We would have thought we were back in 1995. For the excess bad special effects and the 3D glasses on the nose as a constant reminder that the comfort of immersion lies elsewhere. Elsewhere too, the man (officially) at the helmAquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), James Wan, whose signature emerges only sporadically, drowned in a jumble of concessions, cuts, rewrites and reshoots.
Which is there, because the film still lasts two (very long) hours? The couple Arthur Curry/Aquaman and Queen Mera, therefore Jason Momoa (solid in muscles but monolithic and heavy in play) and Amber Heard (whose everything that could be cut in presence and in replicas was, snarl from the benches of musculini-fans of Johnny Depp oblige). Nicole Kidman (Queen Atlanna), relegated to the back of the aquarium (perhaps it’s better that way for her). Patrick Wilson (deposed prince Orm Marius), as a black sheep lost in the land of tenches. The absurd crown planted on the head of Dolf Lundgren (King Nereus).
And let’s not forget Martin Short as a bulky Kingfish. A short but emblematic role in this quilt film which, let’s remain polite, pays homage (!), in this case, to Star Wars, his cantina and Jabba the Hutt. There, to the landscapes of Pandora as seen in Avatarbefore tumbling between Thor and Hulk as they were struck in Ragnarok. Elsewhere, illegitimate children of the Ents come into play The Lord of the Rings and Groot Guardians of the Galaxy…this Marvel trilogy directed by James Gunn. The one who is now the head of the DC Extended Universe. Impossible, therefore, to be surprised by the “Marvel-style” humor sprinkled throughout the production, among other things through the “bromance” instilled in the relationship between the two enemy brothers Arthur and Orm. But this graft, it must be admitted, is sympathetic and (almost) convincing.
Together, they will unite to protect Atlantis from total destruction orchestrated by David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who has come into possession of the all-powerful cursed Black Trident. Roughly speaking, the scenario is limited to that. The result is a succession of fights, confrontations and, because you have to pretend to have a story, static scenes that are heavily explanatory… but welcome because Rupert Gregson-Williams’ soundtrack is then and finally muted.
If Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom remains in mind after screening, it is for the questions (far from being existential) that it provokes. How is such a waste possible? Why not leave this film on the shelves, especially since the test screenings had been disastrous? To the question marks, some will oppose the dollar sign. Aquaman, by the same James Wan, received lukewarmly by critics but praised by fans, grossed more than a billion at the box office and is, as such, the most profitable of the DCEU of the pre-James Gunn era. If the production of its sequel was nightmarish, the result could still bring in more than the 200 million it officially cost. And superheroes having a tough skin, it will not sink the franchise. But it adds ballast to the “ tired superhero “.