Aquaman and the Last Movie

Cut through the murk. It can be hard when you’re going deep in the Trench. You see that King of the Seas up ahead? He’s actually pretty entertaining, if sometimes unable to restrain being a bro. Bro. It’s okay, bro. We know it’s the end of the line for the DCEU, and at least director James Wan wants to send it out with a huzzah. Since it’s Jason Momoa in the title role, it’s more of a “WOOOOH! Yee-yah!”

So yes, Aquaman and the Last Kingdom is pretty good. Like its predecessor, it’s overstuffed. Wan, Momoa, and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick know their comics, and kept throwing in things that emphasize what makes Aquaman different than other superheroes. That means it’s more of an adventure crossing Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.P. Lovecraft, minus the occasional dollop of racism. Or rather, the Atlanteans are racist toward all of us surface dwellers. Our own false divisions don’t matter to them.

As the film opens, Arthur Curry (Momoa) has been at the job of King of Atlantis for a while. No one told him there’s be bureaucracy tied to the job, but he’s doing the best he can while his “Council” keeps him from valuable time parenting and drinking. Because now he has a baby boy, and a marriage to a series of cameos from Amber Heard as Mera.

In the meantime, one of his two established arch-enemies Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has teamed with Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park) to find and excavate ancient Atlantean technology. Shin just wants to prove to the world that Atlantis exists; Manta/David Cain wants to destroy everything Aquaman holds dear. Yes, it takes Shin way too long to figure that out, but Lost Kingdoms don’t find themselves.

There’s a bit of narrative compression there, and it’s likely that Wan had intended to tell this part of the story in The Trench. That was supposed to be a horror film spin-off announced and cancelled. Wan has since admitted it was secretly about Black Manta.

Anyway, Manta’s found technology runs on an ancient element called orichalcum, rare and locked away by Atlantis because its usage in ancient times almost destroyed the environment. The only way Aquaman can stop Manta is to free his not evil but misguided brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), better known as Ocean Master. He has to do this for reasons.

There’s much more, touching on so many different runs of Aquaman in comics. The only thing missing that I half-expected was an appearance by Arion, Lord of Atlantis. You’ve got that ancient sword and sorcery era, you’ve got technovillains, and for the love of Atlan you’ve got Topo the Octopus playing a major role. It’s also a heist film, because once Manta steals all the ancient element, Aquaman and Ocean Master have to steal it back. How can you not love this insanity?

Occasionally performances are a little one-note. Whether it’s because of her public perception or not, Heard’s role could have been played by a Sideshow Collectibles statue. And Momoa continues leaning into making Arthur Curry a less restrained version of himself. Take that as you will. He needs strong actors around him, and though unfortunately Willem Dafoe could not return, Wilson elevates Momoa’s game in every scene. Nicole Kidman tries, but the real flaw in this film is knowing that both Mera and Alanna are strong characters in the comics and given almost nothing to do here.

If only it weren’t carrying the weight of the Snyderverse on its back. In truth, it’s not. Though if James Gunn and Peter Safran hadn’t come aboard and understandably swept the table, it would have made reference to other heroes. Rumor has it that Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton both had shot scenes as Bruce Wayne. They’re gone. The underrated Blue Beetle tied in more closely, and sort of survives the transition from DC Films to the brave new world of DC Studios.

Instead, if Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom had been more clearly its own little world, the indifference might not have been so great. This is a film packed to the gills with imagination and beautiful imagery. It’s going to find life in (gulf) streaming.

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