This was definitely not the Aquaman from my own childhood.
The Aquaman that I remember from back then was...well, kind of lame. He specialized in being in water and communicating with the wildlife of the sea...and not much else. Here is what I mean:
And then there was this classic interpretation of how lame Aquaman is, from Family Guy:
Yeah, that pretty much summed up Aquaman. He did not have obviously remarkable super powers, like the other members of Justice League. He might be formidable in the water, but it always seemed like they made a special point of bringing certain battles into the water in order to make Aquaman relevant. And when you have to go out of your way to make a super-hero relevant, well...how much of a super-hero is he, then?
All of that, however, was supposed to change with this new movie release. This Aquaman was supposed to be very different. And indeed, having just seen it, I can confirm that he definitely is very different in this movie.
For whatever the reason, I cannot remember who said it, but the movie was described as Water Thor by someone. And yeah, that is a pretty apt description, as well.
Yet, this movie reminded me of quite a few other movies at various times. It definitely has most in common with Thor, particularly since both focus on a giant of a man who seems all-powerful, yet the running joke is that he is incredibly good-looking, as well. Both like to drink beer and are good at fights, and both have a certain tool (a hammer in the case of Thor, a trident in the case of Aquaman) that gives him incredible powers. Thor comes from the mythical city of Asgar, while Aquaman has his roots from the ancient lost city of Atlantis. Oh, and the underwater bridge to Atlantis, which is actually not a lost civilization at all, but a high tech secret kingdom similar to Black Panther's Wakanda, is reminiscent of the bridge between Midgard and Asgard.
But there are other movies that Aquaman borrowed from, as well. It felt like Star Wars at time, with troops and scenes that would not look out of place in a Star Wars movie. At other times, it reminded me of Tron, in terms of the aesthetics. There are still other times when it almost felt like Jurassic Park. You just have to go see the movie to see what I mean about that one, in a scene that lasts maybe one minute at the most. And right in the middle, it seemed to borrow from Indiana Jones, with a ride on an old airplane above a desert, and a search for an ancient relic with mythical powers,which the good guys try to get before the bad guys can get their hands on it. Hell, Aquaman even at some point seems to take naps like Indiana Jones would in those old movies.
There is a bit of mythology in here, as well. Obviously, Aquaman has some clear resemblance and relation to Poseidon of ancient Greek mythology. There is the whole lost city of Atlantis element, as well. There is even a gigantic creature who seems to bear a striking resemblance to the Kraken. But there is also the symbolism of the trident, who only the worthy "true king" can pick up and use, which sounds both like Thor with his hammer, as well as King Arthur with Excalibur. Hell, Aquaman's actual name is supposed to be Arthur, and he is referred as "King Arthur" at one point.
So, yes, this movie definitely borrows quite liberally from other movies and myths.
That is not to say that it is a bad movie. It is not the most original movie, and the whole muscle-head badass superhero sex symbol with an attitude thing has definitely been done before. Thor is the most obvious comparison. But there is Wolverine, as well, right?
There definitely was some humor, as well. There is the flirtatious banter between Aquaman and his love interest, Mera. There are other points when humor clearly bleeds through. And there was one scene with an octopus drumming that made my son crack up with laughter, and he was laughing well after the movie whenever this was mentioned.
In fact, it is an entertaining movie, and that is really all that you can ask for, right? I was a bit taken aback at the lack of originality in the writing, and with what seemed to me at least to be an almost exclusive focus on special effects during battles. But keeping in mind that this is a superhero movie, it is not bad. It did feel a bit long, and I do not believe that I was the only open who noticed that. Towards the end, I saw a couple of people leaving briefly, presumably for bathroom breaks. And both my son and I were feeling it. I was even thinking of going for that bathroom break myself, even though I make a point of never doing that when I go out to a movie.
Ultimately, my own belief is that superhero movies probably should be targeted towards younger audiences. And my son wanted to see this movie quite badly, and he was very, very happy with it. He said it was a great movie, that he really liked it. At the end of the day, is that not what it is all about, as far as these movies are concerned? If he liked it, then it is commendable, and the movie, the actors, and the writing did the job that it was intended to do.
