Some Spoilers Ahead!!!
I know what you're thinking. "Nathan, this is supposed to be a gaming site, why are you writing about the new DC/WB movie Aquaman?". Well dear reader, my reasoning is simple: Aquaman was AWESOME! Simple as that. Now, I could get into the deep details about how actors performed their roles, or how heavy the use of CGI was, etc. But honestly, none of that matters to me. A movie is, first and foremost, about how it makes the audience feel. Aquaman made me feel as though, for the first time, I was properly watching a live action comic book.
First let's talk about how it looked. The exaggerated visuals, the massive city under the sea, lasers being shot over Italian villas, weaponized sharks, giant sea horses ridden like stallions... It was so ridiculous and over the top. They chose to use bright colors on a dark background which really popped off the screen. It really looked like it could have been printed on a page. And that's just under the water! The stark contrast above the waves was equally impressive. Sunsets absolutely filled the screen (though obviously superimposed), and looked like they were drawn by hand. Then there was the Costumes. I guess they stopped holding back on giving us comic accurate costumes, ’cause these were spot on! Fully textured and colored armors, masks with facial expressions, a ridiculously sized head on Black Manta—it was glorious to finally behold something so much like the comic art on screen.
Next I wanna point out the dialogue and sound design. Was the dialogue super cheesy? Yes. Is dialogue in comics equally cheesy? Also yes. Do comics tell great stories anyway? Absolutely! So does Aquaman. The over dramatic yells of anger, awkward romantic interaction, and much more cheese; it worked, just like it did in print.
As far as the other sounds, they were loud, powerful, and obvious. It was almost as though there were onomatopoeias (POW! BOOM! WAM! etc) written all over the screen with every step and movement kinda like... a... comic... huh. Funny how that works.
The last thing I wanna talk about is the story. It's so weird and random and felt like what I’d imagine an acid trip would feel like. I don't want to give much away, ’cause I would love for everyone to go see the film, but the plot was basically Aquaman's comic origin. In most cases, superhero origin stories are getting old; however as we have almost never seen a portrayal of Arthur Curry's backstory, this was fun. It was especially engaging as we get to see the story in all it's comic book glory. You can complain about the CGI, the dialogue, and everything if you want. But you cannot deny that Aquaman is a fun adventure. It may make no sense, but somehow it suspends disbelief with just how over the top it is.
I loved Aquaman. The fact of the matter is that it may be the most comic booky comic book movie out there in live action. Go see it, let me know what you think, and just enjoy the movie.
Hold on, what's that? You forgot about Aquaman cause Into the Spiderverse came out...?
