Spoilers Aquaman - Grading and Discussion

[Pauln6]

Personally, I don't count CGI hordes as characters. Plus, is it a story point that women aren't allowed in the "army" or is that an assumption? (Real question, I haven't seen it.)

I can't say that I'd freeze frame it to look for boobs, not that fish women should even have boobs but I would say that all the foreground characters seemed to be dudes of one species or another and all the soldiers and mercenaries with lines appeared to be guys.

I'm not really clear on Atlantean politics but it does seem to involve patriarchal absolute monarchies with no political institutions to reign in the individual monarchs beyond a council of monarchs requiring a majority to go to war, and with Queen Atlanta ceding all her power to her husband until she'd produced an heir to take over in her stead.

I would despair if I was looking for true equality on screen but I do think that writers and producers should be required to put more effort in than they used to. I was watching Winter Soldier and there is a massive male/ female imbalance in that movie but there are at least female agents, police officers, and seven female characters with lines, only one of whom is in the role of (ex) girlfriend.

It is possible to do a way better job than Aquaman did in terms of representation on screen. I get annoyed whenever modern blockbusters backslide this badly.

 

[Gryffindorian]

I thought it was a fun and awesome DC movie, and by far the best of the DCU films. James Wan did an overall terrific job bringing to life an otherwise unknown superhero. Jason Momoa was perfect for the role in that he added more humanity to the would-be king of Atlantis. After all, Arthur Curry grew up in the world of the surface dwellers whilst being trained in the Atlantean ways of combat. This Lord of the Rings-meets-The Black Panther is a fun ride to the finish. I give it a solid A.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Good retelling of the Arthurian legend. I like it mostly.
My biggest issues are the testosterone dripping lack of diversity and the ridiculous amounts of creatures.
But it looked awesome.

 

[The Realist]

So in the movie, I was a bit surprised when Arthur says he doesn't even know Mera's name. In their brief scene together in Justice League, my impression was that they were already acquainted, albeit uneasily.

I just watched the JL scene a couple more times. I realize now that there's really nothing overt in the dialogue as written to indicate familiarity, but my sense remains that it's there in the tone of the performances. It's in the way he asks rather uncomfortably if she's all right, his nonverbal threat to leave when she challenges him, and the reluctant way she says, "Wait. Please," in response. They don't seem like two people meeting for the first time, but more like there's some preexisting tension between them. Prior to Aquaman, it would have never occurred to me to think otherwise, and it's still how the scene "reads" to me. I suppose that interpretation is not explicitly contradicted by the new movie -- they could have met prior to JL and he still might not know her name -- but I feel as though they're supposed to be more like strangers in Aquaman than I had previously assumed. What were other people's thoughts/impressions of their relationship (if any) based on JL?

 

[Henoch]

My wife and I saw it on the IMAX (big date out). I commented to her that Atlantis looked like Avatar underwater. She strongly agreed. Avatar was one of her favorite movies. I liked the characters but agree that the big CG ending was trying too hard to be grandiose. We both though Aquaman was a fun movie to see and enjoyed it. Even though I am a big Marvel fan and mostly a Batman fan for DC, I recommend the movie. B+

 

[Leo Star Dragon 1]

I promised more words, the thread is marked with a Spoiler tag, but I'll say it again just in case.

THERE BE SPOILERS HERE

The story is basically the standard hero's journey, it doesn't deviate much form the usual traditions... it has a bad guy that kind of has a point(which is a always a plus if they aren't just bad because they're bad), but chooses a method that's a bit of an overkill, which sends our reluctant hero on a quest to stop him that leads across several trials and exotic locations to achieve that goal and realize that the true hero was hiding inside all along.

If one were to look at it simply as a story it's nothing we haven't seen a thousand times, but it's wrapped in a fun, borderline cheesy packaging(it even has villains using the line "Call me [villain name]" and it's glorious! ), it builds an immersive world, the action scenes use imaginative camera work and thankfully no shaky cam or quick cuts for some impressive sequences, it's never boring, always bonkers and a joy throughout.

Bottom line is, it's a fun adventure fantasy epic spectacle with some wonderful cinematography, it doesn't try to be anything more than that, and it's very enjoyable for what it is.

A few additional short remarks:

That. Kiss. Worth the price of admission alone.

Julie freaking Andrews kicking ass. I love it.

Atlanna was channeling her inner Oliver Queen there with the bow and arrow being trapped on The Lost Sea.

Hi! When I saw the movie, I was expecting to see Julie Andrews, because of your post. I didn't see her! So, did you mean, Nicole Kidman? Oh! Did actress, Amber Heard, play Julie in a previous movie?

