The first Aquaman movie was audacious in how it embraced a character most people thought was a joke and gave him some real heft while also making just a really fun adventure movie. Probably the lightest and most mainstream of all the DCEU films, Aquaman was an easily digestible hit so a sequel makes sense. Years pass and the DCEU goes out of favour by the time The Lost Kingdom gets released so suddenly everyone wants to shit on this film. But truly it's as light and fun as the first movie and give another showcase for the truly loveable Mamoa to shine.
Sure the story and character arcs are all fairly rote (like most of the other superhero films) but The Lost Kingdom is a bit of a bonkers monster movie which makes it fun. Perhaps it loses some of the novelty of the first and while its predecessor felt more like an ensemble most characters not named Aquaman get kinda sidelined. But if we're being truly honest The Lost Kingdom is as entertaining and accessible a movie as most Marvel films.
The two things that stand out for me are Mamoa who just has charisma and screen presence oozing out of every pore, and the way Wan and the film makers just embrace the absurdity of the character and run with it. It's pure sea-monster madness is delightful so even if the story doesn't feel super original it can still be enjoyable spectacle. It sounds like we'll be seeing Mamoa back as a new character soon and I bet he's going to knock that out of the park, but his turn as the king of Atlantis was glorious too.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Radall Park, Temuera Morrison, Indya Moore, Pilou Asbaek
Director: James Wan
Writer: David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick
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