Aquaman (2018)

What a... spectacle!

I don't know how much money was spent making this movie, it must have been a obscene amount (according to imdb it is USD 160,000,000, and have to add, it looks to me much much more than that)!!

Okay, admittedly, I was a little skeptical, when Jason Momoa was cast as Aquaman, it sounded like a miscast for me (have you seen Aquaman in the comic?? He is BLOND for Pete's sake!!?!)

When Justice League came out, I was like okay, he did not suck.

How is he, in Aquaman's first solo outing?

He is... good!

His Polynesian/Hawaiian roots seems to give his portrayal of Aquaman, some... weight.

Let's talk about the source material for a minute.

Aquaman in the comic book is.... "very vanilla".

Even in Lego Aquaman, it makes fun of Aquaman "usefulness" in the League.

As mention, the Justice League (2017) movie, has all of DC's big three, namely Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman (yes, he is the third strongest character in the DC universe).

So, how do you make the character, relevant?

You make him an outcast.

The millennial will love that, and Jason Momoa "stands out" just by well, standing there.

This movie is NOT perfect, and have to add, it does make DC comics feel more adaptable to the movies.

They should not try to emulate the Marvel Cinema Universe.

They are their own material and have their own feel.

Wonder Woman (2016) and Aquaman (2018) have proven that.

Highlight of this movie is

1) Jason Momoa

2) Nicole Kidman (very little scene time, and have to add, she sold what little scene time she has to the max).

3) James Wan has a Patrick Wilson fetish? He seems to use him in everything he does!?! Aquaman list of villains are.... not household names, and have to add, Patrick Wilson sold his character Orm, like his life depended on it.

The not so good things about the movie

1) There are some plot holes between this movie and Justice League (2017) (this movie happens after Justice League)


So, don't like any negative I have mention above to impede you from watching this movie.

It is a good and entertaining movie.

And I hope, will encourage DC to make more.

Go watch it, you know you want to.

My Two Sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Dec 14 2018, 08:55 AM

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Dec 14 2018, 08:11 AM

Erm... I didn't think I have one... A Pitch fork I mean...

Oh, you mean YOUR pitch fork. Er.... at least let me find a trident first? Where does one find a trident? Trident's R Us??

That DEFINITELY isn't the Aquaman I grew up with

They craziest thing there did when I was reading comics was give him a mentally changeable hook hand...

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Dec 14 2018, 08:51 AM

It is NOT perfect, and frankly, I would have edited the ending differently (making is much shorter, which I think would actually help this movie)

U should. It is worth it

Honestly, from what I have seen so far of Shazam, I am skeptical.... I am actually praying hard to be proven wrong...

That is how Black Manta looks in the comic...

Okay....

The eating roses scene drew the loudest laugh in China

Love THAT song

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC character Aquaman. Produced by DC Studios, Atomic Monster, and The Safran Company, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to Aquaman (2018), and the 15th film and final installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film is directed by James Wan from a screenplay by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, based on a story conceived by Wan, Johnson-McGoldrick, Thomas Pa'a Sibbett, and Jason Momoa. It stars Momoa as Arthur Curry / Aquaman alongside Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short and Nicole Kidman.

Momoa pitched a story for an Aquaman sequel during production of the first film. Wan did not want to rush a sequel but agreed in January 2019 to oversee development. Johnson-McGoldrick signed on to return as screenwriter a month later, and Wan was confirmed to be returning as director in August 2020. He said the film would expand on Aquaman's worldbuilding, and announced the sequel's title in June 2021. Filming began at the end of the month and concluded in January 2022, taking place in the United Kingdom, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and New Jersey, with additional filming in New Zealand.

(Excerpt from Wikipedia)

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

So, DCUE has officially ended.

So did it end with a bang or whimper....

Kinda in the middle actually.

There is obviously notes from the higher up to James Wan during production, especially at the beginning of the movie.

Supposedly to reduce Amber Heard's screen time, replacing it instead with more Nicole Kidman scenes.

It was a little clunky....

James Wan recently made an appearance in Malaysia to promote this movie and had gone on the record saying he is ready to return to smaller budget movies, namely horror.

He probably had a tough time making this movie because of notes from the higher up.

Going back to the movie, how did it come across?

A little bit of a mixed bag...

Some parts reminded me of John Carter.

Other parts believe it or not, a little of Bill and Ted Excellent Adventure.

For this movie to work, the chemistry between (believe it or not) Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson (brothers) had to sell.

The actors, just have a very different style of acting and personally I don't think they gelled....

This movie also introduced Atlantis Lost Kingdom...

So the continuity between the first and second is circumspect...

Like movie last few DCEU movies, this movie is reportedly having to reshoot alot of scenes because of notes from the top and that cause the ballooning cost of the movie.

Which is again concerning because that is a big factor of whether or not the movie makes money...

I am skeptical it will.

I will have to say, some action scenes in the movie are spectacles.

I just wish that DCEU highest earning movie, The Aquaman and this has a movie congruent story lines.

My two sen.

This post has been edited by Mov_freak: Dec 21 2023, 11:21 PM