Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (PG13)
124 minutes, now showing 4 stars
The story: In this sequel to Aquaman (2018), David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) seeks vengeance against Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) for the death of his father, seen in the first film. With the help of scientist Stephen Shin (Randall Park), Kane finds the Black Trident, an artefact that grants superpowers to anyone wielding it. Aquaman, now the king of Atlantis, must team up with his imprisoned half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) to defeat Kane.
The best thing about going to a movie by Australian film-maker James Wan is that he is the least likely among the current batch of blockbuster directors to deliver self-serious rubbish.
His films – among them horror works Insidious (2010) and the underrated Malignant (2021), and the muscle-car spectacle Furious 7 (2015) – are ego-free. The stories might be overblown and simplistic, but no one can accuse him of being boring.
In this follow-up to the 2018 hit, Wan’s ability to pare things to the essentials is undimmed. He still treats the undersea world as a place where the most outrageously improbable creatures exist. It is like James Cameron’s alien planet of Pandora in Avatar (2009), except the monsters are here on Earth, hiding in caverns.
The faults that plagued Aquaman, such as the dull dialogue and overstated exposition, are still present, though.
Kane/Black Manta has a diabolical plan that is causing climate change, an event that is bad for the planet. That fact is stated more than once, using slightly altered words each time.
If Wan needs to show someone making a telepathic connection with sea creatures, he will show it in the most literal sense – visible pulses will emanate from the forehead and travel towards the target. Charles Xavier from the X-Men movies could also communicate using his thoughts, but no director ever dared to depict his skull waves.
To reuse a phrase coined by British comedian Matthew Holness, Wan is aware of film-makers who use subtext, and he probably thinks of them as cowards. He also has a gift for using classic rock as a soundtrack, a skill he shares with fellow DC Extended Universe director James Gunn (The Suicide Squad, 2021).
Momoa is still the bro-iest superhero in the DC Extended Universe. It is clear that he is just playing himself as the guy who loves beer, burgers and pranking his buddies. A certain Guinness beverage appears so often, it deserves a supporting actor credit.
Arthur loves his dad Tom (Temuera Morrison) and shows it with bear hugs and grins. He is just a country boy who also happens to be able to throw a trident like a rocket.
Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, unlike, say, Black Adam (2022), never saddles the viewer with lore. The villain of the piece is a character from the previous film, so viewers already know his story.
Abdul-Mateen II is brilliant as the baddie, and so is Park as Dr Shin, the scientist who lets his curiosity lead him into a partnership with Kane. Wilson is also above average as the prodigal brother roped in to save the world.
Hot take: This neon-coloured addition to the DC superhero world fills the need for stories that are uncomplicated and packed with action instead of backstory.
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