Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
Back in 2013, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) began with the Man of Steel movie. At the end of 2023, the DCEU ended with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The first Aquaman was one of the most successful of the DCEU movies and its sequel concludes this connected universe well.
The DCEU had its ups and downs and unfortunately, some of the most recent of the movies were the least successful. However, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is one of the best of the recent movies.
This is a surprise as Aquaman was a bit of a joke for quite a long time. If the DCEU succeeded at anything, it was making Aquaman cool. Jason Mamoa’s Aquaman was a highlight of every movie he was in.
But was more than just Jason Mamoa. James Wan was able to create an amazing underwater kingdom with a far reaching mythology. He digs deep into this mythology as he continues the story of Aquaman.
Once again, the bad guy is Black Manta, although he gets an upgrade in this movie. Aquaman’s brother Orm also returns and this brotherly relationship is a large part of the movie.
A lot of people were concerned about Amber Heard’s participation in the movie as Mera. To me, this was always a non-issue and it never took away from the movie.
If I had a problem with the movie, it was at times the CGI was pretty bad. This was a problem with a number of the last DCEU movies, including some of the bigger name movies.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is not a perfect movie. But it was a good movie and was better than a lot of the other DCEU movies. If the DCEU had to end, this was a strong end.
Now we wait for the next DC Universe.
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