Deep Dive DC: Wes Looks at Aquaman

My friends, welcome back to Deep Dive DC, our special month-long deviation from The Walt Disney company in which we pay tribute to DC Comics. Let me ask you this, who do you think my favorite superhero is? Personally I’d say Darkwing Duck, but that discussion is one we’ll be saving for a later date. But, if we’re speaking strictly in terms of the big two comic book companies of Marvel and DC, the title has changed hands several times between the two sides of that particular fence, but in recent years, I think I’ve ultimately landed on Aquaman. Some readers of this article might be saying, “Really, Aquaman? That loser who talks to fish? What’s so great about him?” These people, dear friends, have never read a comic in their lives. As someone who has read many comic books in his life, I have often found myself having to defend Aquaman against his detractors, forcing me to learn everything I can about the character. Somewhere amidst all of that, I gained a new appreciation for the character and as a result, Aquaman became one of my favorites. And why not? Despite the character’s ill-informed reputation, Aquaman is fucking badass! He’s king of the entire ocean, making him the most powerful ruler in the DC Universe, he’s got near Superman levels of strength and durability, he weilds a magical trident capable of wounding gods, has been a staple of the Justice League since its inception, and yeah, let’s talk about the whole “talks to fish” thing. Indeed, as a result of his royal Atlantean lineage, Aquaman has the ability to commune with sea life, an ability he uses to summon sharks, sea monsters, piranhas and all other manner deadly creatures of the deep to fight by his side and tear his enemies to shreds if necessary. What about any of that sounds “lame” to you? Read a damn comic book you philistines! Anywho, the reason I bring all this up is because today, we’re covering the 2018 DCEU Aquaman movie. Truth be told, even all these years later, I’m still not entirely sure what to make of the DCEU. Whereas the MCU, which the DCEU is clearly trying to emulate, has been pretty consistent in time throughout its near twenty-year existence, the DCEU seems to be all over the place. It’s seen some embarrassing lows like Batman V. Superman, Justice League and Suicide Squad, but it’s also seen its fair share of highs such as Wonder Woman, The Peacemaker series and The Suicide Squad. Yeah, that’s how all over the quality map these movies are, there are two Suicide Squad movies in this universe, and they are night and day in terms of quality. Fortunately, Aquaman, at least in my opinion, is one of the better ones. It’s not exactly something I’d place on par with Mask of the Phantasm or The Dark Knight, both of them being movies that explore the deeper meanings behind their title character and their story. Aquaman is basically an excuse to have a bunch of cool action set pieces to showcase how much of a badass its title character is. In essence, it’s the cinematic equivalent of junk food, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes you just want something fun and brainless and this movie delivers. Let’s take a look at Aquaman and find out just how awesome this character truly is.

Main Character:

So, how best to describe the DCEU Aquaman? So, I have a good buddy named Justin. Justin is a good dude who I’ve known a very long time who has had my back at times when I’ve really needed someone in my corner, but he’d also be the first person to admit that he’s a high functioning alcoholic and an unapologetic asshole. As it happens, Justin joined me when I went to see Aquaman in the theatre. Within the first fifteen minutes, Justin and I turned to eachother and both agreed “This is just you if you were a superhero.” That’s pretty much Arther Curry, The Aquaman, in a nutshell. He’s a bit of a drunk bro-douche jackass, but in an endearing sort of way. In a weird way, he feels like the most approachable member of The Justice League. He may be a superhero, but he also seems like a cool dude who you could throw back a couple beers with. I’m really not a fan of Jason Mamoa at all (very long story there) but I’ll freely admit he does a great job in this role. He is a badass when the situation calls for it, but he’s also cool and laid back too. He’s not exactly king material, but then, he’s rejected Atlantis his entire life due to them executing his mother. What the former king did was barbaric, but Arthur’s refusal to claim his birthright has allowed his asshole brother to take control and threaten the entire world. Aquaman’s hero’s journey is all about learning that assuming the throne of Atlantis isn’t really about being king, that’s secondary. What it’s about is accepting responsibility and keeping the power of the throne out of the hands of those who would do the world harm. Even though he comes across as a bit of a dude-bro, Arthur is actually fairly intelligent and well read, due mostly to his human father making sure he was well educated and knew his history. Something I personally really like about the character is his outlook. He acknowledges that the surface isn’t perfect and that there are some idiots running the show allowing the polluting of the oceans to happen, but he prefers to focus on the beauty and good in his world. National parks, lush green forests, beautiful lakes, pizza, stuff like that. Too many people in this day and age focus solely on the negatives of the world and miss the wonders all around, it’s nice to know that Aquaman isn’t one of them. All in all, this is a worthy tribute to one of my favorite comic book characters of all time and a great and surprisingly relatable and watching his journey from dude-bro aquatic vigilante with a chip on his shoulders to noble king was an engaging one.

