‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ movie review: Jason Momoa stars in a jittery, lacklustre farewell to DCEU

‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,’ which was supposed to be a fitting send-off to a battered franchise, ends up becoming a damp squib and an uninteresting showdown

Watching Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the final instalment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), felt like the equivalent of watching your favourite star in their posthumous performance. The story might unravel fast, the familiar characters might return to what they do best and even a couple of jokes might land, but the sense of gloom that a franchise — 10 years in the making yet never had the space to truly spread its wings — is ending abruptly, looms at large. But does the return of Aquaman, an OG member of the Justice League, provide a swansong for it to turn into a bitter-sweet memory? The film pokes that bubble of hope with the Trident of Atlan.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’s Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is a busy man. He fights crime on land, wards away pirates on the ocean surface, rules Atlantis below that, and to top it all off, is now a dotting father to a son who possesses similar powers. Obviously, we need a conflict and the film brings back David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) to avenge the death of his father, and this time, he’s guided by the Black Trident making him more powerful. To avert oncoming trouble, Curry needs the help of his half-brother, Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), whom he had earlier imprisoned, and they form an unlikely alliance for the sake of Atlantis.

The first entry, Aquaman (2018), isn’t particularly a title one might think of when asked for their favourite superhero film. But, astonishingly, Jason Momoa’s portrayal of an otherwise unpopular DC character made it the franchise’s highest-grossing film and it was one of those titles that just helped the film series keep its head above water after Justice League’s poor reception. The sequel has all it takes to repeat the success; almost the entire cast of the first film returns, James Wan who helmed Aquaman is back in the director’s chair as well and the film expands on the lore it introduced us to. But the film falls prey to familiar tropes and predictable plot, making it a mediocre outing.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom got more than its share of controversies with poor test screening results, reshoots, editing out exciting cameos, and of course, the Amber Heard casting controversy. As a reviewer, it’s easy to shut ourselves away from the developments a film has had to overcome and just concentrate on the final outcome as the overall product. But the film struggles to hold your attention and doesn’t make it too tough to conclude that the behind-the-scenes drama of the film was more interesting.

The film has everything one might expect from a master creator like James Wan. The visuals are fantastic as always and the 3D rendition only makes it more spectacular. Just like the first film, the sequel has its fair share of lighter moments — especially the buddy comedy between Momoa and Wilson — which set the titular character apart from the darker storylines his fellow Justice League members had. There’s an underlying message about global warming and the pop culture references from Cast Away to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban are hilarious. We are even introduced to Aquaman’s wheels in the water, Storm the Seahorse and his sidekick from the comics, Topo the Octopus. Not to mention the allude to the latter’s musical prowess which is a hat tip to its comic book history.

But in today’s world where every third film is from the superhero genre, a DC film needs more than just a simple plot this film features, and the lack of it sinks it to the depths. And that’s without considering the superhero fatigue and how, in general, 2023 has been a pathetic year for films from this genre. We’re looking at you, The Flash!

On the whole, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, what was supposed to be a fitting send-off to a battered franchise, ends up becoming a damp squib and an uninteresting showdown. A character in the film says, “A true king builds bridges.” Considering the franchise revamp, this outing will be water under the bridge and here’s to hoping the new DCU franchise holds water.