Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) User Reviews

A mix of awesome and bad

[FeastMode · 5/10 · 22 December 2023]

So many aspects of this movie are a complete mixed bag:

1) Half of the comedy is really funny, the other half made me roll my eyes.

2) Some of the one-liners are good, some made me cringe.

3) A lot of the action is so cool, a lot is a screen full of gibberish.

4) There are so many beautiful shots and visuals, and also horribly cartoonish CGI like in The Flash.

5) I enjoyed the musical score, but it doesn't reach the level of Black Adam's. And I wasn't a fan of using classic rock tracks for a lighter tone, something we're more likely to see in a Marvel movie.

6) Half the time I was invested, the other half I was unengaged and didn't care.

I had an okay time wit this movie. It benefits from IMAX with the expanded aspect ratio for the entire movie. But in the biggest IMAX around, there were a total of 8 people in my theater. DC seems to have alienated its die-hard fans.

(1 viewing, opening Thursday IMAX 12/21/2023)

Superhero fatigue and same old boring stuff

[zfgcjx · 5/10 · 20 February 2024]

If this movie came out a long time ago it would have been great. But the superhero age is over and we are tired of the same old stuff. Aquaman requires Avatar level Graphics. You can't do aquaman on a budget because it looks cheesy and fake. Acting by Momoa is great as usual. The brother thing worked well. But like i said it's all been done a hundred times now. The worst part is that these studios aren't getting the point. You need a script that's original. CGI has to look real and good. There's no real audience for this stuff anymore. But the companies don't seem to get it, I guess they'll keep doing them until there bankrupt. Oh well.

Entertaining, but nothing you haven't seen before

[jayenjr · 6/10 · 22 December 2023]

IF this was made in the early days of superhero franchises, say when Iron Man first came out, then it might have stood out. Unfortunately Aquaman 2 has to bear the burden of having to follow through the recent flops and/or mixed bag of superhero output from both MCU/DCEU.

James Wan doesn't offer anything new under sky; a baddie who wants revenge - saw that in the Marvels. Sibling tension? Saw that in Thor. Supposedly all powerful, final-baddie who then gets thumped easily? Saw that in Black Adam. By now, there's such an air of familiarity in superhero fares, that I think it' gonna take a complete shift in narrative/plots to offer audiences a fresh take.

Jason Momoa's charisma and screen presence is basically the backbone of the movie and it pretty much carries it through. His timing, especially humour, is spot on, while his Aquaman is also convincingly authoritative. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's somewhat wasted here. A capable actor, but he's reduced to portraying a stock baddie out for revenge, while his right arm, Stingray, is as one dimensional as they come. Plus it doesn't help that the actress who plays Stingray is kinda cardboard too.

I find Randall Park, while dependable, nevertheless still plays Randall Park from other movies/Tv shows. You've seen his character in Blockbuster, or in the mcu outfits.

Don't have any complaints on Amber Heard or Nicole Kidman, but they don't have enough screen time to make much of an impact. But I have to admit, I did wonder, what if Nicole played Capt. Marvel instead of Brie? I think I would have bought into it a lot faster. Kidman's talent is such that, even small screen time doesn't stop her from exuding enough screen presence to make her contribution count.

Which leaves me with Patrick Wilson. His portrayal of Orm is brilliant, suffusing the character with the tension his inner conflicts have with his motives - "do I live in hate, or do I forgive?" The fact that Wilson achieves this without any acting histrionics but leaves his angst just right above the surface, just enough for us to feel it, is probably the standout feature of Aquaman and Lost Kingdom. I think he kinda redeemed himself from the poor and dumb Moonfall.

I hope James Gunn will be able to create not only a new trajectory for DCEU, but an entire different take on superhero movies. While Aquaman 2 is entertaining enough to fill your 2h, it's also a by the numbers' effort. Not something you and I will live to remember.

Not as bad as it seems

[yehonatanresnick · 6/10 · 3 February 2024]

Going to this film, I expected little to nothing after hearing how awful people thought it was. To my surprise, it wasn't that bad and I actually enjoyed this film. It wasn't without its problems, but I was pretty satisfied with it being what it was.

The cons of this film are mainly dialogue and CGI. There are all of these cheesy lines that you would expect to hear and one line jokes at the end of a scene, almost like you are watching a sitcom series. Jason Mamoa as an actor has charisma and knows how to steal the show. But unlike the first Aquaman, here it feels as if he's just playing himself. There is no real depth to Arthur's (Jason Mamoa) arc, by the end he is still this punk cool guy which is fine but really nothing else.

