lol Aquaman tho
Aquaman is still an inherently dubious idea and the various writers' attempts to make him cool are more embarrassing than anything from some 70s cartoon
@Hylam Keep telling yourself that.
@Hylam Ah, yes, because clearly a man with super powers from being adapted to live under water is stupid compared to people who dress up as bats or space men who get super powers from specific wavelengths of sunlight
The inherent problem with Aquaman is that his powers are sea-based and 99% of crime takes place on land. So however powerful he is, he can\'t use those powers where it matters to the audience. He worked in the DCAU as an Aloof Ally, brought on only for a few episodes, but as a standalone hero it\'s a hard concept to work with.
Stories don't tell us monsters exist; we knew that already. They show us that monsters can be trademarked and milked for years.
The inherent problem with Aquaman is that his powers are sea-based and 99% of crime takes place on land. So however powerful he is, he can\'t use those powers where it matters to the audience.
All futiles problems that were adressed multiple times, including in the movie. Even on land, he has Super Strength and is Made of Iron, has access to a whole kingdom with high-tech weaponry in the same vein than Black Panther, and is wielding the Trident of Poseidon. That\'s like 80% of his powers; the only part he cannot use on land are talking to fish and being amphibious, and even that can be arranged if you get creative. And Atlantis and the sea are far from being uninteresting; the movie makes a great job at showing us all the underwater kingdoms and creatures to use in order to create cool stories. If you seriously wanna argue what happens in Atlantis doesn\'t matter to the audience, then I guess Thor\'s Asguard-only adventures don\'t either?
My friend looked at the poster for Aquaman and called him Wet Thor and I haven\'t really been able to take the film seriously since that. Not the film\'s fault, I admit.
Also while I don\'t disagree with your sentiment, \"No One Will Ever Make Fun of Aquaman Again\" sounds like something Arthur Curry would say to himself with tears in his eyes shortly before opening fire on a crowd of innocent people.
Acting personally offended that critics didn\'t like the movie as much as you did isn\'t a good look.
Also: Aquaman\'s power set on land is limited to \"be really strong and punch people hard\", which is the most boring power set possible.
Aquaman\'s power set on land is limited to \"be really strong and punch people hard\", which is the most boring power set possible.
And a magic trident. A a high tech nation at least on par with Wakanda. If you wanna argue these don\'t qualify as interesting \"powers\", I guess Batman and Black Panther are even more boring than he is.
Except that we don\'t really see any of that in the movie until the very end, for 90% of it he is just Big Punchman, now Big Punchman with Weapon when he is on land. By the way, I find it pretty hilarious when Arthur emerges from the ground riding on the Karathen in a gigantic ground explosion... right in the middle of the crab people, aka the people defending themselves against Orm\'s open act of aggression. He probably killed like 50 000 innocent soldiers defending their homeland in an instant, but the movie seems to just forget about it. Gave me Mo S vibes. In fact no one seems to really care about the fact that a big, apocalyptic battle has just taken place, because a dude most of them have barely seen before has shown up. Talk about an artificial happy ending.
Except that we don't really see any of that in the movie until the very end, for 90% of it he is just Big Punchman, now Big Punchman with Weapon when he is on land.
Oh, so you're talking about the movie specifically rather than the comic? Then I guess you're the only one who sees it as a problem, because I personally still found the movie a lot of fun, and judging by the audience reactions, so did everyone else. At the very least nobody complained about Aquaman being boring. Here's a flash news: a character being interesting isn't solely based on his powers. Otherwise I know of plenty of characters who would be boring.
By the way, I find it pretty hilarious when Arthur emerges from the ground riding on the Karathen in a gigantic ground explosion... right in the middle of the crab people, aka the people defending themselves against Orm's open act of aggression. He probably killed like 50 000 innocent soldiers defending their homeland in an instant, but the movie seems to just forget about it.
Yeah, I noticed that too, and I agree it's a flaw. So is the fact he stops mid-battle to kiss Mera when they explicitly said lives are on the line. Nobody is pretending the movie is perfect (no movie is). Doesn't make it any less enjoyable.
...I generally agree that the persecuted, combative tone doesn\'t do this review many favors, which is why I preferred the other one. But it kind of feels like this conversation\'s dragged on for a while.
... Fair enough. Sorry.
Leave a Comment:
No One Will Ever Make Fun of Aquaman Again
As far back as I can remember, Aquaman has always had an undeserved reputation as a "lame" superhero, because of his supposedly useless superpower of "talking to fish" and his cloyingly neutered portrayal in the Super Friends cartoon (in which EVERY character was made weaker, not just Aquaman.) These people forget that, in the comics, Aquaman is the King of Atlantis and, as such, holds domain over 75% of our planet. That's not mentioning that he has superhuman strength, speed, and agility - all of which he'd logically need in order to survive the crushing pressures of the ocean, much less swim very fast in it - and that his supposedly "lame" power allows him to command sharks, giant squid, killer whales, Krakens, Leviathans, and even fucking CTHULHU. This movie is a testament to how awesome the character is.
The plot may be a little cliched, but it's still unique enough to provide a story that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats while providing plot lines familiar enough to properly introduce them to the King of the Sea. The acting is phenomenal - Jason Momoa really captures the swagger and coolness the character should have, he and Amber Heard have great romantic chemistry, and it's a delight seeing Willem Dafoe in anything these days. The sets, costumes, and special effects are a visual treat, the morals, while heavy-handed, are still worth considering, and the characters are just amazing. Mera is amazingly cool-headed, confident, and a perfect romantic foil for our Boisterous Bruiser hero, Ocean Master and Black Manta pose very credible threats as villains, and the Karathen was both terrifying and awesome. The only complaint I really have with the film is that "Ocean Man" isn't on the soundtrack.
Of course, none of this was good enough for critics, who exaggerated this film's faults for reasons I can't fathom - almost as if they feel compelled to complain about it because it's a DCEU movie. I don't know whether Marvel has spoiled us into expecting perfection, or if Accentuate the Negative Caustic Critic online reviewers like Cinema Sins have become so influential that they're starting to influence actual films critics, but either way, the movie is getting more hate than it deserves.
All I can say is that this movie will be enough to make a fan out of anyone who mocked Aquaman before.