User Reviews

What's with the 10 out of 10 reviews? really?. Sure it's probably the best (or second best) DC Justice league era, but that's not difficult. Like all the other offerings, it's overblown, wooden, one dimensional and over reliant on over the top CGI. As a child I was always a DC fan and I want them more than anything to bring this thing together, but Marvel have certainly laid down a tough marker for how it should be and DC still haven't met that challenge. The main thing missing from the film is charm and simplicity, sure Momoa just about saves the day and I think he can develop Aquaman into a loved character, and the film is a step in the right direction. But 10 out of 10 it most certainly isn't.

There are moments of awkwardness in the movie, but the stroy is engaging and full of intricate details. The visuals are stunning, too. James Wan definitely did an amazing job with the right cast. I can't think of a better actor to take the role of Aquaman than Jason Momoa. I will give it an A-.

This movie is pretty entertaining. That, however, doesn't mean that it has a great script. The truth is, DC played safe on this one, and it pays off, mostly.

I was never bored throughout this movie, but that is not because of the clever dialogue, or the the amazing score. No, it's because everything in it is incredibly over-the-top. No kidding, be it the heroes or the villains, the action scenes or the romantic ones, every single thing in this movie is kind of exaggerated. Sometimes it worked for me, but sometimes it didn't. With that in mind, let's get to my pros and cons.

First, what i liked the most: the direction, specially during the action scenes. James Wan managed to differentiate himself from that Snyder style of action pretty well (there's still one or two "Snyder slowmo" kind of shots, but that's it). The fight sequences were well choreographed and shot, with wide angles for most of the time. It was very pleasant to see. Now, I usually don't like when movies start looking like videogames, but it didn't really bother me here. During the gigantic CGI battlescenes you've seen in the trailers, the amount of elements on-screen can be overwhelming, but for the most part, they are well enough shot that you can differentiate what's going on, and so they eventually become quite satisfying. The interaction between the two lead characters is too very entertaining, but then again, because Aquaman is just really extravagant most of the time, so it becomes this quirky, awkward chemestry. But that leads me into the cons.

Yeah, remember when i said everything was exaggerated in here? Well, sometimes that leads to some really weird and unfitting, or just unintentionally funny scenes. For example (and I don't wanna spoil here), the movie will have this really awkward romantic song playing throughout this "lovey dovey" scene, but that just took me out of the film because it's so over-the-top and doesn't fit at all with the previously established tone of the film. It was weird. Not only that, but this certain character will constantly scream during battle scenes like he's a football commentator announcing a goal, like he's really badass when in reality it just comes off as "just too much". I won't lie, I started laughing after a while because he repeats it quite a few times during the movie. Most of these are nitpicks, but because this movie blows everything out of proportion, these small problems end up REALLY standing out. Some bigger complaints are: characters having really flimsy convictions and changing them in the matter of seconds for weak motivations. The movie is also filled with cliches, but that's mostly because Aquaman follows the standard superhero movie formula. On top of that, i found some inconsistencies regarding character's abilities (like, it is established that inhabitants of Atlantis cannot breath outside of the water, but during certain moments they do it just fine). The CGI is very inconsistent, from this gorgeous color filled underwater kingdom, to some pretty terrible green screen effects. The dialogue, is mostly not very well written. Some characters don't suffer from it, including Aquaman, because it ends up fitting their personality, but some characters end up sounding really artificial. The acting is fine. Willem Dafoe is Willem Dafoe, Jason Momoa is Jason Momoa. Temuera Morrison, Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman and Dolph Lundgren all did fine with their respective characters. I think the worst ones are the villains, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen and specially Patrick Wilson (who's character is the embodiment of "over-the-top"). Too bad, I don't consider him a bad actor, but goddamn was he subpar in this one. I don't have major complaints wit the editing. It's pretty good, except once or twice where there's just too much going on on-screen and I couldn't follow it, but those were rare moments. However, the sound design has some odd choices. There's this scene where a certain character is handling a knife, and every time he gently touched it, the knife went "KATCHING" with that standard blade sound , but just extremely loudly and exaggerated. I just thought to myself "what?".

Despite the fact that i nitpicked a lot, i think this movie works more than it doesn't. Yes, it's as a standard superhero movie as you can get, but it's a good one. Even with all of the odd choices and apparent problems, it's not a bad movie. The direction is quite good, some shots are fantastic and the fight sequences were very satisfying. It's pure, blown out of proportion, massive CGI fest fun, and I think that's enough for me. For an Aquaman movie, it does everything it should.

There's really not much else to say about this movie. It's clear they just wanted to dazzle the audience with as much CGI as they could muster into as little time as possible, meanwhile making NONE of the terrible jokes land.

The story is.... well there isn't one really. It is so all over the place and disconnected that it is not easy to follow at all. Both Amber and Mamoa are dull as dishwater, which many knew before this movie and sadly this does nothing to remedy that either.

The movie is a mess, the story is a mess - and when you leave a movie thinking that the only enjoyable part was the CGI then there is something wrong.

Clearly, this movie was made for the cash grab and WB once more PROVE what we have all known for a long time; They simply cannot create comic book movies. Leave it to the experts.

