Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review

NOTE!: AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW, I'LL BE GIVING MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS WHOLE JOURNEY WITH THE DCEU & MY THOUGHTS ON JAMES GUNN'S UPCOMING DC UNIVERSE.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a comic book movie based on the DC Comics' character, Aquaman. The movie serves as a sequel to Aquaman as well as the 15th and final installment of the DC Extended Universe. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and directed by James Wan.

The story is, Arthur (aka Aquaman) has been a great king of Atlantis since taken the throne. He thinks his life is going great even if he does find the whole King thing boring at times. Soon, Black Manta returns and seeks vengeance against Arthur. Now, Aquaman must team-up with his rival/bother Orm in order stop Black Manta.

Initial Reaction

Now I have truly been looking forward to this, because I surprisingly enough liked the first one. But, I was also sad, because sadly this does mark the end of the DCEU.

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

The only mix bag I had was with the story. Sure, there's a bit of global warming, climate change, whatever they're calling it now, in here, but deal with that. Especially since it wasn't so in your face about it, the REAL slight issue stems from the overuse of comedy. Yeah, the first movie had its comedic moments and sometimes Aquaman could be a goof in that as well, but here, it's like they said, "Hey! Let's dial that all up to eleven!" And it kinda sucks too, because there is a really good story in this. It's not all ridiculous, there is some good stuff that I truly did like. Sadly, as production was going on, people decided one thing should be brought up to the forefront, when it should've been pushed to the back.

Pros

Even though the script (or at least this version of) is decent, at best, one of the few good things are the performances. Even though there's just goofy sh*t going on, everyone still provided some really good acting. Another good thing was Black Manta. If any of you were disappointed that he was the secondary villain in the first, you'll love this one, because he's our main villain. Every scene with him was just awesome. Then there's the effects. Now some weren't good, which was most likely the result of reshoots, but for most of the movie, the effects are good. Which now brings me to James Wan. Even though I imagine he had to butcher his movie here and there, it still didn't change the fact that he still showcase his talent as a director. There's still some wonderful looking shots, and this movie, even if I did have some issues with it, this didn't change my feelings about Wan as a filmmaker. I'll wrap this review up by telling you my feelings about the action. The action, especially in the last act, was great. I took no issues, I loved it, especially that final battle, that one was sweet.

While I didn't like this movie as much as the first, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an overall decent film.

My final rating is, Okay.

My Thoughts on The Journey with the DCEU

So, now that I've reached the end of the DCEU, what did I think. Well, from Man of Steel to Wonder Woman, that part of this franchise, I actually really liked. But from Josstice League to now, jeez Warner Bros. I mean it when I say, if there's anybody to blame for why this franchise didn't take off as much as it should have, it's the studio. You can blame Zack Snyder and his more darker tone all you want, but the truth is, biggest enemy to WB, was WB themselves. Because no matter what, no matter who was in charged, whether it be Kevin Tsujihara, Geoff Johns, Walter Hamada, Ann Sarnoff, and etc. No matter who, they all had the same mindset, and that mindset was "Let's be MCU 2.0, even if means f*cking over our filmmakers! Yay!"

It's not like anybody was against some lighter DC films, hell, a fan like me knows that DC Comics come in a wide variety of tones. So when I saw we were getting darker and more serious movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, while at the same time getting some more lighthearted like Shazam!, I liked that. Because then, they were following the comics by having variety. But sadly, all Warner Bros. decided to was listen to critics and bloggers who already had their minds made up way before they even bothered to give this cinematic universe a chance. And what's funny is in this attempt to please critics and bloggers, it was all in vain, because by the time Avengers: Endgame came out, everybody was so burnt out from the "Marvel brand" of humor.

So in a way, had they just stuck to the plan of letting the filmmakers make their movies, and having variety in their comic book flicks, they [Warner Bros.] could've been the start of something new. But instead they decided to try their damnedest to copy a franchise that yes, was very successful, but it's now crumbling just like theirs. And like I said before, it was all Warner Bros.' fault. Because in the end, it wasn't Zack Snyder or any other filmmakers fault. It was Warner Bros., they were their own worst enemy.

My Thoughts on James Gunn's Upcoming DC Universe

So, with the DCEU officially done, that means all we have to look forward to now is James Gunn's DC Universe. You're all probably wondering what I think about that about that? Well...I don't hate it, but at the same time, I'm not all that enthusiastic about it either.

First off, that "big" slate announcement, wow. That was just lackluster. Really the only projects I'm looking forward to are Superman: Legacy (although expectations are low for that, cause I don't trust Gunn with the character), The Brave and The Bold, cause even though Superman is my favorite, even I can't resist a Batman flick. And the other two films, those being Joker: Folie à Deux and The Batman - Part II, those aren't even part of his cinematic universe. They're Elseworlds, which means they exist outside of this new cinematic world. The other projects, I'm just not feeling. Like who was asking for an Amanda Waller solo series? And if the slate wasn't an odd choice, what was James and everybody else at Warner Bros. thinking? Jan 31st of THIS YEAR?! When you still had four other DCEU movies yet to be released. Ya couldn't wait till January of 2024 to make this announcement? Just terrible timing folks, just terrible.

What's also bringing my enthusiasm down, is it seems like James is just making things up as he goes along. One moment he's saying everything starts with Superman: Legacy, then he says Blue Beetle is the first character in the DCU. Which doesn't that mean Blue Beetle is the first DCU movie not Superman: Legacy? Then he'll say it's a totally reboot, but then he says things from the DCEU will be brought to the DCU, which doesn't make sense, cause the point of reboot is you wipe the slate completely clean and start from the beginning all over again. All of this sounds more confusing than what the previous guys were doing. Which is funny, cause he was being praised online for having a big thought-out plan.

Then there's the whole idea of incorporating television and video games in this cinematic universe. Which isn't a good idea. Because he's making the same mistake that Kevin Feige made with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is having too much. And having video games, TV, and movies rolled up into one for the sake of your big overarching story, is too much. 

Despite sounding so annoyed, suspension of disbelief, I don't want to see failure for this new franchise. Do I still want the "Snyderverse"? Yes, it could easily be treated like an Elseworlds. But at the same time, I still want to give this upcoming franchise its fair chance, just like I've done with many other films, part of a franchise or not. Maybe I'm just being to cynical, maybe a miracle will happen and the DC Universe will be pretty good. But until July 11th, 2025, when Superman: Legacy is released, I'm gonna be very skeptical. So you pretty impress not only me James Gunn and Peter Safran, but audiences everywhere. Cause all eyes are on you two, and if you two fail, even though I don't want you guys too, then your cinematic universe will be done before it ever got started.

Anyhow, that's going to do it for me. Come back on Thursday, Dec 28th, for the final part of Looking Back at the Films of 2022. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.