TERRIFIC TEAM-UP IMAGE: AQUAMAN VS OCEAN MASTER & BLACK MANTA

I saw Aquaman 2

DC/WB's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, directed by James Wan, who cowrote with David Leslie Johnson-Goldrick (et al), is the filmmakers' long-awaited sequel to the 2018 blockbuster. For the follow-up, the Arthurian legend is retooled as a buddy movie, with emphasis on Jason Momoa's titular protagonist, aka Arthur Curry, making amends with his brother, Patrick Wilson's exiled Ocean Master, aka Orm (in a Thor/Loki-fied deal), to combat Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's vengeful Black Manta, aka David Kane. 

The premise is tried-and-true enough to hold one's interest (as it avoids any out-of-the-box hiccups), with the brotherly component making the best use of the formula's angst, rivalry, amusement and redemption, framed by global-warming humbuggery, 20,000 Leagues tech and for cuteness sake, a surrogate, baby Aqualad. 

To fortify the formula further, Black Manta is more ruthless this time out, in particular, when he taps the Black Trident, summoning a hidden, hellish kingdom with the power to flatten all of Atlantis and beyond. In his sleek, head-to-toe armor, Black Manta is nothing short of an aquatic Darth Vader as he carries the ancient world's relentless evil, pressing a significant, story asset, for any heroic fable is only as good as its villain is bad. 

The movie's supporting performers and their characters reinforce the inflating tensions: Dolph Lundgren's King Nereus; Nicole Kidman's Atlanna; Temura Morrison's Tom Curry; John Rhys-Davis' Brine King; Martin Short's Kingfish; Randall Park's Gus Gorman-esque Dr. Stephen Shin; and Amber Heard's Mera, whose role may have been shortened for this sequel, but her regal presence is still felt. 

In fact, the successful ensemble feels more than right to birth Aquaman 3, except that WB execs wish to steer the DC, cinematic franchise in another direction. (Perhaps if The Flash had hit bigger, that would have given more cause to keep a strand of Zack Synder's multiverse in play.) On this basis, it's easy to get sentimental over what may be a so-long chapter, but at the same time, a sense of betrayal can't be denied. To rephrase, it's a tad hard to invest in something, no matter how sublime, if the rug is being pulled from under it (case in point, DC/WB/Max's Swamp Thing, revival series).

Regardless of the studios' plans, Lost Kingdom is now part of hero-cinema history, which by that relegation, means it won't be soon forgotten, anymore than Kick-Ass 2, Sin City: A Dame to Die For, Wrath of the Titans, Ewoks: The Battle for Endor and Conan the Destroyer have been. After all, round-two myths never die; they just get revisited. 

Collection Recommendation: Aquaman, the Complete Filmation DC Classic Series

Aquaman became an A-list superhero to many through the Filmation Associates '60s "Adventures of..." television episodes. Initially matched with the Man of Steel as part of "The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure", the thirty-six story stretch converted to a repackaged, half-hour format when Kal-El's episodes joined those of Batman and Robin. (The Aquaman banner-series hosted other superheros in separate segments, including the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, the Atom and the Teen Titans. Ah, DC bliss...)

The fourteen-minute, '67-'70 Aquaman solo segments hold (to all who grew up with them) classic status, with remarkable pacing and colorful imagery. Each compact adventure presents the expected good-over-evil formula (similar to Adventure Cartoon/Trans Lux's "The Mighty Hercules"), but the underwater milieu distinguishes it from most other children's productions of the period, with of course, the obvious exceptions of Marvel's preceding, Sub-Mariner cartoons and Gerry Anderson's puppet-performed "Stingray". 

Such associated, legendary DC names as Arthur Curry and David Hyde aren't part of the series' scheme, but that's okay. For this saga, Aquaman, King of the Seven Seas, is a viable enough label, as are Aqualad and Mera. Oh, and while we're namedropping, let's not forget their pals, Tusky the walrus and those valiant seahorses, Storm and Imp.

The stories are similar, with baddies attempting to invade Atlantis, many of whom are sea-based, with others emanating above--way above, that is, like outer space--only to be thwarted by Aquaman's exceptional, physical prowess and sweeping, telepathic command of his oceanic friends. 

Among the villainy, Black Manta, Aquaman's prime antagonist, stands out. He's an aquatic Darth Vader, a decade before Vader arrived, with a demeanor as cold and hard as his menacing exterior. (Too bad more of the pirating egomaniac wasn't woven into the series, but what's there is effective and remains the incarnation to which most middle-age folks subscribe.)

Monsters (a nifty, common denominator among '60s kid-adventure shows) are faithful highlights throughout, my favorite specimen being a Venusian serpent that adapts extraordinary size when saturated by Atlantean water: a sort of submerged variant of Ray Harryhausen's "20 Million Miles to Earth" Ymir.  Cool... (For the record, a group of resurrected Vikings are just as monstrous in their own weird way, rather like Buddy Baer's creepy conquistador in "Giant from the Unknown". Neato...)

