(trailer review) - Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

I have mixed feelings about this movie because overall, I am concerned with the direction of the old guard. I have heard that the test screenings for this movie have not gone over well with audiences but at the same time, there has been a lot of reshooting, chopping and changing and I can only assume the movie must feel a little disjointed. Jason Mamoa is an excellent actor, but all actors are only human, so with the drama with Amber Heard, similar to the drama surrounding Ezra Miller before The Flash came out, I'd imagine the negativity has taken a little wind out of the sails. Also, with the change of direction in Warner Bro, James Gunn shepherding the new DCU, I will point out that he said something amounting to, the old guard is not gone, but he is doing something new and there could be space for the old guard to return in some capacity in the future. I need to find the quote really, but with the events of The Flash and what The Flash can do, maybe the DCEU is not fully gone after this movie? It is hard to say, but this is where everyone and their mother and grandmother will want to know, after Henry Cavill, is Jason Mamoa's Aquaman finished after this since it seems the world/universe is? Like, who wants to participate and "enjoy" a world where the characters do not mean anything to anyone anymore? I didn't get to see Blue Beetle. I didn't get to see Shazam or Black Adam, but the general consensus around those movies was, they were ok. I think Blue Beetle may have had the best response from the audience out of those three but Black Adam did the best although people thought it was good/decent. So, if Aquaman is not at least really very good (kinda like how I felt The Flash was [I don't care, I enjoyed it]), then the DCEU is definitely down the pan.

This trailer looks decent though and it seems the movie has some promise. I wouldn't say I am excited but I enjoyed the first movie and James Wan did a fantastic job. It was crazy, in places it was dark and somewhat scary in others, but it was very entertaining and if this movie is able to keep the same energy, it will do well. A billion, no, but it will do well. But with the cannibalization of the DCEU by way of WB, their reactionary ways and the introduction of James Gunn and the statements that have been said, the question now becomes, "who is going to watch this movie, because who cares?" And that IS the problem. Black Manta was a fly in the ointment in the first movie that seemed to not really go anywhere but overall, the movie was good and Yahya was great in the role, he is a phenomenal actor. Here, he looks like he is about to cause all manner of issues for Arthur Curry and it seems he needs to seek the help of his brother and another person and a huge fight will ensue. Colourful, entertaining, comical and as long as the story is good and not just ok, I can see this movie as being successful in the sense that, people will go to see it just to see it, but to get that repeat viewing, this movie will need to be soo good, people will forgive the fact this might be a one and done and go back to see it because they had fun. WB need that and even if they do or do not get it, a new DCU is on the way anyway, so again, who cares? We like Jason, we going for Jason, right?

(trailer review) - Bombshell

Margot Robbie is on the hottest streak right now.  Is she the female Dwayne Johnson?  I feel I will go onto her Instagram and see her bench pressing a motorbike whilst promoting another movie.  In short, she is working very hard and she is a great actor.  She has a bunch of movies coming out and this one seems interesting.  These 3 ladies look like they will work well together and it does look like a very good story.  From Charles Randolph, the guy behind the screenplay of The Big Short (a film I didn't see) and directed by Jay Roach who had been behind a lot of comedy films, I'd be interested in see this as it looks good.

Directed by Jay Roach and Starring Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie and John Lithgow

(film review) - Aquaman

My Mother was the Queen of Atlantis.  She fell in love with my father, a human and then I was born.  She was driven back to the seas, when I was just a boy, but then she went missing.  Atlantis is looking to a new ruler, but is now under the threat of my brother, the Ocean Master, who wants the throne by inciting war between my two worlds.  My name is Arthur Curry and I must reclaim the throne as King of Atlantis and I am the only person who can stop him.  I am, Aquaman.

For those familiar, I think I could have come up with a better one (considering I wrote a different one 4-6 times or even more), but I’m finding these amusing.  Hopefully I will stop soon.  But for now, it gets the job done and just as it states, as jokingly as I do them, this is the synopsis of the film.  Yes, there is more detail packed into this movie, so I’ll go into it a little trying not to spoil anything.

Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), a man who is born of two completely different worlds continues to do what he feels is right, living life and saving those less fortunate – being a hero.  Having been contacted by his long-time friend, Mira (Amber Heard) who continues a conversation |they had in Justice League about the division of Atlantis, Arthur is essentially, not interested in any of the politics of Atlantis as he believes he is not of that world and he will not be accepted due to not being of full Atlantian blood.  He doesn’t want to get involved with the hierarchy of the people or becoming their King, but he is then thrust into the situation when his brother Orm Marius (Patrick Wilson), decides to take the position to, not only be the king, but to incite war among the land dwellers, his home.  Arthur must stop his brother, gain acceptance by the people of Atlantis and reclaim the throne as the true king! Oh, and have a great adventure along the way.

James Wan’s Aquaman is similar to many other movies that came before it, such as Black Panther or even the Lion King just to name a few.  Nothing ground-breaking at all, however with the run time of 143 minutes, it is over 2hrs of what he claims to be swash-buckling fun, as we travel with Arthur across many locations, challenge his brother and to also defeat his antagonist, the Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).  For the most part, this movie is good.  Although it lacks depth in the story and some of the characters, I did have a good time with it because James Wan knows how to direct entertaining movies, whether it is The Fast and the Furious (Fast & Furious 7) or The Conjuring. 

This film has many different tones to it, but he manages to bring it altogether without it feeling disjointed.  The film succeeds in being a comic book movie with some light-heartedness, some horror/terror elements and family dynamics that doesn’t actually bore you to death, but this possibly could be due to the relentless action and terrible chopping, editing and “jump-scare” explosions that occur throughout.

I felt the film, although over two hours jumped from scene to scene quickly and the lack of character development meant that some characters could have been cut out of the movie altogether.  A specific character (in whom I will not mention) could have been introduced briefly only to be a major foil in the sequel.  Their storyline ultimately did nothing for the film or the character.  They will probably bring the character back anyway, but the film was unnecessarily long due to this.

Visually, the movie is stunning and there are some excellent visuals that took my breath away and coincidently took me out of the movie for a moment as some scenes could be framed and hung and placed on a wall, i.e the “trench run” or the moment before it, or the final battle at the end or many other moments in the movie.  One of the visually annoying things I found was seeing this movie in Screen X at Cineworld.  I think I would have preferred D-Box as I found the intermittent changing of the screen's length distracting as I change focus and become more aware of the extra space and more screen...and people moving down the stairs to use the bathroom for example.

Although, loosely connected to the same universe as Man of Steel, Wonder Woman and Batman vs Superman, Justice League and Suicide Squad, it would be interesting to see where they will go next with the sequel they have mentioned for Suicide Squad or Birds of Prey and it seems as though Warner Bros do not know what they are doing although they are slightly righting the ship, but they could easily mess it up at this point.

Although, some great action set-pieces and a decent story with decent acting, I won't be in a rush to see this movie again.  However, if you liked Aquaman the ultimate surfer bro from Justice League, then you will like this movie too.  I guess at this point we are wondering when they are going to trip up since they seem to be on a winning streak, WB. It can only last soo long, right? RIGHT? Well let's hope so!