Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom Review: The DCEU Ends Not With A Bang, But With A Whimper

As someone who enjoyed the hell out of the first Aquaman movie, I expected to like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and I did, mostly, but this is a sequel that’s trying too hard to recapture the accidental magic of its predecessor. The problem is that the film wants to be too many things. It wants to be an action/adventure that takes its characters to exciting locales, a heart-warming story of family, an incisive commentary on global warming, and a cautionary tale of how vengeance can consume a person. It also wants to be a commercial for Guinness beer and motorcycles and whatever else Jason Momoa seemingly finds cool.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the sequel to the 2018 film that sees Jason Momoa reprise his role as Arthur Curry (AKA Aquaman.) In the film, Aquaman is forced to forge a strained alliance with a new ally to protect his kingdom of Atlantis and the world from total destruction. 

Release Date

December 22, 2023

Director

James Wan

Cast

Jason Momoa , Amber Heard , Patrick Wilson , Dolph Lundgren , Yahya Abdul-Mateen II , Temuera Morrison

Rating

PG-13

Runtime

124 Minutes

There’s also the fact that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the official end of the DC Extended Universe, a franchise that, once Warner Bros. began pulling the plug on Zack Snyder’s vision, never had a central captain driving the ship. The resulting franchise was a mixture of tones, from the grim Suicide Squad to the bold technicolor of Aquaman. However, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was never meant to be the end of the DCEU, and that’s clear in the movie itself — aside from the audacious final line. It’s a jarring end to the movie and the DCEU as a whole, but there is some poetry in this franchise ending on the most chaotic note possible that even I can appreciate.

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The Story Is A Thinly Veiled Excuse For Aquatic Adventure

Bent on revenge against Aquaman for killing his father, David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) sets out in search of Atlantean technology to fix his Black Manta suit. In the process, he discovers the Black Trident, which gives him visions of an ancient king who vows to help David in his quest for revenge in exchange for being freed from a curse. Meanwhile, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is now king of Atlantis, married to Mera (Amber Heard) and they have a son together. When Atlantis learns that David Kane is stealing an ancient ore called orichalcum to power his revenge scheme, Aquaman must turn to his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the disgraced former king, for help. Together, the brothers track down Manta, who is determined to kill Aquaman’s entire family.

Like the first Aquaman movie, the story of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is little more than an excuse to take Arthur and his companion on a worldwide adventure, though this time it’s Orm instead of Mera who joins him for the ride. There are some moments where director James Wan’s horror sensibilities truly shine, and offer a glimpse at what could’ve been if he’d taken on a more horror-leaning superhero.

For the most part, though, Aquaman and Orm bounce around to various locales for reasons so ridiculous you will forget them and be distracted by the bright action scenes the movie suggests are more important than the plot. The film is not helped by returning writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick’s script, which fails to strike the right balance between serious and silly, as with the grave use of “orichalcum,” a silly word I found to be excessively used and funny when it probably shouldn’t have been.

Patrick Wilson Completely Steals The Show From A Bombastic Jason Momoa

The rest of Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom’s cast falls by the wayside

Jason Momoa is, for better or for worse, essentially playing himself in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. At least, that’s how it comes across, especially in the first act of the movie. While a heightened version of his personality worked well when he played the villain in Fast X earlier this year, even the toned down version isn’t sustainable enough to buoy an entire movie. I did, however, find that Patrick Wilson’s Orm was a much better straight man to Momoa than Amber Heard was as Mera in the first movie. Wilson has the right amount of subtle dedication to the bit to sell even the most ridiculous jokes, and he fits surprisingly well into the superhero action scenes.

The rest of the cast is perfectly serviceable in the movie. Temuera Morrison has a small supporting role as Arthur’s father, Tom, and he delivers all the gravitas it needs. Heard returns as Mera and while she has a much smaller role in the movie, she’s not completely sidelined, especially in the third act. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is a fine villain, though like many superhero movie villains, he doesn’t have much to work with and the character of Black Manta is largely one note. Randall Park brings some levity to the movie in his role as Dr. Stephen Shin, though he doesn’t get much time to shine. All told, it’s Momoa and Wilson’s movie, but Wilson steals the show.

Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom Is Far From A Must-See Movie

But the final DCEU installment is still enjoyable

Despite its thin story and ridiculous moments, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an enjoyable enough superhero movie. It’s fast-paced enough that I never had time to get bored, but forgettable enough to be considered a throwaway film. Aside from the eye-rolling nature of the unsubtle global warming commentary, the movie is inoffensive fun. If that’s enough reason for audiences to see a movie in theaters, then it won’t disappoint despite Jason Momoa’s schtick.

However, it might be difficult to justify spending so much money on a superhero movie that’s just fine. While some of the underwater visuals look cool on the big screen, and in 3D, they aren’t the stunning technological wonder of Avatar: The Way of Water. And, though Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is ostensibly the conclusion of the DCEU, it’s not a proper finale so much as the final episode of a series that was unexpectedly canceled mid-year. So, if you were already interested in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, you’ll likely find some enjoyment in watching it, just as I did, but for everyone else, the final DCEU movie is perfectly acceptable to skip, especially with James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe relaunch looming on the horizon.