This movie probably puts DC much more at the center of the superhero movie map than it has been since the Batman franchise, so it has to be viewed as a total success in that regard.
If you are a fan of superhero movies, then this is definitely a must-see movie for you, and comes recommended.
For whatever the reason, I cannot remember who said it, but the movie was described as Water Thor by someone. And yeah, that is a pretty apt description, as well.
Yet, this movie reminded me of quite a few other movies at various times. It definitely has most in common with Thor, particularly since both focus on a giant of a man who seems all-powerful, yet the running joke is that he is incredibly good-looking, as well. Both like to drink beer and are good at fights, and both have a certain tool (a hammer in the case of Thor, a trident in the case of Aquaman) that gives him incredible powers. Thor comes from the mythical city of Asgar, while Aquaman has his roots from the ancient lost city of Atlantis. Oh, and the underwater bridge to Atlantis, which is actually not a lost civilization at all, but a high tech secret kingdom similar to Black Panther's Wakanda, is reminiscent of the bridge between Midgard and Asgard.
But there are other movies that Aquaman borrowed from, as well. It felt like Star Wars at time, with troops and scenes that would not look out of place in a Star Wars movie. At other times, it reminded me of Tron, in terms of the aesthetics. There are still other times when it almost felt like Jurassic Park. You just have to go see the movie to see what I mean about that one, in a scene that lasts maybe one minute at the most. And right in the middle, it seemed to borrow from Indiana Jones, with a ride on an old airplane above a desert, and a search for an ancient relic with mythical powers,which the good guys try to get before the bad guys can get their hands on it. Hell, Aquaman even at some point seems to take naps like Indiana Jones would in those old movies.
There is a bit of mythology in here, as well. Obviously, Aquaman has some clear resemblance and relation to Poseidon of ancient Greek mythology. There is the whole lost city of Atlantis element, as well. There is even a gigantic creature who seems to bear a striking resemblance to the Kraken. But there is also the symbolism of the trident, who only the worthy "true king" can pick up and use, which sounds both like Thor with his hammer, as well as King Arthur with Excalibur. Hell, Aquaman's actual name is supposed to be Arthur, and he is referred as "King Arthur" at one point.
So, yes, this movie definitely borrows quite liberally from other movies and myths.
That is not to say that it is a bad movie. It is not the most original movie, and the whole muscle-head badass superhero sex symbol with an attitude thing has definitely been done before. Thor is the most obvious comparison. But there is Wolverine, as well, right?
There definitely was some humor, as well. There is the flirtatious banter between Aquaman and his love interest, Mera. There are other points when humor clearly bleeds through. And there was one scene with an octopus drumming that made my son crack up with laughter, and he was laughing well after the movie whenever this was mentioned.
In fact, it is an entertaining movie, and that is really all that you can ask for, right? I was a bit taken aback at the lack of originality in the writing, and with what seemed to me at least to be an almost exclusive focus on special effects during battles. But keeping in mind that this is a superhero movie, it is not bad. It did feel a bit long, and I do not believe that I was the only open who noticed that. Towards the end, I saw a couple of people leaving briefly, presumably for bathroom breaks. And both my son and I were feeling it. I was even thinking of going for that bathroom break myself, even though I make a point of never doing that when I go out to a movie.
Ultimately, my own belief is that superhero movies probably should be targeted towards younger audiences. And my son wanted to see this movie quite badly, and he was very, very happy with it. He said it was a great movie, that he really liked it. At the end of the day, is that not what it is all about, as far as these movies are concerned? If he liked it, then it is commendable, and the movie, the actors, and the writing did the job that it was intended to do.
This movie probably puts DC much more at the center of the superhero movie map than it has been since the Batman franchise, so it has to be viewed as a total success in that regard.
If you are a fan of superhero movies, then this is definitely a must-see movie for you, and comes recommended.
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