‘AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM’ a Juvenile Underwater Hootenanny

All good things come to an end, and fortunately, so do all bad things. With Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, it’s more the latter for the DCEU. Although there were occasional flashes of good to be found in the decade-spanning franchise, many of the 16 films inspired by DC comics were middling to flat out terrible. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the end of the line for the entirety of the failed experiment that was the DCEU and it’s about as awkward and unthought-through an ending as any other chapter of the franchise, which in a way makes it a suitable conclusion. Is it any good? Certainly not. But, like the larger franchise it was contained in, the last DCEU joint does have some things that people would ostensibly like, even if they’re shipwrecked in clumsy narrative flotsam and weak character work.

The sequel picks up sometime after the events of the first film where Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) has assumed the crown from his sworn enemy and brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson). Arthur, aka Aquaman, finds ruling a kingdom to be less thrilling than brawling with foes for glory and is quickly granted his wish to get back into the fray to fight former adversary Daniel Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), aka Mantis, who has unlocked the power of the Black Trident and seeks to unleash an ancient evil civilization to seek revenge upon Aquaman and all whom he holds dear. This is all recounted through awkward voiceover, airlifted flashbacks, and shameless character exposition – cheap storytelling shortcut after cheap storytelling shortcut. The script from David Leslie Johnson McGoldrick (who worked on the first Aquaman and the Conjuring sequels) is as tattered and waterlogged as a sunken pirate’s map, leading characters through a labyrinth of busy set pieces without substantial stakes or coherent character development.

The plot functions solely to move characters between points so they can slam into each other in battle but McGoldrick’s script and director James Wan’s hurried approach to scenes doesn’t allow the film to find any gear other than hustle. Wan is a weathered maestro of suspense and yet Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom never takes a beat to let anything settle in. There’s no suspense, no majesty, no wonder – it just clips along moving from “Somewhere in the South Pacific” to “Somewhere in the Atlantic” to hunt doohickeys, meet contacts, and, most of all, punch CGI monsters on a green screen.

Aware that the part of the draw of this interconnected franchise was the interconnectedness of it all and that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom no longer has that appeal of a continuing story, the marketing for the film pivoted to champion it as the must-see spectacle of the year. And while there are certainly a lot of special effects (certainly if there were an Academy Award for the most effects, Aquaman 2 would be a prime contender) the execution of said effects are a mixed bag. Some sequences are somewhat thrilling, such as a Orichalcum heist scene, but they’re polluted with choppy, unfinished effects that underscores the prevailing sense that none of this actually matters. That even when spectacle trumps substance, even the details of the spectacle can be yada-yada’ed over.

In any given set piece, you may be swept away momentarily only to be brought crashing back to earth (or the sea rather) with some embarrassingly unfinished design work. This is especially evident in 3D, a format I would not advise anyone watch this in. It doesn’t help that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom comes on the heels of Avatar 2, a film that truly was game-changing in terms of its underwater motion capture technology. The Aquaman movies’ decision to animate actor’s hair so that it “appears” to be floating underwater in addition to giving their voice a slightly bubbly sound effect is not only a pale comparison, it’s downright gaudy.

What Aquaman 2 lacks in intelligence, artistry, story cohesion, and character, it attempts to make up for in goofiness and goodness gracious is it goofy, but often not in a fun way. More in a “Oh look a baby is peeing in his mouth again” way. If that’s your vibe, you may find yourself swept away. For everyone else, it’s a rather long two-hours. That seems especially true for Nicole Kidman, who looks truly, truly pained to be involved with this project.

Wan’s flick is at its best when things just goes full buddy movie and lets the star power of Patrick Wilson and Jason Momoa ping off each other. While the humor is juvenile and lowbrow for the vast majority of the time, when Wilson and Momoa riff, there’s suddenly more on the table. Momoa remains perfectly cast as a tatted up, beer-guzzling South Pacific surfer bro Arthur and Wilson plays his perfect foil as a fish out of water with a prejudice against all things surface-world. Much like the MCU’s Loki, this time around, Orm is used as more of a comedic presence than a viable adversary. Unfortunately, opportunities for them to comically bounce off one another are too rare, as most of their dialogue consists of wordy exposition and explaining lore that’s never once compelling.

Yes, the entire fate of the world is at stake (when isn’t it?), but there isn’t a whiff of real danger present here. For all intents and purposes, there’s nothing left to save, and as the film awkwardly ties up the franchise, it exits in an objectively strange manner. Perhaps the funniest, and certainly the most bizarre, aspect is the film’s nod to the MCU. From name-dropping characters to mirroring plot points, it’s odd to witness this universe acknowledging its rival, especially as it takes its final bow. But in the grand scheme of things, none of this seems to matter. And considering the current trajectory of the MCU, one has to wonder if it might be next to run aground.

CONCLUSION: Jason Momoa’s tenure as the titular Aquaman comes to a close as the DCEU reaches its end amidst waning interest. I can’t say that I’ll miss this wildly inconsistent franchise though ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ does serve as an apt reminder of its oppressive tonal inconsistency. Despite these shortcomings, Momoa and Wilson manage to deliver a few funny moments, and the film does boast its share of visually enchanting sequences.