A great cast, some of the best visual and special effects I have ever seen - a kaleidoscope of colour and movement in just about every scene; sometimes it was hard to know where to look, there was so much going on - and a fun storyline (that, admittedly, has been done before in different settings) makes Aquaman a winner.

Jason Momoa is sensational as Tom Curry/Aquaman, a really commanding presence in all his scenes. I thought Amber Heard as Aquaman's love interest could have been better. Granted, she wasn't given a tonne to work with.

Surprised to see Dolph Lundgren pop up a few times. Great to see Willem Dafoe, an actor I've always thought was great. Same goes for Australia's own Nicole Kidman. In the movie, her character is in love with the character played by New Zealand's Temeura Morrison, which is pretty cool, if you ask me.

I'm pretty easy going and enjoy most everything I watch. Never get too high or too low on a film unless the film is thoroughly deserving of either.

As far as comic book adaptation spectacles go, you won't find many better.

Watched it!!! And have no words to describe the splendid performance of the cast and how beautifully wan visualised and presented this..This is the true jewel so far in DC universe👍🏻 Won't Add any Spoilers😋..as this is something you should witness

Nice CGI (remind me of Avatar..haha)...good story . Better than Justice League....

There was embarrassing writing, embarrassing acting, and listening to Amber Heard trying to deliver this terrible dialogue with zero inflection was exhausting. Why does half of the population of Atlantis sound like they're from California? The dialogue was never more than cliche with a predictable plot. The "advanced ancient civilization hidden away from the world" trope is already old. There was so much CGI that none of the action ever felt impressive or tense or real. Any time someone said "Ocean Master" with a straight face I wanted to laugh.

This would've been the perfect movie to not take itself too seriously, go for a more lighthearted and irreverent tone like Thor Ragnarok, but they just try so hard. It has none of the superhero charm that Marvel manages to carry over from the comics and thus you have one very long boring slog.

How many scenes did we need where a quiet moment was interrupted by an exploding wall that didn't hurt anybody? I counted three or four. Also, that paint-by-numbers forced romance - "Wow there was a surprise and now we're accidentally holding hands", "Wow there was an explosion or something and I grabbed you " - give me a break. And whoever put together the soundtrack for this film should be summarily executed.

What a great romp. Loved Jason Momoma. The humour cracked me up. Highly recommended if you're up for an origin story.

It looked nice, it sounded good, the special effects were impressive, my family enjoyed it, and so did I. I have read with interest reviews from those who thought the movie tedious, they must have visited a different theatre as the film I saw was far from dull, almost too much going on at any one point. The lead actor was very good, supported by an able, attractive cast. It's not a classic, but it's better then most of the rubbish being churned out.

There are so many things wrong with this movie. The acting is mediocre. The script feels like it was written by a 12-year-old boy. The CGI is inexcusably cheesy. The plot is not compelling. The jokes aren't funny. They kept explaining things that I don't care about. Ocean Master. Trident of Atlan. Robots in ancient Atlantis. Blah, blah, blah. So. Much. Exposition. I have hated the last several DC films, Wonder Woman being the least terrible. This one is officially the worst. If you want something about Atlantis, the Disney one was way better.

Everything I saw, read and heard about 'Aquaman' before it came out had me convinced it wouldn't be my cup of tea. My impression was that this would be yet another bloated studio tentpole with cheesy dialog, a generic story and artificial looking CGI. However, once it opened, a passionate film fan I respect a lot started spreading so much obviously genuine enthusiasm for the movie that I eventually got over myself and watched it.

I think it was the moment when Nicole Kidman swallowed a goldfish that I started to suspect I might actually enjoy this movie. That suspicion, however, turned out to be wrong, because I didn't just enjoy it: I ended up ADORING it. The weirdest thing: the film DID contain all those elements I had feared - and yet none of that seemed to matter. It just works. It shouldn't, but it somehow does, which is why I've since come to the conclusion that director James Wan is some sort of genius wizard filmmaker. Don't let the generic superhero tropes and cheesy dialog fool you into thinking this was a typical mainstream movie (though I DO suspect those things managed to fool the studio executives into thinking exactly that: which is probably how James Wan got away with it), because in truth, this is the least generic, most bonkers big budget studio flick I've seen in ages. It's the film 'Valerian' wants to be. It's crazy; it's over-the-top; it's beautifully designed with incredible attention to every little detail in every frame; it doesn't take itself seriously for a second, and yet it fully commits to - and loves - its characters and the world they inhabit.

I was awed, literally awed by the design of the Atlantian society and technology; the worldbuilding and visuals are so distinct and original - which caught me completely off guard, because I didn't expect that in a 200 million studio picture for the masses. When the music score went into full synthesizer mode as "Aquabro" and Mera arrive on the collapsed bridge leading to the underwater city, and the screen virtually explodes with the most colorful creatures and underwater vehicles imaginable, I had a stupid grin on my face out of pure joy and adoration for this stunning display of artistic vision (the stupid grin stayed on my face for the remainder of the movie). And the film didn't let up. 'Aquaman' never loses steam; there's no weak third act (at least in my opinion); the wondrous discoveries and beautiful, unexpected designs and creatures keep coming until the very end. Although it has a very different tone, I was actually reminded of watching 'LOTR: The Return of the King' for the first time.