Villain:

We have a couple of villains to discuss in this bad boy. Let’s start with Black Manta. First thing’s first, it is remarkable how well Black Manta’s comic book outfit, an outfit many feel would look silly outside of the comic book pages, translates to the silver screen. In fact, that could be said of all the characters in this movie. Well, even Aquaman himself looks great, a perfect marriage of his classic look and his popular grizzled appearance from the 90’s. Anywho, Manta. Truth be told, it took me a while to figure out how I felt about Manta in this movie. He starts out as a pirate whose father dies in an encounter with Aquaman and later strikes a deal with Orm who supplies him with Atlantean tech to help him get his revenge. He’s not really the main villain here, but is likely to have a far greater role in the sequel. He follows the typical Black Manta beats and does so very well, but his dialogue often felt a little off to me, almost like he’s reading exact quotes from the comic book. Comic book dialogue doesn’t always translate to the silver screen, but what are you going to do, everything else about the character is pretty awesome.

Now on to the true villain of the film, Aquaman’s half-brother, Orm, also known as Ocean Master. Ocean master, played brilliantly by the often-underrated Patrick Wilson, is everything his brother is not. He’s an arrogant prick using the pollution of the oceans by the leaders of the surface world to manipulate the other powerful kingdoms beneath the sea and grab at more power. He even hires Manta and his pirates to fake an attack on Atlantis to justify his actions. Yes, the pollution of the oceans is a problem, but I don’t think Orm actually cares as much as he lets on. All he wants is to be the unquestioned ruler of the oceans and then he’ll have the muscle to wage war on the surface world. He thinks he’s better than everyone else because he’s of high birth, which makes him such a great foil for Arthur, the son of a humble lighthouse keeper. For the most part, he was content to ignore his brother if it weren’t for the fact that Arthur’s existence weakens his claim to the throne. A power mad jackass in every sense, Orm is a solid representation of this classic comic book villain.

Side Characters:

Let’s start with Aquaman’s parents, Atlanna and Thomas. Atlanna is played by Nicole Kidman, who I swear to god has not aged since Batman Forever way back in 1995, and she’s a fine character. Clearly a caring mother but also a badass who was able to survive for twenty years in the realm of the Trench, more on that later. She clearly loves her family, but also recognizes that she has a responsibility to Atlantis that cannot be ignored, which is why she chooses to return when Arthur is a mere child. Thomas, played by Boba Fett himself, Temuera Morrison, is a lighthouse keeper and a decent man. I actually really dig his relationship with his son. He seems to know that Arthur can take care of himself and actively encourages his superhero activities. So many superhero movies have the family either unaware of the superhero’s double life or actively discouraging it, but daddy Aquaman here, he celebrates the fact that his kid is a badass superhero, and takes a little pride in the fact that he can still drink his son under the table.

Willem Dafoe plays Vulko, adviser to the throne of Atlantis and Arthur’s mentor. Willem Dafoe is great because, well, he’s Willem Dafoe but I wasn’t really a big fan of this character. He felt a lot like more of an exposition device than an actual character.

Dolph Lundgren plays a minor role as King Nerius of Xebel, another kingdom beneath the sea. He wants to invade the surface as much as Orm does and is even willing to go along with his deceptions because it means he’ll get what he wants, even if he is later shown to regret throwing in with someone so clearly blinded by ambition.

That leads us nicely to Mera, Aquaman’s love interest and later wife in the comics. I’ll address the elephant in the room now. Mera is played by Amber Heard. Amber Heard is a horrible person. The elephant has been addressed and shall now be ignored. Mera, the character, is awesome. People forget that Aquaman’s wife is a badass in her own right, with this magical mastery of water bending that she uses to destroy her enemies. In the comics, she can literally drain the moisture from a person’s body, leaving them a dried up husk, if you piss her off. Pity we don’t get to see that in the film, but there’s always the sequel. My point is, unlike another character we often deride on this blog, this is an aquatic red-head I can get behind. The Mera of this movie is pretty great and she and Aquaman do have solid chemistry and you know I’m a sucker for any fish out of water moments where someone views our world through fresh eyes. Also the scene where she eats rose petals is both hilarious and adorable.