Here you have two villains. Black manta who was alright but ultimately fell short and then this monstrosity named Kordax who honestly looks like a power ranger villain, it's rough. The problem here for me is that this could've been an exciting hunt movie where Black Manta is just wreaking havoc on Arthurs life, without all of the supposed fleshing out of this universe.

CGI here was just bad. Didn't look real or feel real. What's funny is that if you go back ten years or so, where the technology wasn't near what it is today, you have all these high- budget blockbuster films that are just beautiful. What happened?

Now for what I did like. The biggest pro in my opinion is the Arthur and Orm dynamic. They have this wonderful chemistry and it turned out to have a heartwarming send off to Orm's character. I think Patrick Wilson is great as Orm. His character had a redemption arc which I just loved.

The action here was also fun. There is a scene between Arthur and Black Manta where they are fighting with their tridents which was intense. Another sequence I had a really great time with was when Arthur breaks Orm out of prison. Quite a few jokes landed for me too.

This film is a mess and yet has its moments. I finished the film thinking to myself "Wow, don't judge a book by its cover". Give this a shot, you might also enjoy this enough. It sums up to a brotherly fun adventure movie, without taking it too seriously.

The old DC universe that failed ends badly.

[wathfrancesca · 23 December 2023]

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an ugly film that disappoints expectations. The story is trite and predictable, the characters are flat the script is ugly, only the special effects are saved.

The story is full of clichés and situations already seen in other movies, such as the final battle between good and evil, the reconciliation between brothers, and the sacrifice to save the world.

The characters are uninteresting and shallowly developed. Aquaman is a generic hero, with no particular characteristics that distinguish him from others.

The special effects are spectacular, but fail to save the film. The action scenes are well done, but the CGI is often obvious and unrealistic.

In conclusion, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an ugly movie as a script, which disappoints the expectations I had.

Good enough for me, man!

[subxerogravity · 6/10 · 22 December 2023]

After everything i herd, i thought this was going to be horrible, but it was not. It really was not.

My favorite part of the movie was the relationship between the two brothers Aquaman and the Ocean Master. Watching these two act like brothers in the movie was absolutely entertaining. It just worked so well.

Aquaman 2 seemed to be about two brothers who don't know each other really well going on an Adventure to get to know each other and that worked.

This movie seemed to be all about family and that helped with the personality of the blockbuster. Even Amber Heard which I was surprise how much of her actually made it to the final flick.

Black Manta steps up as a great villain. His vengeance was well laid out.

I will say the movie tried to be Epic without any substance. They tried to make everything look really big but it all felt empty.

Plus the speical effects were distracting. The underwater effect seemed so lame in this film.

Other than that, its as good of a watch as the first one. Glad i went to see it.

It felt like Aquaman had a day at Disneyland going into different kind of movie themed rides

[iamianiman · 3/10 · 20 December 2023]

Aquaman and The Lost of Kingdom suffers THE SAME problem with the first installment; it DOES NOT have a distinct identity. We were shocked to see that the major problem they had in Aquaman 1 was again manifested in this sequel. If you watch a film, you know the kind of tone and feel that a movie is giving you. But this movie feels like a jumbled medley of imitations from different kinds of films, almost like a parody. There's a 10-minute scene where you felt like this is from an Indiana Jones world, and then the next thing you know, you're stuck in the realm of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island. We can name a lot of different movies that this film takes its tone and design and pastes it into the movie. War of the Worlds, The Matrix Revolutions, Ridley Scott's Aliens and... okay, we'll stop now. The result is an endless patchwork of downgraded recreations from various movies. It felt like Aquaman had a day at Disneyland going into different kind of movie-themed rides (minus the 'fun').

Adding to that, the first act felt like it was venturing into a documentary style format mixed with Ridley Scott's Alien style of exposition. Alien was a masterpiece but like we said, this is a dumpster reiteration, it was slow, it had little to no suspense, it tried to build momentum but it didn't work. They could have cut 10 minutes but they didn't. It was unnecessarily drawn out as they spent time showing the entirety of their journey into the deep unknown like this is some kind of art house film.

Now, a lot are asking, is Amber Heard in it? Well, yes. Did she have many scenes? Her presence was only about 15% of the whole film. Her character, Mera did play a pivotal role for the story but James Wan, the director knew when to show her on screen. The question, 'Is her presence important on screen?' seems like what James Wan would ask himself before making the decision to put her in. She only had few dialogues but her performance was still flat.

