Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

​“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” stars Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Temuera Morrison, and Nicole Kidman. Released on December 22, 2023, the film has Aquaman saving the world from an ancient power.

The film was directed by James Wan, who also directed films such as “Saw,” “Insidious,” “The Conjuring,” “Furious 7”, and “Malignant.” It is a sequel to the 2018 film, “Aquaman”, also directed by Wan. It is also the fifteenth and final film in the DC Extended Universe. After a decade of controversies and misguided directions involving the actors and their beloved characters, we have officially reached the end of the DC Snyderverse era. While it is bittersweet for some fans of Snyder’s unfinished universe, it’s also for the best, considering the many problems that arose in the franchise financially and outside the installments. Fortunately, we have a seemingly solid way to honor this occasion: the return of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman. Throughout the franchise, Momoa delivered a refreshing and entertaining take on DC’s aquatic ruler, making him one of the tolerable elements to come out of the divisive DC cinematic franchise. It even made Aquaman’s first solo adventure the most successful installment in the DC Extended Universe. So, it’s no surprise that Warner Brothers Discovery wanted to return to this underwater world for the franchise’s last hurrah before James Gunn remakes it from scratch. Does it deliver another fun aquatic adventure for the holiday season, or does it deserve to drown in the deepest part of the ocean? Let’s find out.

The story takes place several years after the first film. Arthur Curry (Momoa) is now the king of Atlantis, protecting the peace between land and sea. He’s also a father to his newborn son Arthur Jr. after marrying Mera (Heard). Unfortunately, his new life is suddenly altered by the sudden return of mercenary David Kane (Abdul-Mateen II). Now known as Black Manta, David continues his quest for revenge by obtaining a cursed and powerful weapon called the Black Trident. With the Black Trident in his possession, Black Manta seeks to get back at Arthur for killing his father by destroying everything he holds dear to him, including his family. With both land and sea in danger once again, Arthur travels beyond his home to seek help from an unlikely ally, his half-brother Orm Marius (Wilson), who’s imprisoned for treason. Arthur and Orm must rekindle their sibling relationship to save their home before Black Manta unleashes a devastating threat from the mysterious lost kingdom. 

The first “Aquaman” movie wasn’t without its flaws, but I personally enjoyed it for Momoa’s performance and entertaining story. More importantly, it showcased James Wan’s impressive knack for displaying action scenes and visual designs. But, of course, it’s not without a few horror elements thrown in there that made him a household name in the genre. It’s doubtful it would be enough to convince Wan to create an original action movie, but you never know. That’s the only reason I was looking forward to the sequel. But of course, I tend to keep my expectations low regarding DC’s recent track record and Amber Heard being a disgrace to the Hollywood community. It also garnered some iffy reviews declaring it inferior to its predecessor. After watching it for myself, I can surprisingly see why.

2018’s “Aquaman” was a fun, albeit by-the-numbers, superhero adventure involving Arthur’s coming-of-age journey of becoming Atlantis’s ruler. “Lost Kingdom” continues that journey with Arthur facing the pressures of uniting land and sea together while struggling to live in both. It also throws in plenty of other things to make his new life as king even more complicated, including Black Manta’s revenge and reviving his estranged relationship with Orm. Oh, and don’t forget about an ancient evil seeking world dominance. That’s what every superhero movie needs to make the characters' lives a living hell. With these elements at its disposal, “Lost Kingdom” had an opportunity to provide a thrilling and heartfelt closure for the character and the DC Extended Universe, with Arthur learning the importance of leadership, unification, and brotherhood. Sadly, that isn’t the case. While it’s a fun watch in some places, the film struggled to turn the cinematic tides and keep itself from sinking faster than David Zaslav’s reputation.