It's true, 'Aquaman' delivers the typical, clichéd, cheesy superhero tropes in spades, but those generic story beats - some of which were probably demanded by the studio - seem to be all surface; they're not what James Wan (or his characters) are really interested in. It almost seems to me that the director only used those tropes as camouflage to sneak in nods to every film of every genre he ever loved and get really creative with the worldbuilding. His biggest accomplishment, however - the film's greatest strength - is something that only few blockbusters ever achieve: he successfully combines a genuine sense of wonder and awe with complete, unabashed fun.

So, to sum up this review: against my expectations, the superhero film I least expected to like managed to do what not a single superhero movie so far had done for me; it filled me with an urge to immediately see it again, because I was so in love with its bonkers, "everything-but-the-kitchen-sink" approach to filmmaking. Naturally, I now hope James Wan will also direct 'Aquaman 2', as I'm sure if given the chance, next time not even the kitchen sink will be safe.

P.S. (for new IMDb users): In case you don't know whether to trust this review or not, because you have no idea what my tastes in film are, just click on my username - gogoschka-1 - and you'll see what my favorite movies are.

Aquaman, Orm and Manta are comic accurate. Thestory is predicatble since the second huge trailer. I mean, there was not a moment were I was surprised by anything including the credit scene.

The visuals are great for the most time, but at some places you're starting to wonder is there anything real in this movie? The CGI becomes tangible.

The action scenses are decent, slow motion is everywhere, the humor is...really? The movie is better than most of the others DC movies, but still got a lot problems, including story connections, logic and physics. I mean for me "Man Of Steel" is still the best one, followed by "Wonder Woman". All I can say is predicatble from start to finish pop corn flick.

Reviewers complaining about humans being able to breathe/live in Atlantis at that pressure etc are forgetting the basic premise that this is a superhero movie, not a documentary! This is a good superhero movie, Jason Momoa providing a solid performance as the action hero with a conscience, punctuated nicely with dry humour, with great backup from Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard and even Dolf Lundgren. Plenty of action sequences, and enough character development to care about the principal characters. I went into this movie with low expectations and was pleasantly very surprised. Give it a try, it's well worth it.

Firstly i would like to say that my mouth came out of the cinemas with a cramp, as i was watching this movie earlier today. I was smirking, smiling, laughing my way through. I probably bothered some other people in the cinema but it was just that amazing! The action was stunning and perfectly done, the imagination of the movie was unique, it didn't just reflect some of the problems we have like pollution, and chemical dumping in the sea but also gave us another daydreaming topic. Just imagine what is in the bottom of the sea, what would the politics of the sea might be, what would happen if there is such miracle under the ocean. The creativity deserves a " Omgoodness let me watch this 10 million times, this needs a sequal!" well at least from me. I have watched thousands of movies, okay that was exaggerated, but this movie, i watched it and it is now offically my top 1. My mind is exploding with this imagination and i strongly suggest you go watch it its aquamazing!

Where else would one see a movie with Willem Dafoe in a bun? The movie is almost non-stop CGI, with little bits of story woven between. It covers the story of baby Aquaman, resulting from the union of a lighthouse keeper and a Queen of Atlantis. And him growing up and then being put on a mission to try to unite the ocean and land worlds under a King. One learns that there are a lot of trench creatures, and that there is a sea in the middle of Earth. With all that was spent on CGI, they really didn't have money left over for a script, so it is a rather generic movie about a hero. But it certainly is entertaining enough to enjoy. No need to think.

I was gonna give this a couple stars for effort, but then there was an octopus drumming. So nope. One star.

I went to see the film with a friend today, a bit afraid because of the damage that whedon did at the justice league. Turns out the film is fantastic!! The cinematography is amazing, loved the underwater city and the characters were very well fleshed out. Even the bad guys were well written. Better than the last marvel films the last 5-6 years. The jokes were on point and the women are no damsels in distress. 10/10

I will preface by saying that this review is coming from a person who never could stand super hero films, but was pleasantly surprised for what took place on the TV screen. I'll be honest, Jason Momoa is an OK actor, I've never really been a huge fan of his, but he was good (for the most part) in the movie. Patrick Wilson did a phenomenal job as the main antagonist and Willem Dafoe was as good as always. I will be seeing the sequel to this movie that is coming out in a few months because that's how solid this movie was. I will say one complaint that I have is that the CGI isn't the greatest but eh, I won't get deep into it because it was decent enough. I urge anyone (whether you're into superhero movies or not) to give this movie a watch, especially if you're fascinated by the ocean and/or underwater beings.

World hunger could have been solved with the money it took to make this garbage, and the money paid by the idiots who paid to watch this. Idiotic content for idiotic people.

Hard to watch!! Poorly acted and charmless!!! Laughable at times and as boring as listening to a conch shell for an overly bloated 2 hours plus. This was a grind when it should have been a breeze. Not in for anymore of expensive tripe like this that keeps getting peddled like art! It's. It even decent entertainment!