We also have a problem with how much they made use of 'space'. Especially in the first act, we saw they're a lot of wide shots used but the issue here is the space that filled in those shots; the surroundings, locations or/and environments were only there because... they were made to be there. It barely did anything to the story. But when it comes to scenes that were crowded or had various props or extras, the cameras ddin't give audience the time to breathe and process the visuals. A lot of mid to fast cuts, there wasn't much of a sense of appreciation to enjoy the visuals they have built. In the end, we felt discontented.

First Aquaman at least had villains that were enjoyable to watch. This time, the villain or again, villains were just forgettable. The motivations were weak. The main villain didn't really drive the story forward. It had a backstory and conflict that were created merely for the purpose of this movie's existence. We couldn't care less because it's nowhere interesting, let alone enjoyable.

And talking about that final battle... oh man. It was unbearable to the point that it turned laughable. Was it because of the reshoots that they suffered here? The whole movie, led to the final battle, it was a journey between Aquaman and his brother, only for us to find out that the villain was feeble and it gave the benefit of the plot armor for Aquaman and his weapon. It's just bad storytelling on top of bad execution overall.

And the movie draggggggsssssss so much, we even questioned, 'What happened to James Wan?' From the beginning up until the climax, we were just waiting for something cool or unique to happen, but it didn't. It drags until the final battle where it should be longer but then that's when they decided to just cut things off and ended it abruptly the moment the exciting thing was about to pop up. We're confused.

Amidst these flaws, one thing that truly stood out is its message on brotherhood. A beautiful message combo with good pairing, Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson have commendable chemistry, we can see it from the way they talk to each other. There's certainly some dedication they put into establishing their relationship. It's nothing that you can remember for years but it's enough to at least carry this movie despite the many bad outcomes this movie turned out to be.

Ultimately, Aquaman 2 seems tailored for a younger audience who just want to enjoy monsters and sea creatures fighting against literally anything or anyone, rather than catering to teenagers or adults seeking a compelling narrative.

Verdict: Similar to its predecessor, this sequel fails to find its identity, drowning in an ocean of borrowed tones and styles from previous movies. With a shallow story, forgettable villains and inconsistent pacing, this film struggles to stay afloat. While it's a tidal wave of disappointing results, the portrayal of brotherhood between the two leads stands out as a beacon, carrying the entire movie. Overall, this final chapter from the DCEU serves as a testament we're in dire need for a total reboot of these superheroes.

Not as good as the first one, but better than I expected.

[SPZMaxinema · 7/10 · 23 December 2023]

The first one was good imo so I was curious to see this one. By the end it wasn't a complete let down, it was actually pretty cool, fun, and funny in some moments! Although the film suffers from being shallow and impractical sometimes and was lacking with the romance angle of it (understandable why Amber Heard couldn't be in the movie as much), I actually really liked seeing the characters and arcs of Black Manta and Orm. They had cool and good moments and were actually more interesting than Arthur/Aquaman himself! I don't see how anyone can really hate this. It's somewhat lacking with some things but it's not THAT horrible. Plus it had an intense and captivating boss fight at the end!

Ends The DCEU On The Bummest Possible Note

[cdjh-81125 · 4/10 · 22 December 2023]

The most accurate word I can think of to describe Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is annoying. Where the first film was hardly a masterpiece of the genre I thought it was over the top in all the right ways and because of that I actually mostly enjoyed it. This movie just doubles down on the insanity in all the worst ways and I ended up finding it borderline insufferable.

For the first 15 minutes or so I thought I could enjoy it in a so bad it's good sort of way but it's too stupid to even enjoy in that way. The script just makes so many errors on the most basic level that if you think about any thing about this story for more than a minute it just collapses. Nothing that gets set up pays off in any meaningful way and most of the resolutions fell totally flat. It can't decide on a tone, it drags majorly and most of the humour made me cringe in all the worst ways.

The performances really suffer as a result cause they're pretty poor across the board. I've liked Jason Momoa as this character but he's just too campy in this movie to take anything he's doing seriously, even actors of Yahya Abdul-Manteen II and Nicole Kidman's calibre deliver their lines in the flattest way possible but with the material they're given I can hardly blame that on them. I'm happy that Willem Dafoe was spared from this mess at least.

