{"id":1458682,"date":"2023-12-26T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-26T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comingsoon.net\/?p=1458682"},"modified":"2023-12-26T05:28:24","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T13:28:24","slug":"aquaman-and-the-lost-kingdom-review-a-decent-dceu-departure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comingsoon.net\/movies\/reviews\/1458682-aquaman-and-the-lost-kingdom-review-a-decent-dceu-departure","title":{"rendered":"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review: A Decent DCEU Departure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The DC Extended Universe is coming to a close. 2023 has seen four DCEU movies of varying quality and consistent box office underperformance, with Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and now, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom<\/a><\/strong>. The sequel to the 2018 film stars Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry\/Aquaman. Here, we have a new superhero adventure where he must team up with his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to fight the villainous Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). I was a huge fan of the first Aquaman movie, and I can confidently say this is an underwhelming but serviceable sequel to that film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My experience watching this movie started with a whimper, as my local AMC theater did not play the Nicole Kidman advertisement before the film started (even though she’s in this movie). But once the movie started, I had a sinking feeling that the movie would not be as strong as its predecessor. It starts with a group of pirates taking a bunch of people hostage on a ship, and then it immediately cuts to Aquaman arriving to save them. The buildup to his arrival feels weak, especially after how well-crafted his character introduction was in the first movie. From there, we have the opening action set piece, but it is narrated by our protagonist as he tells the story to his child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This film sees Arthur settling down with his wife Mera (Amber Heard) and his young son, but David Kane\/Black Manta is out for revenge on Aquaman for killing his father. From there, we have our adventure that’s a bit rough around the edges. The narrative beats can feel a little messy from moment to moment as Kane discovers a black trident that will help him destroy Aquaman. It seems simple enough, but as the movie progresses, the story gets a little bit too caught up in its world, and it’s not always easy to get invested in. There are many excellent set pieces in this movie, but the narrative holding everything together is somehow both thin and convoluted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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