Aquaman is very goofy, and if it was an hour shorter, it would totally be worth your time.
As the affably bro-y fishman, Jason Momoa punches CGI monsters and supervillains who wear stupid costumes; he also, in the filmâs best moments, flips back his dripping hair and, angling his shirtless torso for maximum gleam, all but winks at the camera as an electric guitar wails.
Eagerly and clumsily, Aquaman dispels the joyless grimdark thatâs infested other movies based on DC Comics, and director James Wan delivers some genuinely great stuffâa horror-tinged encounter with dagger-toothed wretches from the deep, a psychedelic submarine chase through a fluorescent Atlantis.
But heâs hampered by too much plot, dreary politicking that aims for Game of Thrones but lands at Phantom Menace, and a plasticky sheen that cheapens everything from the bad guysâ Power Ranger suits to the digitally de-aged faces of Temuera Morrison, Willem Dafoe, and Nicole Kidman.
Aquaman is super fun when it embraces its sillinessâthereâs an octopus that plays the drums! Thereâs an army of cranky crab-men!âbut by the end, it just feels bloated and squishy.
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