The finale is the most bog standard CGI noise of a climax that we've seen so many times before that I was just totally bored watching it, at least the first film had some sense of spectacle to it. There's the odd fun action scene but the pretty dreadful visual effects just constantly took me out of it. The villain is terrible after a decent set up in the first film with the most generic motivations possible.

The Lost Kingdom ends the DCEU with the biggest thud imaginable. It's been up and down since the beginning but it deserved a better conclusion than the soulless slog that this movie turned out to be. This might be the worst movie they ever made because at least Justice League had a happy conclusion with the Snyder Cut. There's nothing in this movie you haven't seen 100 times before and I've never been more ready for a total reboot of this universe.

Not good and not bad

[hossammota · 6/10 · 27 January 2024]

It feels like this movie is taken from some other movie Aquaman's relationship with his brother is very similar to Thor's relationship with Loki in the movie Thor: The Dark World, and even the journey to the movie's villain is very similar.

The monsters that were on the island in the movie I felt were from Jumanji and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

The visual effects that were under the surface of the water were not good in some scenes.

But despite that, I did not feel bored while watching that movie.

There is a final point, which is the villain of the film.

First, the villain of the previous movie is also the villain of the current movie, and this is a weak point. A new villain should have been added so that I do not feel like I am witnessing the same previous movie with some simple changes.

Secondly, the new villain does not count. He appeared in his full form for no more than three minutes and was eliminated very easily.

Aquaman and the "LOST SCRIPT"

[Aziz24 · 4/10 · 23 December 2023]

Rating: 4/10 Format: Regular Theatre

A script that doesn't have any story to hold it tight together. It's a very interesting story that discusses many aspects like family, brotherhood, fatherhood, and leadership. But, perhaps this was its core problem, that it was trying to be so many things at the same time. At times i didn't know where the story was heading which made the story jump from discussing topics like fatherhood to an adventure with two brothers who had beef in their past. The film is unfortunately a typical superhero film in terms of expecting what's coming next from events, and sequences.

On top of that and with all the chaos, the film re-discusses the villain's story which revolves around his revenge but it was so weak comparing to how it was in the first film. I didn't feel his presence nor i felt his evilness. He was suppose to be much stronger here but i barely felt him. The film also brings back old characters that just all of a sudden showed up in some sequences to save the day and be the superhero of the act which felt so weird because they came out of nowhere.

The film's CGI is okay at most times. It's defiantly not as good as the first one but it is for sure better than most of the MCU's latest projects this year like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). The cinematography unfortunately got downgraded which is something that I was anticipated for especially after seeing the first part. But I felt like there was no room for that because of how messy the sequences and story was especially that we were jumping between the past and present a lot and from one place to another.

Not to mention, the whole last sequence of the film was so good in terms of the action sequences and grabbing the audience's attention. Really got me hooked and interested and wished if the rest was like that.

Fun and entertaining

[nalindra-ferdinando · 8/10 · 20 December 2023]

Movie released on 20th December and since I am a big fan of first Aquaman movie wanted to check the sequel out given it's also from James Wan how has always given entertaining movies. Have to say despite all the negativity, to surprise I really enjoyed this movie which was simple, fun and entertaining!!! If you are looking for big action family movie then this is the movie for you!!! Plus it's a beautiful looking movie!!!!

Don't expect any great story or character arc!!! That was never the case of Aquaman!!! It's a movie that looks gorgeous and delivers some epic action!!! Plus great humor!!!!

Glad its over... reboot ready!

[KenKenReviews · 6/10 · 21 December 2023]

This sequel adapts the more buddy comedy formula. Now Jason and Patrick were fine as a pair but every single buddy one liner joke attempted ended as a big failure. I can give the benefit of the doubt and say "writers' strike" but I'm sure a lot of this was improv and I'm afraid it just didn't work. The idea was a good one just not well executed. I can't help but feel like there's no possibility of a sequel so not enough heart was put into this. The pacing was heavily affected by the obvious reshoots which for me was edited poorly. WB needed to man up and either just remove she who shall not be named or just fully include her. You can see she had a bigger role to play in all this and a lot of her content got cut. It really messed with the flow. The action we loved. The decision to have this possessed Black Manta who's able to go toe to toe with Aquaman made for a good story line and excellent fighting scenes. Story wise predictable and pretty boring. The one good thing for me was the redemption arc for Orm. We got to traverse a different side to his villainous past. I personally will miss this version of Arthur Curry. I'm not sure it can ever be matched. I was looking forward to exploring the numerous kingdoms we were introduced to but hey, over to you Mr Gunn. To be honest I wouldn't bother with any DCEU films at this point. The production teams can't be bothered so not sure why we should, well you should... I mean I'm gona watch them, so you don't have to... you're welcome.