Before we move on, I need to mention the Karathen, a powerful tentacle monster that guards the trident of the true king, the macguffin that Aquaman needs to cement his claim to the throne and save the world. Why is the Karathen significant? Well, because she's voiced by Julie Andrews. Yeah, Mary Poppins herself is in this movie (Sign up for my patreon to read my thoughts on that film). It gets better. This movie came out the same weekend as Mary Poppins returns starring Emily Blunt. Andrews was offered a cameo in that film but was all like "Nope, I'm gonna play a tentacle monster in this comic book movie." And wouldn't you know it, this movie curb stomped Mary Poppins Returns at the box office. Never mess with the OG Mary Poppins Y'all.

Memorable Scenes:

So, this movie does not so much have “Memorable Scenes” so much as it has what I like to call, “Fuck Yeah Moments.” Like I said, despite about fifty percent of this movie taking place in the ocean, it’s not especially deep. It’s trying to be a fun, badass adventure and surprise surprise, it is a fun Badass adventure filled with great moments that just make you want to scream “FUCK YEAH!” Early in the movie, Aquaman boards a Russian submarine being attacked by Black Manta and his goons. One of the goons punches Aquaman in the face and Aquaman no-sells it and looks back at the guy with a menacing grin as his theme plays. This is a Fuck Yeah moment.

Later, Aquaman and Orm fight to the death for the throne in this gladiatorial arena complete with an octopus playing the drums and a whole pro-wrestling vibe. This is a Fuck Yeah moment.

Much later, Arthur and Mera’s journey leads them to a seaside village in Italy where they’re attacked by Black Manta and a bunch of Atlantean soldiers. Mera finds herself cornered in a liquor store where she uses her powers to fight off the bad guys with weaponized booze. This is a Fuck Yeah moment.

During the climax of the film, Arthur, now wielding the trident of the true king, comes riding in like an absolute boss on the back of the Karathen herself and fucks up anything and everything in his path. You bet your ass this is a Fuck Yeah moment. However, despite all these great scenes, my favorite moment is actually a quiet one. It takes place right before Orm and Arthur’s big fight. There’s this quiet moment right before they both enter the arena where they admit, despite the fact that they have every reason to despise each other, neither one really wants to kill their own brother. It’s just a nice moment that fleshes out the hero/villain dynamic a little more than I was expecting. Good stuff.

Story:

So, the message here, at least as I see it is that a true leader does not simply seek power, but rather, does what he must to protect those he leads. Orm was ambitious and arrogant and saw the throne of Atlantis as a means to grab at ultimate power, which is why he was ultimately a failure as a king. Arthur on the other hand, never wanted to be king and cares nothing for the power that comes with it. He only seeks the throne because doing so is the most efficient avenue for protecting the people he loves. Aquaman even admits to the Karathen that he’s not king material, he’s just trying to do the right thing. The irony here being that this is exactly what makes Arthur the best man for the job. A true king should be a protector, not a conqueror like Orm. As such, Aquaman is judged worthy of the trident of the true king.

Beyond that though, like I’ve said multiple times at this point, this movie isn’t that deep, but I honestly don’t think it’s trying to be. A common criticism of DC films around this time is that they were all too dark and brooding compared to their big rivals, the MCU. Even some of the good movies the DCEU had under its belt at the time, like Wonder Woman, suffered from this criticism. Aquaman is a fun, badass, colorful, light-hearted, occasionally silly affair that feels like a comic book come to life, and at the end of the day, that’s just what I needed from a comic book movie. These days, too many comic book movies are afraid to be comic books, and it’s frankly a bit sad. It’s nice to see a film that embraces its comic book origins with all the weirdness that this entails.

The Dark DC Factor:

Let’s talk about The Trench. I actually was a huge fan of the Geoff Johns run on Aquaman that introduced these guys, so when they mentioned The Trench I got hyped as hell. So, what are the Trench. Imagine an unstoppable zombie hoard, except their fish creatures. Fish creatures that Aquaman cannot commune with or control that cannot be stopped. These things are a nightmare and I was glad to see them brought to the silver screen. The inclusion of The Trench is another Fuck Yeah moment!

Final Thoughts: Got help me, I love this movie. It is pure fun from start to finish and it showcases my favorite superhero like the badass he is. If you have ever overlooked this movie, or Aquaman in general, I highly recommend changing that, because this was a blast. In any case, Deep Dive DC month continues as we finally look at something from the legendary DCAU as we examine my favorite Batman Movie. Next time, we head to the future for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.