When the DC Extended Universe was first being assembled, one of the more intriguing aspects was Warner Bros.’ desire to restore Aquaman’s reputation by turning him into Jason Momoa. At the time, it sounded a bit ridiculous to think of a big, inebriated prodigal son of Atlantis, and it still does. However, it also performed remarkably well in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which contrasted with the rest of the movie. Although the movie wasn’t particularly good, Aquaman’s appearance in it gave fans optimism that Warner Bros. may someday turn things around.
There were faint hints of the same hope in filmmaker James Wan’s first rambling solo Aquaman film, which seemed like a much-needed breath of new air for the DCEU thanks to its brilliant underwater set pieces and cheerful tone. Considering how successful the original Aquaman was at the box office, the news of a sequel came as no surprise. At the time, it was simple to see the sequel embodying the lessons Warner Bros. took away from their struggles in launching the other DCEU films.
You can clearly see in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom how much Warner Bros. has been focusing on how the public has reacted to its own bloated comic book adaptation series and how its rivals, Disney and Marvel, have recently been taking their projects. But you may also view The Lost Kingdom as a memorial to all that was brilliant (which was not much) and horrible about this specific superhero movie project, especially in light of the DCEU as a whole being shuttered and laid aside in favor of a hard reboot.
Unlike several of Warner Bros.’ other recent live-action DC pictures, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom focuses all of its attention on reintroducing you to half-human, half-Atlantean king Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa), instead of spending time presenting itself as part of a expanding world. Throughout the various oceanic kingdoms that are covertly thriving deep under the Earth’s oceans, Arthur is revered as a special kind of hero. He is not only a human-born member of the Justice League but also the legitimate heir to the Atlantean throne.
However, after a few years of marriage to Mera (Amber Heard), Arthur has also become a father. Although he is devoted to protecting his realm, he would much prefer to spend the majority of his free time having fun with his family. Even while Aquaman’s legend has always placed a strong emphasis on family and lineage, The Lost Kingdom spends a significant portion of its opening act hammering home the point that Aquaman is a cool parent now. In fact, it almost seems as though the movie took this story point straight out of the most current Marvel Studios playbook.
In contrast to the frattier, beer-guzzling bruiser Arthur from Justice League and Aquaman, who was more likely to knock people down before they asked questions, Momoa attempts to inject a playful sweetness into the role this time around in an attempt to highlight how becoming a father strengthens and softens him. While it is sense that Arthur’s connection with Mera would receive greater attention when he becomes a dad, The Lost Kingdom focuses more on how Arthur’s relationship with his own parents, Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison) and Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), is strengthened by the baby’s presence. To some extent, such focus sets The Lost Kingdom apart from other movies about superheroes having kids, such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder. However, as the movie progresses, Heard’s obvious lack of screen time serves as a constant reminder of The Lost Kingdom’s production issues.
Arthur’s love for being a family man is something that The Lost Kingdom is determined to remind you of. He is constantly being drawn away from the ones he loves the most, though, as threats like Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and David Kane (Yahya Kane) scheme to destroy Atlantis and pollute the planet’s oceans are posing a threat to it. The Lost Kingdom would likely function more like a seamless, stand-alone sequel developing on well-established territory if it focused just on Arthur’s battles with being divided between his lives on land and at sea.
Rather, The Lost Kingdom feels more like an oversized narrative colossus pieced together from the remains of Warner Bros.’ abandoned The Trench spin-off movie because it adds so much worldbuilding and so many set pieces.
Following Arthur to the ocean’s bottom, The Lost Kingdom is frequently a visual feast, showing Atlantis and other kingdoms as distinct regions of a stunning, expansive bioluminescent realm that dwarfs Talokan from Wakanda Forever. As striking as the movie’s images are, its narrative is often as convoluted as it is predictable. Furthermore, it takes a long time to introduce new characters and underwater locations—in fact, it isn’t until the third act that anyone brings up the possibility of a lost kingdom.
Though The Lost Kingdom is by no means the weakest movie in the series, its bloated quality is more than anything else that gives the impression that it is a product of the DCEU. Not a very good or inspiring movie either, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is more of a film that finishes a relay race Warner Bros. was never going to win.
Moreover, Patrick Wilson, Randall Park, Dolph Lundgren, Martin Short, and Indya Moore star in Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.
