Colombo, Dec 21 (Oshitha Narangoda)
Aquaman is literally the best movie in the “Worlds of DC” so far.
I mean, I expected a movie that would deliver and James Wan knocked it out of the park in every way possible that it turned out to be better than I expected.
When I first found out that James Wan is going to helm Aquaman, I realized that he is going to do a stellar job. He is the modern master of horror and if I recall, the first thing I realized was that he is going to make “The Trench” (monstrous sea-dwelling evil creatures in DC Comics) look absolutely horrifying. Boy, seeing them come to life in a live-action DC film felt like seeing a horror film! Then again its James Wan, so I am not surprised.
The film was a very enjoyable visual spectacle. At times I was wondering if James Cameron was behind the film. The absolutely fantastic visuals of the film boasted eye-popping and vibrant colors for nearly 2 and a half hours.
I simply loved how they crafted the backstory of Black Manta, the archenemy of Aquaman cinematically. The actor did a badass job and they have cleverly utilized the character’s presence in the film. The first Aquaman graphic novel I picked up was volume one of Aquaman (part of “New 52” by DC Comics) masterfully written by Geoff Johns and magnificently visualized by artist Ivan Reis. Seeing this film reminded me of going through the graphic novel. Geoff Johns played a major role in writing the story for this film along with James Wan himself. It speaks for itself.
I really loved the fact that James Wan took all the time he needed to work on the visual effects. The best thing about this film (apart from Jason Momoa of course) was its dazzling visual effects. It was crazy awesome. It’s fair to call this film a visual masterpiece.
I would call Jason Momoa and Amber Heard the underwater power couple of comic book movies. Jason’s charismatic performance as Aquaman and Amber Heard’s charming and captivating portrayal of Princess Mera alone was worth the money! Seeing Patrick Wilson as King Orm Marius felt like someone summoned the character who appeared in comics in front of our eyes. But then again, pretty much the entire cast was on point including Nicole Kidman who brought Queen Atlanna to life.
Rupert Gregson-Williams who previously worked on Patty Jenkin’s Wonder Woman as the composer, once again, has done a commendable job.
I would say that Aquaman was an eye-catchy and colorful extravaganza from start to finish. It was tons of crazy fun, full of humor, and also, a superhero film which did not take itself too seriously — a film filled with heart.
This is the magnum opus of James Wan’s career as a director so far, I believe. Well done, sir!
My rating: 9 Sharks out of 10 Sharks.
