Love and scandal are the best sweeteners of tea. —Henry Fielding

28 January 2019

Aquaman

This almost works. But it definitely doesn't. There is something about Aquaman that is interesting, though. I think it's the fact that Jason Momoa, unlike everyone else in the film, plays the whole thing with his tongue in his cheek. It's as though the Aquaman himself thinks the movie about him is a joke. And this way of looking at the movie makes the character charming as well as somehow above the movie of which he is the star. I think because we know the whole thing is ridiculous, he taps into that knowledge and identifies with us across the screen to say, yeah, this is dumb. I know. I'm here having fun with you guys.

If only the director could've understood that.

I loved Kym Barrett's costumes. (They're not as good as Black Panther's, though, and the Academy apparently didn't have room for more than one superhero movie in the costume category this year.)

There is also this subplot with a guy named Black Manta or something like that who keeps trying to kill the Aquaman. It's the worst part of the movie and doesn't make a damn bit of sense.

Oh Dolph Lundgren is also in this. He's fun. Lots of this is fun, to be honest. But then it can't pull itself back from being the overwrought mess that director James Wan insists it will be.

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