No soul, no purpose, no fun.

[skylermoore · 3/10 · 23 December 2023]

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a movie that has no reason to exist other than contract obligations. It's boring, offers nothing new to the genre and gives us the most cookie cutter DC super hero movie since... The Flash. Surprisingly enough the Flash is better. The main objective this film is purely to get to the end. There's no emotional connections to characters, there's no reason for me to feel anything. The action is below average, the cgi is meh and the acting is even worst. This is just all around a bad movie... a cash grab... a let's move on to the James Gunn universe now. Skipping this won't cause you any harm, go see something else. Even The Marvels is a better film.

It's better than expected

[pcowell-69105 · 6/10 · 22 December 2023]

This is a good movie. The action is still really fun and well choreographed. That fun comic book flavor is still very much present. It's another adventure which I think is a genre that fits Aquaman well. The issue is the story is flat out bad. I don't know how this passed through a chain of command and everyone said yes. The script is even worse. Oh wow this a really bad script. There were moments I actually physically cringed at the dialogue. I don't know what Jason Momoa was doing in this film but it wasn't acting. Patrick Wilson was the biggest standout and I enjoyed him most on screen. He made Jason Momoas performance bearable. This is also coming from a Jason Momoa fan. This is without a doubt his worst performance. Amber Heard is barely in the film but oh wow she's really bad in this. I actually liked her in the first film but she's awful in this one. Overall a step down from Aquaman but I think that if you enjoyed the first one you'll enjoy this one. Just less so. A disappointing end to the DCEU no doubt.

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Was Flawed But Still Pretty Good Overall

[HabibieHakim123 · 7/10 · 20 December 2023]

7.5/10 I love the first Aquaman when i first watch it in the theaters, and i recently watch it for the second time and unfortunately i have more criticism in my second watch and thought that it was just an ok superhero movie, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom however, the sequel of the film was pretty good overall, still not without it flaws, but i felt more engaged in this one a bit more, mostly because we already know about Aquaman and now his new family, and what happen to his half-brother Orm, his new but also past villain Black Manta is back and i also felt more threat from him than Orm in the first movie, my only big major problem was the pacing of the movie, even though it shorter i feel like they should put more exciting and threatening scene and less of a slow scene that are important but they could make it shorter, i thought all the performances was fine, and the best thing of the film was simply the chemistry between Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson as their character in this movie, it's a pretty fun love hate relationship, exciting at times, and emotional too which is something that i don't really get that powerful in the first movie, i enjoy the first 30 minutes of the film then it's getting pretty slow in the middle with some things happen here and there, and then the last 45 minutes i started to getting into it again, while the last battle was not as amazing as the first one, it's still pretty great, not forget to mention about the visual and special effects both the first and in this one was always stunning, so overall Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom was flawed but still pretty good, i do like it better than the first one in a way, and having a pretty good superhero movie these days was getting rarer and rarer so i'm glad to actually getting an enjoyment from it.

Anyone with a functioning brain, better pass this one by!

[imseeg · 3/10 · 22 December 2023]

Only suited for energy drink addicted teenagers, who want to their movies to be like a nonstop action game.

The bad: this movie is too violent for young kids and way too stupid for any grownup adult. That leaves only one target audience: the teenagers.

Hurrah for them if they can stumach this non stop CGI rubbish, but I got annoyed and numbed within minutes of watching this.

What's most annoying are the (failed) attempts to make jokes, that undeniably fail to evoke any laughter, AT ALL. The "jokes" are so worn out and in my face that they only irritated me.

I really can appreciate a silly over the top action movie and the story hasnt even got to be credible, BUT at least the characters and the story should be interesting. NONE of that was the case however in this movie.

To be avoided at all costs...

A fairly solid sequel

[ethanbresnett · 6/10 · 21 December 2023]

Aquaman returns to our screens in this follow up to his solidly enjoyable 2018 solo movie, and for the most part this sequel follows its predecessor in delivering a decently fun and entertaining movie.

In a world of convoluted multi-verses and overly tiresome connected characters, there's a pleasing simplicity to this story that is appealing and engaging. It follows Aquaman as he faces a familiar foe to protect his Kingdom. It's certainly nothing groundbreaking or overly original within the superhero genre, but it's a solid plot nonetheless.

