Dive in and get wet with Aquaman one last time (well, maybe) as he deals with child-rearing and sibling rivalry while taking on a vengeful enemy.
Driven by revenge over the death of his father, David Kane aka Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has his sights on taking down the King of Atlantis, Arthur Curry aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa), who is now enjoying a life of domesticity on land.
Arthur and his wife Mera (Amber Heard) are now settled down and living blissfully in a humble seaside cottage with a newborn baby Arthur Jr, who has remarkable aim when peeing during nappy change time.
When Black Manta’s misuse of powerful resources begin slowly destroying the planet, Aquaman teams up with his imprisoned and untrustworthy half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the former King of Atlantis, to stop him.
There is a powerful black trident, an evil spirit of an undead king, a possession and various other time-padding plot points that muddle the story a bit, but the journey has entertaining moments throughout.
(L-r) PATRICK WILSON as Orm and JASON MOMOA as Aquaman in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.
Director James Wan mostly keeps things flowing along at a reasonable pace, even when things tend to get a little murky, plot-wise, and a couple of his action scenes bear his signature style.
At the very least, we get to spend two hours basking in Momoa’s charm and charisma, which could carry even the biggest turkey; fortunately, he does not have to do too much heavy lifting.
Also, his banter with Wilson as they encounter hordes of CGI creatures and underwater worlds provides some chuckles.
Aquaman 2 is fun and enjoyable, but as his purported last dip in the ocean and final entry in the DC extended universe, it does seem to go out more like a whimper rather than a bang, running the risk of leaving some die-hard fans a little salty.
6 out of 10
