinch of Snyder’s formula could place the DCEU far above in this genre.
Aquaman deserves to be hailed as the best comic book movie of the year solely for managing to hit many aspects with a solo outing. In the duration of 2 hours and 22 minutes, the movie gives us Arthur’s origin through backstory and explains the history of Atlantis in the simplest and best way and still manages to deliver a good gripping story in a fast-paced adventure.
I rate the movie 8/10.