 

[Leo Star Dragon 1]

Hello!
I gave it an, "A". Why? Emotionally, I wanted to grade it higher than that, but I deducted points for lack of a post-credits scene, and lack of cameos by the other members of the, "Justice League". If I'm not mistaken, this is the first movie to not feature a cameo by, Batman! But anyway.....

#00: Randall Park?! When I see him, I think of, "Fresh Off the Boat"! But good for him, for joining the clique of people that have appeared in both "DC" and "Marvel" movies and/or television series.

#01: Would make a good double-feature with, "Black Panther"!

#02: What, no cameo by, Craig Ferguson?

#03: Steppenwolf, he got a mention!

#04: A little girl behind me, was hoping that Queen Atlanta and Princess Mera, were Mermaids, and was slightly sad that they weren't. When the Merfolk finally appeared, their resemblance to those so-called, "Sea Monkeys", probably confused her, and disappointed her. (She probably wouldn't have ever seen those old advertisements in older comics.)

#05: After the movie, I was at a "Burger King", and the guy in line behind me, had a resemblance to Jason, and he was happy to be informed of that!

#06: Yay! Animals only attacked each other in battle. None of the usual eating scenes done to remind us that that they do that.

#07: I glad that they were more obvious than subtle, about his surname and title. It is about time that they did so. I used to get the impression that it was just a coincidence that they were unaware of.

#08: What would Doctor Chase think of Queen Atlanta?

#09: How different is the "DC" version of, "Star Talk", considering what Neil would be dealing with in it, that he doesn't in Reality? In a comic book, he talked to, Superman. So far as I've seen, he has yet to compare his fictional self to his non-fiction self, other than reference, "The Big Bang Theory". Instead of him though, we got Randall Park's character.

Oh, that's it for now.

 

[Aragorn]

Hi! When I saw the movie, I was expecting to see Julie Andrews, because of your post. I didn't see her! So, did you mean, Nicole Kidman? Oh! Did actress, Amber Heard, play Julie in a previous movie?

Julie Andrews provided the voice of the creature guarding the trident.

 

[Leo Star Dragon 1]

Julie Andrews provided the voice of the creature guarding the trident.

Hi! Thanks for that answer! I didn't see her name in the credits, so I wasn't sure how I missed seeing her. But it turns out that I only heard her. I didn't recognize her voice. But that's okay with me, as I don't always recognize voicework.

 

[Leo Star Dragon 1]

Hello!
I gave it an, "A". Why? Emotionally, I wanted to grade it higher than that, but I deducted points for lack of a post-credits scene, and lack of cameos by the other members of the, "Justice League". If I'm not mistaken, this is the first movie to not feature a cameo by, Batman! But anyway.....

#00: Randall Park?! When I see him, I think of, "Fresh Off the Boat"! But good for him, for joining the clique of people that have appeared in both "DC" and "Marvel" movies and/or television series.

#01: Would make a good double-feature with, "Black Panther"!

#02: What, no cameo by, Craig Ferguson?

#03: Steppenwolf, he got a mention!

#04: A little girl behind me, was hoping that Queen Atlanta and Princess Mera, were Mermaids, and was slightly sad that they weren't. When the Merfolk finally appeared, their resemblance to those so-called, "Sea Monkeys", probably confused her, and disappointed her. (She probably wouldn't have ever seen those old advertisements in older comics.)

#05: After the movie, I was at a "Burger King", and the guy in line behind me, had a resemblance to Jason, and he was happy to be informed of that!

#06: Yay! Animals only attacked each other in battle. None of the usual eating scenes done to remind us that that they do that.

#07: I glad that they were more obvious than subtle, about his surname and title. It is about time that they did so. I used to get the impression that it was just a coincidence that they were unaware of.

#08: What would Doctor Chase think of Queen Atlanta?

#09: How different is the "DC" version of, "Star Talk", considering what Neil would be dealing with in it, that he doesn't in Reality? In a comic book, he talked to, Superman. So far as I've seen, he has yet to compare his fictional self to his non-fiction self, other than reference, "The Big Bang Theory". Instead of him though, we got Randall Park's character.

Oh, that's it for now.

Oh! When.

Instead of an ant drumming, they had an octopus drumming! I think it was meant to resemble an animated cartoon octopus, that I think was in, "Mary Poppins". If so, that is appropriate as the sequel was the other movie in our local, two screen, movie theater.

 

[F. King Daniel]

So in the movie, I was a bit surprised when Arthur says he doesn't even know Mera's name. In their brief scene together in Justice League, my impression was that they were already acquainted, albeit uneasily.

