feb 14, 2019 - FORBES Even $1 Billion Doesn't Make 'Aquaman' A Good Movie

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Even $1 Billion Doesn't Make 'Aquaman' A Good Movie

By Erik Kain

Funny story: When I saw Aquaman I came into the movie with high hopes. I liked the idea of a goofier DC movie---most of the DCEU films have been so dark---and I'm a big fan of Jason Momoa.

I left the movie with hopes dashed. There were some good moments. There were some funny bits and a couple worthwhile action sequences. I really liked the use of Roy Orbison's "She's A Mystery To Me" which was a pleasant surprise. And there were little flickers of a fun adventure movie during the second act that I enjoyed. If the whole movie had kept the tone of the bar scene with the rough-looking biker dudes who just want Aquaman's autograph, maybe I would have had a better time.

But mostly I thought it was boring, badly paced and overly-saturated with big, bombastic over-the-top CGI battles and action scenes. Every other scene some quiet moment was suddenly disturbed by something blowing up and another squad of useless fish-men attacking. The romance was flat, with virtually no chemistry between Momoa's Arthur and Amber Heard's Mera. Character development was almost non-existent.

Meanwhile, the creepy CGI face stuff they did to make Arthur's parents look younger in the beginning of the film was a terrible first impression. Two hours and 22 minutes isn't that long for a big blockbuster superhero movie, but the poor pacing and redundant opening act made the film seem half an hour longer.

I wrote all about this when I first penned my review of the movie. A lot of Aquaman fans were mad at me. But the funny story isn't that they were mad---that's just the way these things go.

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