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.

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

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

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.

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.

I really love this film. Everyone talks about the GCI in Aquaman,but what moves me most is its style ,so called "old fashioned fun" .Here I'll talk about this.(This review is translated from Chinese by google translater.And I'm the writer of it.)

First of all, the story of Aquaman is classic enough (that is, the old-fashioned set of some people), which is the journey of superhero treasure hunt. In an interview with James wan in"WorldScreen"magazine, James said that this is a very classic narrative technique. The growth of Arthur is like the growth of heroes in Spielberg, Cameron and Lucas movies. When Wan was a child, he watched the works of these masters grow up and always wanted to make such a movie, so this retro style is intentional. The facts also prove that the classic story will not be outdated. However, we can also understand from another angle that Wan did not try to try the dark and deep story style, but from the direction of being good at commercial blockbusters. In short, even if you don't have interest in the retro story, the level of the plot is definitely qualified in the super-Hero movie.

Second, it is the retro feel of the picture. On the one hand, many dazzling special effects brought us back to Avatar and the Lord of the Rings until the shock of the first Star Wars, and the imaginative and fascinating atmosphere of the underwater world is obviously a tribute to the classic fantasy sci-fi movies, like those of Star Wars. Just like classic fantasy operatic movie opens the window of imagination for us. On the other hand, James indicates that the film is expected to be like special effects movies in japan(like Ultraman and Godzilla in last century ). No wonder the friend who watched the movie with me shouted "The clothes looks cheap" when he first saw the soldiers of Atlantis. ..... I believe that it is not a problem to add more cool special effects to the soldiers, but James chose a very traditional approach , allowing the actors to fight in plastic armor and add to the film. A little bit of childlike beauty! Seeing this armor design is a little touched. We seem to be able to see james that realize the childhood special movie dreams,hiding behind the viewfinder and snickering.

And......To be honest,I'm little worried about Aquaman2,which is said to have been planned by Warner bros because the first episode is too successful,but I don't believe James will direct it again(just like SAW and Fast&Furious,he did once and did the BEST)And I'm also worried about Birds of Prey because the director is too young ...looking DCU(or DCEU) movies is funny ,we must stand some boring films ,but sometimes DC gives us BIG surprise😘

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.

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

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.

The first half set the scene for a better second half. The second half was 8+ stars, no doubt. They could have been released separately, but it was a bold choice to show it like this. The quick pace definitely took a toll on the story but it's still a good one. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

I got the chance to watch this movie at special screening and I must say I was blown away. Never ever had I expected this movie to be this beautiful and visually stunnning. Amazing performance of all the star cast was 'Icing on the cake.' Jason Momoa, Nicole Kidman, Amber Heard, Wilem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson all gave justice to their roles. This movie is definitely going to give DCEU a lifeline and after Aquaman, I really want James Wan to direct more DCEU movies in future.

Aquaman (2018) was a fun DC adventure that DC needs, by having fun and having humor instead of staying dark and brooding for each movie. Knowing more about Arthur/Aquaman and the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, while having him rise to be the king of Atlantis with lots of character development by the end of the film.

Jason Momoa is cool and fun as Arthur/Aquaman; he was funny and cool in action scenes both underwater and on land. Once he gets the classic orange and green outfit Aquaman wore back in the day, he looks cool especially when he gets his mighty trident to be king. He seems like someone who does not know much about where he came from, but he tries to help people when he can.

Amber Heard as Mera was not bad, but Mera's red hair looked like a wig sometimes. I like her ability to morph water and use it as a weapon, it is used in fun action scenes and the effects do look cool to watch. Mera and Arthur/Aquaman work well together, and they slowly start having a relationship with each other by the end of the movie. Plus, in certain action scenes I like it when Mera and Arthur fight together when going up against Atlantean soldiers.

One of Aquaman's villains named Black Manta is in the movie, and he was cool to watch; I liked this big fight sequence between Aquaman and Black Manta, which was awesome to watch, but I wish he were used more in the movie or saved for the sequel. The actual villain is Ocean Master played by Patrick Wilson who was a good villain, wanting to rule Atlantis and saying Arthur cannot because he is half Atlantean and half human. The fight between Aquaman and Ocean Master was fun to watch in the third act climax.

The look of Atlantis was pretty, and it had a lot of convincing effects; the sea creatures like sharks or any kind of fish looked convincing, and they are all in a big war, it is very entertaining to watch even if it is dumb. The action scenes have great cinematography being quick with no cuts and zoom ins and outs, especially in a great chase scene in Italy that was incredibly fun to watch. Aquaman (2018) was a fun DC movie that I do recommend watching whenever you have the chance, because it does something different than most DC movies.

We know that the DC cinematic universe that emerged as a result of the partnership between DC Comics and Warner Bros does not go well. Aquaman does not fall into this category. The film first appeared in China. Then the comments about the movie excited me. I was looking forward to it. It was a movie I really liked.