To liven the characterizations, the assigned voices all hit the mark, with Marvin "Robby the Robot" Miller as Aquaman; Jerry "Adventures of Gulliver" Dexter as Aqualad; Diana Maddox as Mera; and television icon, Ted Knight, not only as the robust narrator, but as Black Manta and varied personas throughout the series' run. 

Indeed, Filmation did an outstanding job with this adaptation. It deserves a look (or sentimental revisit) for anyone into superhero lore and still stands as the best representation of Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger's oceanic Arthurian king. Considering some of the spectacular (re)interpretations that have since surfaced (the James Wan blockbuster included), that's saying a lot.  

Though one can catch episodes of "Aquaman" on Boomerang and samples via Dailymotion and YouTube, for a guaranteed binge of splashy fun, the entire WB/Filmation DVD (2-disc) collection can be purchased at Amazon for a fair sum: 

https://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Aquaman-Complete-Collection-Classic/dp/B000TSTEMS/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546551642&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=aquaman+animated+series+dvd.

I saw Aquaman...

I like Jason "Game of Thrones" Momoa (found him darn effective in the ill-fated Conan remake), but he always struck me as a trifle...well, unique for DC's Arthur Curry, aka Aquaman, even when (at long last) garbed in the traditional orange and green. I mean, when it comes to casting Lobo, will WB go for a brawny, clean-shaven, fair-haired dude? At this stage of the reinvention game, would it be any surprise?

For me to get into the Momoa/Curry vibe, I gotta take the characterization in the context of let's say, "The Man from Atlantis", where for all intents and purposes Patrick Duffy's "Mark Harris" may have been, in fact, Aquaman, Sub-mariner or someone in-between: Depthon, Son of the Ocean, anyone?

Okay, so "Aquaman" isn't quite the long-haul Aquaman we all know in this big-budget instance. Does that mean the film is any less a splash because of it?

I'll say this much, for an official, pseudo knock-off, this brisk James Wan-directed flick serves its purpose, along with its Will Beall/David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick script. The collaborative effort presents the basic story of how Curry was born of human and Atlantean parents, portrayed by Nicole "Batman Forever" Kidman and Temuera "Green Lantern" Morrison. There's no superfluous, preachy, environmental gobbledygook to cloud the premise (praise Atlan!), and to keep things even more nice and simple, the movie dishes a reasonable scenario for Aquaman to tackle: His tyrannical half brother, Orm, aka Ocean Master, played by Patrick "Watchmen" Wilson, wishes to rule Atlantis and then all of Earth; our hero objects.  

Curry's stance, however, comes with some healthy coaching (past and present) from his mentor, Vulko, played by Willem "Spider-man" Dafoe. There's also Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's revenge-driven David Kane (aka David Hyde)/Black Manta to increase the torrential pumping. (BTW: the Black Manta outfit is spot-on, reinforcing the classic character's status as the aquatic Darth Vader...or is Vader the galactic Manta? Either way, it all comes out in the villainous wash...)

The thing is, the melodrama never hits the point of extraordinary. The visuals are pretty enough (in a Christmas time/"Close Encounters" sort of way), though I'd have preferred something more in line with George Pal's "Atlantis: the Lost Continent" (less can be more). And don't get me wrong, after a spell, Momoa's cynical Curry does, in fact, get into the full-blown groove, thanks to his determined, wife-to-be, Mera, played by Amber Heard and (even if he's only on the aggressive sidelines), her dad, Dolph "The Punisher" Lungren's Nereus. Still, for the sake of my initial viewing, the whole purpose and plan seemed a little too little and way too late. (Really, this notion of begging Aquaman to battle an obvious threat felt strained in "Justice League". We know he'll help if the circumstances require it, so why dance around the obvious?)

Though nonessential banter stalls Curry's under-the-sea (and even land-based and Earth's Core) rise, the movie does, in fact, have one consistent attraction: Heard's Mera. Whether or not one has a bug up the kazoo over the Johnny Depp situation (feel free to look it up), the actress is a honey-and-a-half: always has been, always will be. In old Hollywood, she'd have been a preeminent, film-noir vixen and was long ripe for the pickin' for any superhero flick. She's tall, curvy, sparkly, supportive of (if not essential to) Curry's crusade and more than the titular hero, this live-action Mera mirrors her comic-book inspiration.

Alas, beauty alone won't make a picture great. At best, "Aquaman" is a solid Camelot variant. With matters unhinged at WB (i.e., with Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill ousted and "Shazam!'"s required reshoots), one can't help but wonder if "Aquaman" will die on the seaweed vine, thus paving the way for that predicted Justice League reboot. (Then again, "The Flashpoint Paradox" could fix it all, if but bestowed the chance.)

Despite what happens, I still believe that certain characters are meant to march (or swim) onward, and that includes Momoa's aquatic avenger. For many, a sense of sorrowful shame will be felt if his aesthetic wave doesn't rise high enough, but in the end, it's the box office that'll decide if Momoa continues to patrol the seas--and for better or worse, what elements of the DC cinematic universe remain or recede.