DIRECTOR:
James Wan
LEAD
CAST: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya
Abdul-MateenII, Willem Dafoe & Nicole Kidman
SCREENWRITER:
David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
PRODUCER:
Peter Safran & Rob Cowan
EDITOR:
Kirk Morri
MUSICAL
DIRECTOR: Rupert Gregson-Williams
GENRE:
Fantasy/Sci-Fi
CINEMATOGRAPHER:
Don Burgess
DISTRIBUTOR:
Warner Bros Pictures
LOCATION:
USA
RUNNING
TIME: 143 mins.
Technical
assessment: 4
Moral
assessment: 3.5
CINEMA
rating: V14
One stormy night, lighthouse keeper Tom Curry
(Temuera Morrison) finds on the beach the unconscious Atlanna (Nicole Kidman),
queen of Atlantis. He nurses her back to
health, and love blooms between them, producing an inter-species son, Arthur. Soon Atlantean warriors storm the lighthouse
to claim back their queen to fulfill her part in an arranged marriage. Knowing they won’t stop until she returns to Atlantis,
Atlanna leaves Tom and the baby Arthur but entrusts the training of Arthur to
her loyal adviser Nuidis Vulko (Willem Defoe).
Though an heir to the underwater throne, the grown up Arthur (Jason
Momoa) would rather go on with his happy life on the surface, but circumstances
compel him to rise and save the people of the land and sea from the
machinations of his half-brother, now Atlantis’ king, Orm.
High on production design and visual effects from
great CGI, Aquaman is one of those movies you would want to see “the
making of”. Director Wan wanted more
than anything else to create an underwater superhero world that could match if not
outdo other superworlds. When wedding
inventiveness with whimsy entertains, why bother about science? Just put cynicism on hold and enjoy this
origin story. Imagine a giant octopus
playing the drums—one for each tentacle!
Picture humongous crabs and deadly lobster claws, sharks and gigantic seahorses
at war in heavy military armor and you’d wonder, Where the heck do the Atlanteans
get all that metal? Atlanteans are also
conveniently amphibian—can walk for hours in the desert without fainting from
thirst, and can talk underwater without exhaling bubbles. Balancing these inventive fantasyscapes is
the family drama that highlights performances and characterization.
The appeal of Aquaman lies in the very human
qualities of its characters. Underneath
the unbridled spectacle that’s almost cartoony in its ridiculousness are beings
who feel and care and cry and fight and love and envy as humans do—whether they
are earth mammals or underwater creatures.
It only proves the universality of family and forgiveness as values that
preserve man’s existence. The movie
flies a flag for non-violence, showing how the deadliest of clashes can be
resolved peacefully through dialogue.
There is no room for vengeance here—only kindness.—TRT
