Director: James Wan
Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Martin Short, Nicole Kidman 
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 124 mins

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is the final entry in the DCEU before it’s reimagined under James Gunn’s leadership and has had quite the tumultuous production. At the centre of these problems were the abuse allegations between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Heard’s inclusion in the film generating a great deal of controversy. Throw in bad test screenings, extensive reshoots, an ever-changing release date and the shut-down of the DCEU and you have a perfect storm. 

Horror maestro James Wan returns in the director’s chair, with this sequel picking up four years after the events of Aquaman. Although ramshackle, Aquaman was plenty of fun with its campy tone and arresting visuals, ultimately becoming the highest grossing DCEU film. How unfortunate that this sequel is being unceremoniously dumped with next-to-no-marketing. 

According to Wan, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is inspired by the works of animator Ray Harryhausen and the horror films of the 1960s while mixing in buddy comedy elements. The film opens with Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) splitting life between land and sea and caring for his newly born son, Arthur Jr. David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), better known as Black Manta, the secondary villain in the first film, continues to seek revenge against Arthur for his father’s death and finds a black trident that possesses him. Once Manta launches havoc on Atlantis five months after becoming possessed, Arthur decides to break his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the main antagonist of the first film, out of prison to locate Manta. 

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is by and large, very much cut from the same cloth as the original only without some of the finesse, likely due to the evolving DCEU situation. It’s very entertaining and visually interesting – Devil’s Deep, a volcano island lots of the second act takes place in is particularly nicely realised and there’s an excellent early heist and ensuing chase that can only have been created by Wan with his horror tinge. You can tell it’s a film that was meant to be bigger than it is and it does feel like some scenes have been cut down and storylines reduced. This sequel is twenty minutes shorter than its predecessor and the film runs at a brisk pace, never really taking the time to breathe. 

The cast are all clearly having fun. Jason Momoa essentially plays himself and Wan-regular Patrick Wilson fares much better this time round. His villain was a little disappointing in the original due to a lack of character development but Wan puts a much greater focus on him to great effect and both Momoa and Wilson share an excellent bromance chemistry. Yahya Abdul Mateen II makes for a sinister, if slightly cartoonish villain and Randall Park is another bright spot as Dr Stephen Shin.

Rupert Gregson-Williams is on scoring duties again, largely revisiting themes from the first film which is a sensible move. The film’s lusciously shot by Don Burgess, an inverted establishing shot in a grand hall a particular standout.  

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an entertaining, if slightly throwaway ending to the DCEU. If you enjoyed Aquaman, you’ll likely enjoy this sequel because the tone is almost identical. It’s a shame the film isn’t quite as ambitious as it likely was originally, given the DCEU’s evolving situation and it’s also disappointing we likely won’t see these characters again in this permutation. Still, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a slightly above average comic-book film and is undeserving of its dismal reviews. 

⭐⭐⭐ (Good)