Recycling a villain in only the second movie for this character could be seen as a little lazy. I'm no Aquaman super fan so I've no idea what his rogues gallery is like, but there was surely potential to have a bit more fun with this. In any case, the return of a familiar character removes the need for any excessive exposition and ensures the story moves along at a good pace.

Speaking of characters, the cast list is pretty thin and there isn't much in the way of new blood in this film. You'd think this would give the script a chance to really develop these existing characters more, but that doesn't really happen. Perhaps another missed opportunity here.

The action throughout is fine if nothing special. The effects are a mixed bag but are sometimes quite impressive. In addition, aside from some awkward humour that doesn't really work, the tone and feel of the film is quite good.

Ultimately if you enjoy the superhero genre this film will give you a good time. It doesn't really push the boat out or take too many risks, but at the same time it feels like a superhero film from years gone by in that it is contained and simple in a refreshing way.

Wow, this was COMPLETELY awful

[chenp-54708 · 1/10 · 22 December 2023]

This movie feels like the equivalent of Eminem's Revival cause my god, this movie is a dumpster fire in the worst way with poor writing, sloppy characters, and bad performances. The first Aquaman movie is absolutely ridiculous but I enjoyed it because it didn't take itself too seriously and understand what the movie was. I thought it had a fun energy and went bonkers in the best way. However, all the fun, energy and bonkers entertainment is just thrown out of the window with this sequel because this sequel is a gigantic mess.

The narrative continues from the previous movie with new settings and concepts introduced and while I did like they introduced new settings that are pretty cool. Unfortunately, the writing feels really convoluted because the concepts and ideas were messy as if the writers didn't know how to put the concepts well-together. With all the reshoots and drama happening behind the scenes, I can't be surprised that the structure had fallen apart. Many of the special effects, production, make-up, and the colorful presentation are pretty rough and there are some noticeable poor CGI used but not like The Flash situation. The soundtrack is annoying and the action and thrills were just okay. Many of the cast members are doing their best but unfortunately, the performances weren't great and the dialogue was pretty bad. I honestly feel bad for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II cause he's talented and the character of Black Manta is pretty cool, but Mateen doesn't really get his chances to shine with his character.

Director James Wan is talented as I enjoyed many of his works and I can see Wan is trying his best to create the sequel like the first one, but his direction was really bad as it feels sloppy and inconsistent. The sequel tries to follow the same non-serious 80s cheesy style, humor and tone from the previous movie but it doesn't work because the sequel kind of misses the point of what made the first one entertaining and ends up being pretty cringeworthy.

I knew this movie wasn't going to be great and I just wanted to have dumb popcorn entertainment. Some dumb fun and laugh for the cheesiness but wow, it surprised me on how bad it was.

One of the worst movies I have seen this year. Also from DC.

🐳 Man, that Black Manta Vs Aquaman End Fight was Amazing to Watch🐙

[DoNotComeToTheCinemaDepressed · 7/10 · 24 December 2023]

Just Got out of an IMAX 3D Screening of Aquaman 2. I'm Going to See this Again in Screen X Next Weekend.

RIP DCEU 2013-2023. It was a Fun Ride at times. Let's Move onto the DCU now.

Let's Get the Negatives out First -

1. 📜 The Storyline was Great and made sense until the Writers decided to Shoot themselves in the foot, About 2/3rds of the way in. (DNA freeing Kordax and his Army instead of the Perfectly Fine Orichalcum Melting the Ice Caps and Freeing Them). Are the Writers taking Major Uppers whilst Writing these Scripts?

2. 🐜 🔱 Black Manta and Aquamans Hostile Relationship just wasn't Capitalised on properly through Dialogue. Aquaman Murdered his Father, and they barely have a lick of Dialogue with eachother?

3. ⚫🔱 Kordax being freed - I just Felt like they should of had a Great Final Battle with Kordax after Aquaman throws the First Black Trident at Him(you could still have that Stunning Slow Motion 2nd Trident Throw Kill)

4. 👎 The Second In Command Under Black Manta has to be one of the Worst Second In Commands in Cinema I've ever seen. She just shouts inaudible orders, has no personality whatsoever and just doesn't do a damn thing.

Things I Liked about The Film -

1. 📜 The Storyline, I really liked the Storyline in this. It was Excellent in my opinion.......... until, again, introducing the, "Oh Manta needs the Blood Now" thing. 🤦🏻

2. 💐The Visuals - So Many of the Visuals were so good to watch. That Atlantis Chase Scene was Visual Eye Candy 🍬 (others might not like this sort of thing).

