Review of movie Aquaman

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Rating:3.5/5

The son of Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) and a simple lighthouse keeper Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison), Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) wants nothing to do with his royal heritage after his mother leaves them behind to return to her underwater kingdom. But when Princess Mera (Amber Heard) reaches out to tell him of a significant threat from the deep seas by his own family, and the people of Atlantis, Arthur needs to choose which world he belongs to.

There aren't any path-breaking surprises in ‘Aquaman’s storytelling, but the presentation is refreshing. The CGI work is top notch, especially during some of the fantastic underwater set pieces. James Wan pays a lot of attention to the stunt choreography and how the action is interpreted through slick camera work including some impressive long-take sequences. This keeps the momentum flowing, even as the run-time feels a little bloated especially when the plot runs into choppy waters in the second act. At this point, the film stumbles over itself as it takes on a tone that's too on-the-nose for its own good. There’s one romantic angle in 'Aquaman' that feels very forced, but another comes across more genuinely. The humour doesn’t always land either and is the missing ingredient in some of the sequences that lack nuance – a premise this outlandish should be able to laugh at itself a lot more. In the antagonist department, there are one too many villains, with Black Manta feeling more like a subplot than a severe threat. Fortunately, Arthur Curry's backstory doesn't suffer the same fate in an energising mix that blends the present with the past.