Aquaman Review : A Fresh Restart for DCEU

James Wan is a creative and brilliant director who managed to balance between adapting comic-accurate elements in Aquaman while ensuring it's "cheesiness" was not overboard and that the film would still fits in the DCEU's aesthetics.

Aquaman is to me, the best DCEU movie so far (before Joker came into the existence). It was fun, energetic, a campy ride with emotional moments and it served more as a fantasy movie with a sprinkle of superhero elemens on top of it. I can't help but to think that it is a mix of Thor, Black Panther, Star Wars & Lord of The Rings. And the mix worked perfectly. 

DCEU, thanks to Zack Snyder, has been this gloomy, brooding, supposedly "realistic" looking-universe, and it was daunting. Such settings might be suitable for a Batman film, but not all DC characters. James understand this and he really did his best in giving the faithful adaptation of Aquaman's comics - known for its campiness (talking with fish, riding seahorses etc) while balancing the dark tone of DCEU. The result? A fun ride. You got to see underwater cities, with fish-riding guards, and there was a battle scene involving sharks with cannons and golden seahorses! DCEU aesthetic was also remain intact as you would see a cool 300-like slow-mo Zack Snyder-style hand to hand final combat.

The music was as usual, for a DC movie, a hit but the cinematography was really good. It was vibrant, bright, colorful, and there was a scene when we were introduced to Atlantis, and it was amazing. I got Blade Runner vibes during that scene.

Aquaman was a successful adaptation of the character from the comics and it's proven that Aquaman is a property that is real-live-adaptable; in the hands of the right guy. After Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad and the hilarious failure of Justice League, Aquaman was a fresh breath from DC and a refreshing one. James Wan, again, showed his versatility in directing, by going all out and having his fun with the genre, just as he did with Furious 7.

7/10