3. 🎶 The Score, I really liked the Score. Particularly the Atlantis Discovery Segment and the Black Manta Score.

4. 👉👈 You Put Aquaman 2 Together with Aquaman 1 and It's a Good 1,2 Punch of a Storyline.

5a. 🎬 The Action Scenes - I liked all of the Action Scenes. (except for one) I literally Tuned out during this Scene, it was the Orm and Aquaman Chase Scene in the Desert on these 8 legged Creatures. I tuned back in around the time that Orms Body got Covered by a Wave of Sea Water.

5b. 🔱🔱Still in The Action - That Aquaman Vs Black Manta Battle was so damn Good! The Camera Movements, the Zoom in/out, the Panning. It was Amazing. 👌

5c. 👱🙋More Action - The Orm vs Aquaman "Push Scene". I just really liked that Scene.

5d. 🔱💃 The Trident Throw Towards Mera. It was A Great Slow Motion Moment.

5e. 🔱🔱💀 The Final Kill - What a Final Kill!

Overall, Ok, that was Fun, DCEU are You Done? Ok Good. Let's Bring on The DCU Now.

Ended before the story started

[hanschsolo · 4/10 · 21 December 2023]

How can a movie resonate with the viewer, if the story builds for two hours, and ends in 10 seconds? How can a writer think that this will have an impact on the viewer?

Well, the film feels and looks like a comic book. It is an simple comic book storyline, It feels kinda like a saturday morning cartoon. This is a great look if you're going for an animated movie, but for a whole picture that is demanding towards older audiences.. this is a problem. An problem which Hollywood doesn't seem to care about. Because I've seen this in almost every high-budget adventure film this year.

It is always the same structure. The Hero returns and needs to save someone or defend somewhere, one that is near to him explains that he needs to get to A because at B him awaits an creature, that is much stronger than him. So he needs to get an item, or in this specific case, get an person, that could help him. AND very important to note here, is that the villain always gets teased at this part as this demonic, highly frightening creature.

In the end, he's mostly just an huge piece of plastic or an huge piece of Green-Screen. Or, the worst case, he dies in merely 60 seconds after his great appearance.

While this kind of storytelling overshadows what audiences REALLY want, and what potentially great writers could achieve if there would be more demand for interesting, immersive concepts and ideas in Hollywood, at least, please, try your best in writing your characters Appealing.

The first Aquaman is simple, it's basic, but in it's first minutes it's already emotionally resonating and has GREAT camera-angles that psychologically just attracts someone to stay for more. The movement of the camera was immediately grabbing. And in the end, you got an work of art which is intense, epic and emotional at once, just because the filmmaking does the best out of it.

So, either have a great script, or have a great filmmaker, a great sound-editor, cinematographer, composer, color-grader, visual effects artist..

Filmmaking is not without reason called an art-form.

Is This In Black and White? Is There a Guy Riding Around on a Unicycle? Is Juliette Binoche Anywhere In This? Then What Are People Expecting?

[RightOnDaddio · 8/10 · 23 December 2023]

As far as 2023 action sequels go, this movie far exceeds the accomplishments of entertaining the masses on a much grander scale.

If you liked the first Aquaman film, you'll like this one as much if not maybe even more so.

Is this the greatest movie ever made?

No, of course not. It's not even the best DC movie by any stretch.

Is it decent enough entertainment for these holidays?

Sure.

Is it fast food and not fine dining?

Absolutely.

But the long runtime is one of this film's flaws for sure.

Could've easily shaved a half hour off this flounder.

As you watch, you will see so many scenes that remind you of so many other movies, good and bad: Star Wars Episodes I-III, and VII-IX, Avatar, even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

I know, not exactly awesome, but believe it or not, it's not horrible. It passes the time.

Jason Mamoa still has his charisma. And Amber Heard, despite everything else, is still absolutely gorgeous on the biggest of screens.

Don't just stick a toe in, or dangle your feet in the water.

Go ahead, dive on in head first.

The water is fine.

Aquaman's last stand

[MB-reviewer185 · 7/10 · 26 January 2024]

The ending of the DCEU is here with the second Aquaman movie that has gone through a lot of production issues and delays involving this DC universe ending for the new rebooted universe that we will be getting after this; so, people might be hard on this movie because it will not matter what this film does when it will be erased after the reboot of the DC universe. I did like the first Aquaman (2018) directed by James Wan and think it is one of the DC universe's better movies, so after watching the sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) once again directed by James Wan, I thought the movie was a fun DC movie to watch like the first, but it still has its issues that can be a little distracting and the ending was awfully similar to another movie from another comic book cinematic universe.

