Review: Aquaman

Jason Momoa in the role of Aquaman brings an important element that the DC cinematic universe lacked: charisma. Although the first time we saw Aquaman on the big screen was in the Justicie League, we can enjoy him more in his solo movie where we will see the origins of the King of Atlantis. This movie managed to become one of the best releases Warner Bros has made.

James Wan, director of the film, was faced with the difficult task of carrying out this DC Comics project in the cinema. Not because Aquaman's story was very complex and difficult to cover in a single movie, but rather because he had to make Aquaman stand out from a line of movies where Wonder Woman was the only one that received a great recognition. So the publisher is often badly prejudged of not knowing which way to take their film productions.

The film puts special emphasis on the gap between the surface and Atlantis, two different kingdoms where the only thing that unites them is that they both inhabit the same world. Atlantis is very unhappy in the way that Earth inhabitants behave with nature, this being the conflict that forces our hero to take action.

These two worlds that are in constant shock will be represented by Arthur Curry, who everyone knows as "the fish man" after the great battle he fought with other heroes against Steppenwolf and a series of great maritime exploits, and Orm, the Arthur's half brother, son of Queen Atlanna, who seeks to vindicate Atlantis as the only kingdom that inhabits Earth by becoming Ocean Master, a title he will use to rule over the nations that inhabit the ocean.

Another of the characters with an important relevance is Mera from Xebel, who, unlike the comics in which she is engaged to King Nereus, is represented here as Orm's fiancée. But she will demonstrate to have a great chemistry with Arthur, which will take both characters to undertake a long journey through various landscapes such as the Sahara or Sicily, and as expected, the depths of the ocean.

One of Aquaman's brilliant successes was to move away from the formula that was so prevalent in DC movies. The film does not create its basis in comedy, but if you know how to use it, this together with the charisma of Jason Momoa, results in a serious film but with some jokes. The good thing about this is that the comedy is not mixed with the action scenes, but in the lighter moments of the film, giving the film a development with total normality.

In the visual section, James Wan managed to present us with the most ambitious DC film to date. The construction of Atlantis and the other kingdoms like The Firsherman or The Hidden Ocean make Aquaman's kingdom a visual delight that very few films achieve. Coming to position itself as one of the best superhero movies, in terms of the visual part.

Although the film presents great positive things, do not save it from falling into some cliches of the superhero tapes, on the one hand we have the scene where Arthur as a child "communicates" with the fish looking like a copy of one of the scenes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone. And on the other, the typical characteristics that the antagonist presents similar to that of the hero. Orm is basically the evil version of Aquaman, fails to present emotional depth or interesting development, becoming a typical villain in the superhero movie.

Outside of that, Black Manta is a little exploited character in this first Fish Man film, but leaves the door open for a sequel where he is the main antagonist. That combined with that he was one of the characters most attached to comics, a very promising sequel is expected.

Beyond the small flaws that Aquaman presents, it is a film that works very well as part of a universe and on its own. This film together with Wonder Woman manage to position themselves as the ambitious ones of the DC Cinematic Universe. Should you see Aquaman? YES, it's a good movie with good action scenes, good jokes, and great special effects.