Following supporting turns
alongside Batman, Superman and
Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s
unfeasibly buff DC Comics
superhero Aquaman dives into
his first solo adventure with a
boisterously silly origin tale.
To get to the fun, however, you
will need to wade through oceans
of backstory and a very complicated
mythology. It turns out that
Momoa’s supersonic swimmer is
the product of the unlikely union of
Nicole Kidman’s Atlanna, queen of
the undersea kingdom of Atlantis,
and Temuera Morrison’s doughty
Maine lighthouse keeper Tom Curry.
Lo, the young Arthur Curry
grows up to make a splash in the
human world as nautical hero
Aquaman but is shunned by the folk
of Atlantis as a supposed ‘half-breed
mongrel’. Then comes a call for help
from Amber Heard’s subaquatic
Princess Mera. She wants him to
claim the Atlantean throne and
stop his bellicose half-brother Orm
(Patrick Wilson) from waging war
above and below the waves.
It takes an age to put things
right, and you’ll need quite a bit
of stamina to stay the course as
Arthur and Mera jump from one
cliffhanger to the next, much of
their time spent in pursuit of a
mythical golden trident. The story’s
undersea kingdoms are a kitsch riot
of turquoise, purple and pink. But
when it comes to the fights, they go
on far too long.
Still, despite a waterlogged story,
bloated battles, and an ill-at-ease
co-star who seems to be wondering
where she left her water wings,
Momoa’s buoyant good humour
keeps the film afloat. 2018, 12, 143MIN
COMIC-BOOK ADVENTURE
Friday, Sky Premiere HD, 12noon &
8pm; Sky DC Heroes HD, 2.20pm &
10.35pm 3