I still like Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman, and I like how despite not liking being king of Atlantis he still is trying to balance between being a husband and father to his wife Mera and his child and being king of Atlantis to protect everything; leading to him teaming up with his brother Orm/Ocean Master to go up against the villain Black Manta. I liked seeing Patrick Wilson return to play Orm/Ocean Master, and that Arthur Curry/Aquaman and him team up bonding as brothers throughout the movie; Arthur gets because he has info on the villain and what he is planning to do, but also that he can help with what Arthur Curry/Aquaman is trying to do when it comes to protecting Atlantis. Lastly, I all the controversy involving Amber Heard and trying to have her not return as Mera, but despite all the history she has had recently, she was not bad in the movie and Mera does help whenever she needs to come in; also, because she is Arthur Curry/Aquaman's wife she will help in some way.

The villain Black Manta played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is not bad, and he is just getting revenge for the death of his father in the first movie, but also using the black trident to help his revenge plan against Aquaman; though he was cool to watch with the comic accurate outfit, he needed to do more when it came to him fighting Aquaman because he is mostly possesses by the black trident because of the trident's past, but he does have a few cool moments. The black trident's backstory was interesting but a little rushed when it came to the darker side and the fight between the two kingdoms with the evil king that lead one of the kingdoms against Atlantis; also, there are parts that are like what happens in the comics, but they are a bit rushed and they could have been executed better or could have had more time spent on them.

The action sequences are fun to watch, though some of the CGI effects can look obvious, there are CGI effects that are not that bad, and there are backgrounds, despite being a green/blue screen, that can look visually pretty; also, everything underwater and the effects underwater looks particularly good. There are issues involving the movie being too silly, which there are funny moments and funny lines of dialogue, but it can be a weird back and forth when it goes from being funny to taking certain moments seriously, which those scenes can be effective; there are also some issues involving bits of the plot and the ending could have been a bit better, but it was ok, even though it was similar to how another comic book movie ended from another cinematic universe.

Aquaman 2 disappointment. Goodbye old DCU we won't miss you.

[asaracchio · 23 December 2023]

Aquaman 2 is a disappointment movie. The plot is so banal and predictable that you can understand practically the entire story from the first minutes of the film.

The story is full of clichés and repetitive situations.

The characters are even more banal than the plot. Aquaman is a generic hero and Orm is a two-dimensional villain.

The special effects are spectacular, but they're the only decent thing.

It's not a film I recommend. If you liked the first Aquaman, go and see this second film, but if you didn't like the first Aquaman film or didn't like it very much, then forget about Aquaman 2 too, because you won't even like this second film, this second film is inferior to the first film.

Glad the DCEU ends on this and not Flash

[masonsaul · 7/10 · 23 December 2023]

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom lacks the glorious insanity that made its predecessor so distinct. This is however, a really good comic book movie that's a well-intentioned climate crisis metaphor and a buddy cop bromance across some pretty fun locations. Self contained and all the better for it, although it's final moment is a repeat of last time.

Jason Momoa puts even more of himself in the character this time around. It's nice to see a character that's actually grown so much between films and the fact he's a parent struggling with a new-born baby stuck in a job he hates means Aquaman has probably never been more relatable.

Patrick Wilson is so much better here, mainly because he's no longer burdened with being the villain and that means he can have so much more fun with it. He has a much stronger chemistry with Momoa than his previous scene partner and it's obvious Momoa really gets along with him as he really comes to life in those scenes.

Unfortunately, the burden of being a villain in one of these now falls completely to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and he's massively overqualified for what's given. The first film promised he'd be front and centre this time, which isn't entirely what happens. He's great early on but devolves into a mouthpiece for a proper DCEU villain by the end.

James Wan's direction retains everything that stood out last time with a few Waners and one amazing horror moment and yet he's still frustratingly reigned in here rather than given increased creative freedom. Rupert Gregson-Williams's score is happy to just replay or remix all the themes from before and they're strong enough for that to work.

Also, in a rare feat considering the current state of comic book cinema, the CG is better here than in the original. In a post Avatar world no underwater CG will ever be convincing. When on a 1:1 comparison with Aquaman though, the Lost Kingdom looks more believable helped massively by the lighting.