Instead of using these elements to provide a high-stakes story, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” resorts to being a bunch of ideas sewn together with regular tape. They only stick for a little bit before eventually falling apart minutes later. The big problem with this regarding its screenplay is that it has some neat ideas to empower Arthur’s growth further and deliver some enticing stakes, but it failed to find ways to stick with them. It focuses more on the characters saving the world from a powerful enemy, which is like any other superhero movie we’ve seen for the past fifty years. Of course, as long as it has several diverting moments involving the characters and scenarios, the formulaic plot would hardly matter for those looking for simple superhero entertainment. Unfortunately, it only had a couple of them, which is surprisingly less than I expected yet passable enough to entertain several followers of the genre. There’s also the fact that the charm, stakes, and humor weren’t as compelling as the first film, in my eyes. While it has one or two sequences that made me smile, the humor fell extremely short of overcoming its uneven tone and hit-and-miss dialogue. Considering that it’s written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, the same person who wrote James Wan’s “Conjuring” sequels and the first “Aquaman” film, this was a pretty big letdown.

What are the diverting moments, you ask? Well, for starters, the sequel benefitted well from Jason Momoa as the aquatic superhero. Like its predecessor, “Lost Kingdom” managed to stay afloat due to Momoa’s charismatic presence. While it falls short of what he delivered in its predecessor, Momoa continues to prove himself to be a fitting choice to play Aquaman, which makes it all the sadder to see him as the character for the final time. Patrick Wilson also did pretty well as Orm, which is enough to make the movie’s brotherhood aspect mildly sweet compared to the underwhelming leadership aspect. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II made another decent effort to portray David Kane, the revenge-seeking mercenary. However, his role is pretty much the same as in the first movie: a second-rate villain promoted as the true antagonist’s sidekick. Dolph Lundgren gets more screen time in the sequel as Nereus, Mera’s father, more so than Amber Heard. The result is another serviceable effort from the “Rocky IV” actor.

Another entertaining moment was James Wan's direction. As mentioned earlier, Wan is not only skilled with the horror elements but is also capable of directing the action choreography. “Lost Kingdom” is no different, with Wan envisioning the film’s comic-book-like violence with his signature framework and visual presentation. Some of its action sequences may not have captured the spark and thrills of its predecessor, but they’re passable enough for me to admire Wan’s technique behind the camera, especially the Aquaman vs. Black Manta scene in the third act. However, it’s not just the action scenes that make the presentation tolerable. It’s also the visual effects that bring the world of “Aquaman” to life. Regarding its world-building, “Lost Kingdom” delivered a visual wonder that expands the sea world in a serviceable way. It even has a South Pacific island that resembles Skull Island—a wasted potential for the filmmakers to include a King Kong cameo just for giggles. The visuals are far from perfect, especially the underwater hair effects, but they’re good enough to stand on their own. 

Overall, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” treads on too many familiar waters to swim past its muddled and uneven shortcomings. Like its predecessor, the superhero sequel is powered by Jason Momoa and filmmaker James Wan, who made their admirable intentions to entertain audiences hungry for straightforward superhero entertainment. Jason Momoa made his final run as the seaworthy meta-human count regarding his diverting performance, and his chemistry with Patrick Wilson was enough to make their brotherhood moments tolerable. As for James Wan, the filmmaker continued to shine as a confident director for the horror and action genres. Unfortunately, their talents were undoubtedly wasted on an underwhelming and jumbled series of similar tropes that lacked the charm, stakes, and heart of the first film. As its own thing, “Lost Kingdom” is a watchable yet messy comic-book-type movie for young fans of DC. However, when looking at it as the finale of the DC Extended Universe, the film is a disappointing and inconsequential chapter that’s more disheartening than rewarding. From its mediocre plot to the uneven tone and weak execution, this latest undersea adventure should’ve stayed lost along with some of the forgettable superhero movies of years past. Those who don’t care much about the story would find some enjoyment from “Lost Kingdom,” although not as much as they had with its predecessor. This wasn't the best way to close off this problematic superhero franchise, but what can you do?

D+