“My parents were from different worlds, and I was a product of a love that never should have been. A son of the land and a son of the seas.” These are a few of the opening lines from the beginning of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU’s) new movie, ‘Aquaman.’
The movie begins in 1985, where Thomas Curry, a lighthouse keeper in Maine, rescues Atlanna, princess of Atlantis. After rescuing Princess Atlanna, the two fall in love and have a son named Arthur, a child who has the power to communicate with animals from the sea.
The movie then fast forwards to one year after the events that took place in Justice League, showing Arthur confront a group of pirates. After facing off against the pirates, an Atlantean named Mera finds Arthur letting him know that his half brother plans to attack the surface world.
This leads the two on a journey across the world and seven seas to find the Trident of Atlan, so that Arthur can defeat his half-brother and take his rightful place as King of Atlantis.
Aquaman uses phenomenal special effects. These effects can be seen with the creation of the seven kingdoms of Atlantis and the many different creatures within. Another effect that shows attention to detail is, while the characters were underwater, you could see their hair floating around in the water instead of staying in one position. I enjoyed this mostly because it showed the separation between those who lived on the land and those who lived within the sea.
The movie also did a great job at introducing its characters. One character, in particular, that was introduced was David Kane aka Black Manta who serves as Aquaman’s archnemesis.
The character is introduced at the beginning of the movie as one of the pirates trying to take over a Russian Nuclear Submarine. While trying to take over the submarine, his father, the leader of the pirates, dies during a fight with Arthur.
Later in the movie, David receives Atlantean tech and creates his own suit becoming the Black Manta. Although he didn’t serve as the main antagonist in the movie, it did help set him up to become the main antagonist in future DCEU films.
Even though some scenes and lines are corny, the story, actors and special effects give the movie life to make it worth the watch.
