So ends Warners’ first foray into a connected theatrical superhero universe, with Jason Momoa‘s brawny sea bro, already embracing his new roles as a husband (to Amber Heard‘s Mera, who’s in more of the movie than you’d think based on the marketing, but is mostly here for a gag or two, a big emotional reaction or two, and to save Arthur’s butt a couple more times) and father (“villains threaten Aquaman’s baby” is, as I recall, one of THE classic pre-Crisis Aquaman stories), having to also learn how to actually be a leader. Seeing the NEXT step in his journey? Highly unlikely. The bulk of the plot concerns Yahya Abdul-Mateen‘s Black Manta’s quest to get the vengeance he swore at the end of the first movie; in seeking out Atlantean artifacts to facilitate this end, he acquires a spooky, obviously evil trident that is a remnant of the titular kingdom. I was surprised to see Randall Park turn up early on as a scientist helping Manta in this hunt; Park’s in, like, pretty much the whole movie, and his nervous charm helps make the tedious first twenty-to-thirty minutes bearable. It feels like there used to be a coherent first act to this thing that, in order to beat it down to about two hours, got chopped into ribbons, so all that remains are vignettes intercut with Manta’s plot. That said, once Manta and his crew get the wherewithal to attack Atlantis, the movie starts moving and turns into a reasonably entertaining science-fantasy adventure. Does Aquaman ride a giant seahorse? Yes. Does he talk to fish at a key moment to take out a threat? Absolutely. Are they trying a bit too hard to do a THOR: THE DARK WORLD thing here with Patrick Wilson‘s Orm freed and forced to team up with Arthur to fight a mutual foe, except that Patrick Wilson has absolutely none of Tom Hiddleston’s considerable charm? Oh god, yes — in fact, the movie ends on a note that is absolutely the last scene of two additional Marvel flicks smashed together. Bit cringe-inducing, that. But between that rough opening stretch and that deja vu-inducing final scene, there’s some fun stuff in here. I’ve seen superhero movie train wrecks; this isn’t one of them. However, absolutely inessential viewing. If you got a gift card this holiday season and have a couple hours to kill, Atlantis still looks real pretty up on the big screen, but other than that, it probably won’t hurt to wait for it to turn up on Max.
