Not that MCU is good, but this film feels like a weaker DCEU version of _Thor: Dark World_ (with Orm siding with Arthur - they even throw a shade at Loki) and _Black Panther_ (with Atlantis opening up to the world and Arthur preaching about kindness and technology to solve... climate change, lol).

The film has no stake at all. Throughout the film you'll see some supposed tense between the characters, but every instances of supposed betrayal or any semblance of conflict is a cop out or played out as a joke. People get hurt, they are burned or stabbed badly, but they recover minutes later. The emotional hook is supposed to be Arthur's failure to manage his kingdom but this never got developed further. Instead we see some council lecturing Arthur in one scene and Orm's motivational speech about believing in yourself in the next. The Thor-Loki-like reluctant brotherly dynamics of Arthur-Orm is mostly about a competition of delivering funnier banters.

The film is a jumble of one action scene to another, but even if you count this as an action film, the action sequences are super underdeveloped. Most action scenes literally happened off-screen, and while the camera moves swiftly to deliver some speed when there is an actual action, it lacks the punch and impact when our heroes and villains exchange blows. The penultimate showdown with Black Manta is super short, and the centuries-slumbering monster-king of the titular The Lost Kingdom is vanquished in one trident blow.

I like the visual and some world-building of Atlantis though. Flashy CGI, beautiful flowing hair. The scenes in the bar, the underworld, and daily lives of Atlantean makes me feel like it's an aquatic version of Star Wars galactic life. Much potential here, but I don't know if it's something that the directors will tap into further in the next films.

For a final send-off to DCEU before James Gunn's takeover, _The Lost Kingdom_ delivers its job as a popcorn flick Christmas blockbuster albeit with too much forgettable substandard story and action sequences.

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/aquaman-and-the-lost-kingdom-review/

"Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a 'fine' farewell to the DCEU. Jason Momoa and Patrick Wilson's amusing chemistry offers plenty of entertaining moments, as their characters' complex relationship takes center stage as the primary thematic force. Mostly consistent from a visual standpoint, featuring well-executed set pieces that will leave the more action-addicted fans satisfied.

Nevertheless, the overreliance on exposition, a messy narrative structure, and other minor yet questionable decisions detract from the overall cohesiveness of the story. As the final installment, it's a pretty accurate mirror that reflects the highs and lows of the cinematic universe as a whole.

While far from a mind-blowing send-off, it encapsulates the essence of the DCEU - a journey filled with few triumphs, many missed opportunities, and incomprehensible disasters."

Rating: B-

So here's good old "Arthur" (Jason Momoa) sitting around the house playing nursemaid to his young son with his wife "Mera" (Amber Heard) whilst all in his underwater kingdom is peaceful. Well not for long! "Black Manta" (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is still a tad narked after the last film (five years ago!) and now armed with an useful geek "Dr. Shin" (Randall Park) sets out to discover a secret trident that will enable him to destroy "Atlantis" altogether and maybe also release the long captive "Kordax" (wasn't that the stuff they used to make telephone cables from?) to help make his revenge complete. Initially hopelessly outgunned by his nemesis's sonic gun, he has to resort to the drastic step of rescuing his imprisoned brother "Orm" (Patrick Wilson) - whom you may recall he was instrumental in deposing and incarcerating in the first place; and hoping that he will join forces with them, "Atlanna" (Nicole Kidman) and "King Nereus" (an almost unrecognisable Dolph Lundgren). With battles lines drawn the films goes from "Narnia" to "Middle Earth" via the "Lost World" and even a bit of "Ice Station Zebra" for a series of ploddingly slow and disappointing set-piece adventures. To be fair, the last half hour does lift the pace a little, but by then I'm not sure if it wasn't all just a rather too late. Momoa is trying very hard here, but he's no Dwayne Johnson, and even the dulcets of John Rhys-Davies as the "Brine King" - with or without his claw - can't really raise this from it's pretty weak and feeble doldrums. Of course it looks good, loads of quality CGI and visual effects, but the story is light and overly strung out for two hours that really did feel more like two days at times. It's harmless fodder for Christmas cinema with very little to actually dislike about it - it's just the latest in a series of equally forgettable super-hero films that I suspect will leave no impact at all in the snow afterwards.

This movie was really quite terrible. I didn't watch the whole thing, but the parts that I did see were incredibly boring and poorly acted and the underwater stuff looks terrible. 2 hams carved into the shape of fists with the thumbs pointed downwards.