I just watched the JL scene a couple more times. I realize now that there's really nothing overt in the dialogue as written to indicate familiarity, but my sense remains that it's there in the tone of the performances. It's in the way he asks rather uncomfortably if she's all right, his nonverbal threat to leave when she challenges him, and the reluctant way she says, "Wait. Please," in response. They don't seem like two people meeting for the first time, but more like there's some preexisting tension between them. Prior to Aquaman, it would have never occurred to me to think otherwise, and it's still how the scene "reads" to me. I suppose that interpretation is not explicitly contradicted by the new movie -- they could have met prior to JL and he still might not know her name -- but I feel as though they're supposed to be more like strangers in Aquaman than I had previously assumed. What were other people's thoughts/impressions of their relationship (if any) based on JL?

Looking back post-Aquaman, why does Mera have a Southern accent in JL??

 

[dahj]

What were other people's thoughts/impressions of their relationship (if any) based on JL?

They didn't seem particularly well acquainted then, if at all. I read the tension you're describing more like Arthur's discomfort in dealing with anything Atlantean, not specifically her.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

It's gonna be hilarious if Aquaman becomes the highest grossing DCEU movie, and possibly the first to break the billion mark.

Why? Batman Vs.Superman grossed a lot, as did Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad: the only people that should be embarrassed by this should be the critics that were more than likely prepared to hate this movie simply because it's from DC and isn't a Marvel movie. The only 'failure' so far has been Justice League, again for not being like the Marvel movies and for not being like the Donnerverse Superman movies (as well as for not being like the shitty SuperFriends
TV show, IMHO.)

 

[Pondwater]

It was a’ight.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Looking back post-Aquaman, why does Mera have a Southern accent in JL??

Lots of oceans have a south.

 

[The Realist]

They didn't seem particularly well acquainted then, if at all. I read the tension you're describing more like Arthur's discomfort in dealing with anything Atlantean, not specifically her.

That did occur to me as a way to interpret the tone of the JL scene prior to my post. It's perhaps the best way to make the two films track, though the exchange in JL still feels more personal to me (and I suspect that was the original intent).

 

[dahj]

Concept art for that dress:

 

[dahj]

That did occur to me as a way to interpret the tone of the JL scene prior to my post. It's perhaps the best way to make the two films track, though the exchange in JL still feels more personal to me (and I suspect that was the original intent).

I dunno, their short JL bit seemed too clunky and expository and I don't think there was much intent behind it other than explaining who he is in a few short sentences.

Momoa recently mentioned that in Snyder's original cut of JL, it ended with Arthur telling Vulko and Mera he's going home to see his dad, which leads directly into Aquaman so I don't think there was any miscommunication between Snyder and Wan at least about where things were between them.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

Personally, I don't count CGI hordes as characters. Plus, is it a story point that women aren't allowed in the "army" or is that an assumption? (Real question, I haven't seen it.)

Considering that women are allowed in the Atlantean army in the video game DC Universe Online, that is strange, but also considering how much of a budget buster that would've been, I can see why the filmmakers didn't include females as soldiers, and I don't see it as a big deal.

 

[JD]

Hello!
I gave it an, "A". Why? Emotionally, I wanted to grade it higher than that, but I deducted points for lack of a post-credits scene,

There was a mid-credits scene, and that's good enough for me. Honestly, I prefer that, so I don't have to sit all of the credits, which can be a challenge since my bladder is usually about to explode by the time we hit the end of a 2 hour+ movie.

and lack of cameos by the other members of the, "Justice League".
If I'm not mistaken, this is the first movie to not feature a cameo by, Batman! But anyway.....

I was fine with that since there really wasn't anywhere where they would have been needed.
I loved it, it's at least tied with Wonder Woman, if not a little bit ahead of it.
The visuals for Atlantis were amazing, if this doesn't at least get nominated for visual effects and/or production design at some of the next awards then I'll be very disappointed.
The whole cast was great, a lot of the stuff in this could have ended up being absolutely ridiculous, but the cast managed to keep things from getting to far over the top. Jason Momoa and Amber Heard both were a lot of fun as the two main leads. Patrick Wilson and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II did a good job as the villains. I was a bit surprised how sympathetic they ended up making Black Manta.
It some great action scenes, with the big battle at the end and the fight in Sicily as the big standouts.
The story was pretty cool too, the way Arthur was drawn into Atlantis made sense, and it gave us a nice introduction to all of the different kingdoms.
A solid A+ for me.