Roping in a director from the Avengers section might have not been a good decision on DC’s part. Thankfully, with Patty Jenkins taking care of¬†Wonder Woman¬†and now, award-winning director James Wan looking over the Aquaman franchise, things seem to improve.
According to Box Office Mojo, DC’s cinematic take on the seahorse riding superhero is on the 20th place and has collected a revenue of $1.1 Billion so far, which is expected to rise as the movie hasn’t completed its run in theaters as of yet. Star Jason Momoa has expressed his gratitude on Instagram to his fans saying that all his success is due to them only.
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL WITH AQUAMAN?
Aside from the fact that the live action take is much more serious than its comic counterpart, the Aquaman movie toppled records on the box office, including those set by the pinnacle of Superhero movies - The Dark Knight.
DC has always been under ire of fans due to its darker palette and tone and the recent degradation in script and visual quality particularly with the Justice League didn’t help either. However, James Wan has delivered a masterpiece this time, with fantastic cinematography, enthralling action sequences and an astounding visual effect portfolio.
Throughout the movie, there is scalding chemistry between the lead actors (Jason Momoa and Amber Heard), and the underwater world is creatively shown in a beautiful way. The tone this time is much lighter, although complementing the darker palette which DC is famous for. Where the movie lags is in script and momentum; though it can be argued that this being an origin story, there wasn’t much new to bring to the table, however, the momentum of the plot is lost in transitions across contemporary stories. The effects and cinematography that leads from past to present are smooth and in fact, better than any other we’ve seen, but the jump, for example, from a lighthouse in America to the Indian Ocean isn’t as interesting as it could’ve been.
THE PLOT
The way I see it, Aquaman is a classic superhero tale of… well… heroism. You have a person born to be king, a couple of bad guys, some good ones, some grey ones, and that sums it up. There is nothing¬†new¬†with the tale. However, the movie is worth a visit to the cinema just because of its visual effects alone, and for me, the plot was something freshly old among the recent outburst of diversity in Hollywood cinema. The immersive underwater world shows potential and there are rumours of a horror spin-off and a sequel for the movie too.
It is no wonder that WB wants Wan to lead the series’ sequel too. He has turned the tide for DC and aquaman, who was the target of many a jokes and sneers, is now a billion dollar story.
CHANGE IN THE SEAS
The highest grossing DC offering ever was Nolan’s The Dark Knight since 2008. However, with Aquaman crossing the mark already and on the way for more, DC can now call another city its homeland besides Gotham. Wan is a young gun in the directors’ field, but already has several awards and successful movies to his name, most of them with tight budgets and fat profits.
For me, Aquaman is an interesting, heroic tale, that is marred only by the momentum of its delivery and is, otherwise, worth every penny it has received.