The story of the film is a complete story of origin. We see how a character emerged and how he was a hero. We see what Arthur Curry has been going through since his birth. I mean, you can follow the course of the story very easily and there is no scene you will be surprised. From time to time clichés and boring moments can be experienced. When you think it's a story of beginnings, the cliches don't bother you much. I think this is a must for superhero films.

While watching Aquaman, you feel a lot more of Wan's touch to the film. Aquaman literally makes you feel like a "movie". Because while watching the film, you can see the introduction, development and the result line in a very comfortable way. Everything is as it should be. The characters perform their duties more than enough. In the first 20 minutes, you already feel inside the film, and your attachment instinct confirms this. The origin of Aquaman is generally preserved. There are some minor changes to the film. At the same time, there are critical changes in the Black Manta and Orm. But if you are a comic book reader in general, Arthur Curry's story will give you pleasure. The film also touches on a beautiful subject; People pollute the oceans and nature. Jason Momoa had a successful performance. In particular, he has reflected the character change very well. Willem Dafoe is an actor that everyone will enjoy watching. Willem Dafoe had to have more scenes.

The film has technical errors, logic errors, clichés. But in spite of all this, the good aspects are much more. James Wan really created a separate world for the film. The underwater scenes were very good. The visuality is tremendous. Sea creatures, underwater conversations, used camera angles, location preferences, costume designs, fighting scenes, visual effects were very good. The music was just as good as the visuals. Even a separate film for Atlantis can be shot. 8/10

Firstly its nice to have a fun superhero movie, not something dark and gritty. This is how Superman should be.

I like Momoa, he delivers.

There's parts however that are just poor, really bad writing such as the child with a ridiculously coincidental Pinnochio book as a gift, the clichéd story arc of a person who is dead that you know is not really dead.

I think the constant bombardment of visual entertainment helped hide most of how shallow the movie really was and as such was my favourite DC movie so far.

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.

Better than any DCEU film, and some of MCU movies I think. The DC has step up their game - this is another level. Never had I expected this movie will this be good, after the Justice League and Batman V Superman because those movies are trash - and let's forget about those. This is the most ambitious comic-book movie I've ever seen so far. Finally a movie that DC fanboy deserves, this film is just beautiful within the cinematography, visuals, also the action scenes. The action scenes kinda remind me of Romanticism painting, it is visually stunning and breathtakingly beautiful. I'm not a fan of James Wan movies but he did a marvelous job for Aquaman. The cast are outstanding, badass performances. I don't think any actors can take the role of Aquaman better than Jason Momoa. The atmosphere of this film looks magnificent vibrant and has high-quality than any DCEU film. Finally we can see the light after those dark days. It has clear motivations for both heroes and villains, pretty solid.

But, DCEU really need to fix their poor lines. The writing isn't the best - some dialogues are still cheesy & awkward. Nothing new for the plot, but it is simply enough - almost the same with any superhero film - save the world, family issues, etc. But it has a great message about polluting the water. Also the film scoring and soundtrack was a miss. And I don't see how and why Black Manta is the best villains, his story kinda flat and lacking for me. Black Manta has daddy issues seems not enough for me to think he is the best villain.

Afterall, this is highly recommended movie for superhero movie fans. Also you have to watch it in an IMAX 3D. Worth it.

I am going to write this review as a movie goer and not a critic. I am not a fan of how critics write their reviews because it doesn't apply to the general audience. So as a normal movie goer this is my review. Aquaman was a fun movie with a lot of upside to it. The way Jason Momoa plays Arthur Curry is perfect. He has an attitude that no other superhero really has. He is witty, sarcastic, funny, but also has his sensitive side. I really enjoyed him as Aquaman, but as for the other actors, they were average. My one rip on this movie is the CGI. DC hasn't really produced a good movie with good CGI yet. And this movie, better than justice league when it comes to visual, still lacks the way a Marvel movie would. So as a fan, I noticed the CGI and acting wasn't very good and the dialogue was pretty poor. I also though adding Manta was just a waste of time and space in the movie. His character was a below average villain who besides his fathers death, didn't show a compelling story as a character. I did enjoy however how fun the movie was and how upbeat and also caresmatic it was. I think as a fan this movie is worth seeing because of it being a super hero movie who we haven't seen much of and how fun it is. I am giving this movie a 7.

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.

As in a movie by Sergio Leone:

The good: 1) excellent special effects; 2) the actors Nicole Kidman, Temuera Morrison and Willem Dafoe.

The bad: 1) globally average and predictable scenario which does not hold water (ha... ha... ha...); 2) a few jokes barely funny (even less than mine); 3) dialog not very gentle, far away from the Batman trilogy; 4) In a general way, Jason Momoa with a brain within charismatic biceps.

The ugly: in the middle of the film, we may see Aquaman on a boat, with Mera. Aquaman on a boat? Aquaman on a boat?!!!!!? And why not Superman on a push scooter? What a pathetic non-sense!

Synthetically: a middling pop corn movie.