Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom lacks the glorious insanity that made its predecessor so distinct. This is however, a really good comic book movie that's a well-intentioned climate crisis metaphor and a buddy cop bromance across some pretty fun locations. Self contained and all the better for it, although it's final moment is a repeat of last time.
Jason Momoa puts even more of himself in the character this time around. It's nice to see a character that's actually grown so much between films and the fact he's a parent struggling with a new-born baby stuck in a job he hates means Aquaman has probably never been more relatable.
Patrick Wilson is so much better here, mainly because he's no longer burdened with being the villain and that means he can have so much more fun with it. He has a much stronger chemistry with Momoa than his previous scene partner and it's obvious Momoa really gets along with him as he really comes to life in those scenes.
Unfortunately, the burden of being a villain in one of these now falls completely to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and he's massively overqualified for what's given. The first film promised he'd be front and centre this time, which isn't entirely what happens. He's great early on but devolves into a mouthpiece for a proper DCEU villain by the end.
James Wan's direction retains everything that stood out last time with a few Waners and one amazing horror moment and yet he's still frustratingly reigned in here rather than given increased creative freedom. Rupert Gregson-Williams's score is happy to just replay or remix all the themes from before and they're strong enough for that to work.
Also, in a rare feat considering the current state of comic book cinema, the CG is better here than in the original. In a post Avatar world no underwater CG will ever be convincing. When on a 1:1 comparison with Aquaman though, the Lost Kingdom looks more believable helped massively by the lighting.
Jason Momoa puts even more of himself in the character this time around. It's nice to see a character that's actually grown so much between films and the fact he's a parent struggling with a new-born baby stuck in a job he hates means Aquaman has probably never been more relatable.
Patrick Wilson is so much better here, mainly because he's no longer burdened with being the villain and that means he can have so much more fun with it. He has a much stronger chemistry with Momoa than his previous scene partner and it's obvious Momoa really gets along with him as he really comes to life in those scenes.
Unfortunately, the burden of being a villain in one of these now falls completely to Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and he's massively overqualified for what's given. The first film promised he'd be front and centre this time, which isn't entirely what happens. He's great early on but devolves into a mouthpiece for a proper DCEU villain by the end.
James Wan's direction retains everything that stood out last time with a few Waners and one amazing horror moment and yet he's still frustratingly reigned in here rather than given increased creative freedom. Rupert Gregson-Williams's score is happy to just replay or remix all the themes from before and they're strong enough for that to work.
Also, in a rare feat considering the current state of comic book cinema, the CG is better here than in the original. In a post Avatar world no underwater CG will ever be convincing. When on a 1:1 comparison with Aquaman though, the Lost Kingdom looks more believable helped massively by the lighting.