Once upon a time there was a lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis. Between them, a relationship began that should not have happened, and a couple of months later, the first of his kind was born and he would unite the Atlanteans and humans. His name is Arthur Curry, and he is also known as Aquaman.
It seems that DC finally found its way to tell their superhero stories the right way, especially since the last couple of DC movie adaptations have not been satisfying. Wonder Woman is loved by many and Justice League lacked significantly, however, Aquaman is marvellous in every way.
There is an awesome cast with an interesting plot, surrounded by a beautiful setting both real and CGI, with a fair balanced amount of action and comedic scenes.
But, first things first. The movie takes place after Justice League and follows Arthur (James Momoa). Atlanta, the Queen of Atlantis (Nicole Kidman), escaped an arranged marriage and landed badly injured on the shores of a lighthouse. The Keeper of the Lighthouse, Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison), finds her and nurses her back to health. They fall in love and the little family lives happily for a couple of years until the guards of Atlantis finally find her and she is forced to go back to Atlantis and marry her fiancé.
Years later, a grown up Arthur does the best he can with both his heritages. He stays on land, but protects the ocean and the people who need his help on sea.
Meanwhile, Arthur’s little brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) is king of Atlantis and aspires to become the Oceanmaster. He will become the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and attack the Upper World, because they are destroying the ocean with their ships and trash. Mera (Amber Heard) wants to stop Orm and goes to Arthur for asking him to claim the throne and become king of Atlantis and save the world.
Some actors are meant to play a certain character in their careers. RDJ is Tony Stark. Jason Momoa IS Arthur Curry. Aquaman is more than just a comic book adaptation. For one, the movie addresses the pollution of the ocean and how the living space for all the creatures is becoming smaller. Some of the footage that is used comes from real news, such as the one from the Indian Ocean where you cannot see the water for miles, all you see is plastic dancing on waves.
Then there is a whole lot of history as Arthur’s mother told him stories of Atlantis and what it used to be along with how Atlanteans have been way more ahead of the rest of human kind. They worshipped Poseidon and were technically enhanced, but King Atlan wanted more, which lead to the fall of Atlantis and divided them into seven tribes: Atlantis, The Trench, Xebel, The Brine, The Fisherman Kingdoms, The Missing Kingdom, and the unknown seventh.
It was also very important to his father that he knows about human history and literature. This comes in handy when you can swim through the ocean and be at the other side of the world in no time. Aquaman also honours Jules Verne in a unique way.
Arthur convinced me the moment he showed his good heart and the down to earth attitude. For Momoa, it has to be like sharing his life with the audience, because it really felt like no acting was needed for him to embrace Arthur. Seeing how he steps out for the premieres worldwide and the content he shares on his YouTube channel, it has to be that way. He is proud of the movie, the character he is playing, and the people it represents.
The casting department did a great job finding young actors to portray Arthur at different ages. Finding out about his powers and be trained by Vulko (Willem Dafoe) so that he knows what he is capable of.
There are two things I love the most about the movie. First, every Atlantean has different kinds of powers. Arthur is able to communicate with every animal that lives in the water, Mera can control water and extract it from someone. For me, it was breathtaking to see those scenes and made me want to be one of them.
Secondly, the on-screen chemistry between Jason Momoa and Amber Heard. They are great together and Arthur and Mera are such greatly written and brought to life characters. They are equals as she does not need any man to save her, actually he does need her to save him. There are some hilarious scenes which loosen up the movie from time to time but do not take away the focus of it.
I highly recommend going see this movie and find out who the one true king is!
