“Does this movie fix the DC Cinematic Universe?”
“Is it broken?”
AQUAMAN
DIRECTOR- JAMES
WAN
CAST- JASON MOMOA,
AMBER HEARD, PATRICK WILSON, WILLIAM DAFOE, NICOLE KIDMAN AND THE SPLENDOR OF
THE MOTHERFUCKING OCEAN!
When Jason Momoa was recently asked the above question in an
interview, he gave that answer. It’s no secret now that people, quite a
majority of them HATE DC movies for some reason. While a healthy rivalry
between two great comic book universes has always been there, with the advent
of social media its been getting ugly…just like every other discussion in life.
This is what happens when every dimwit gets to speak his or her mind I guess.
But even having a strong opinion about a movie or a piece of art is fine,
lately I have seen the word ‘DC fan’ being used by many pages on the net as a
slur.
It’s no secret that I am a comic book fan with a huge
leaning towards DC. I love their stories, their cartoons and also their movies.
But the reason being that not only does their content appeal to my
taste for the deeper things in life, but that the Warner Bros (who owns cinema
rights for all DC characters) was content in taking risks with a genre no one
thought ever to take. They literally introduced the now oft-used concept of a
gritty reboot by getting a then relatively unknown Christopher Nolan to direct
Batman Begins, which subsequently led to comic book movies being finally taken
seriously by all people and not just nerds. They gave a new director like Zack
Snyder the chance to direct a very different adaptation of a comic book like
300 and also gave him the responsibility of adapting what was once thought to
be a completely ‘unfilmable’ graphic novel in the form of Watchmen. They also entrusted him with bringing to the
big screen the oldest and most beloved superhero of all time- the Man of Steel.
While Marvel at the other end, due to their financial
troubles had sought out a strategy to make crowd pleasing successful formula
movies one after the other (because if they had one failure the company would
go bankrupt), they planned an interconnected universe the likes of which had
never been seen on screen. While this offered them little room for telling
stories with varying tones or intensity, their subsequent takeover by
‘family-friendly’ media giant Disney, finally led them to obey the formula of
kid-friendly tones, joke per 10 minutes and in turn almost zero risk taking. This
also resulted in Disney’s mighty media clout being at their disposal which
turned the MCU into a worldwide household phenomenon (and made all the money
that there is to make). But again, their movies were specifically designed to
take almost zero risks and please the people in whatever way possible. This
sadly, became the standard that all comic book movies (even the ones not
concerned with the MCU like the X-men, had to live by). This became the rule.
It’s like they made so many of them that most people who had never even touched
a comic book in their life (and quite frankly are never likely to do so)
suddenly became experts on how such stories are to be told. Any movie that wasn’t following the ‘formula’
was cast out by the critics and the casual fans…like a leper. (Yes that’s a TDK
reference). Listening to their toxicity
is almost like listening to hardcore Islamic preachers…there is no wiggle
room…no room for debate…no room for acceptance.
WB/DC at the other hand wanted the sweet sweet ‘Avengers’
level money and while Zack Snyder originally never intended to develop a shared
cinematic universe, (he had a 5 film superman solo arc in mind), the pressure
from WB won and he had to introduce Batman and Wonder-woman and set up a few
other characters in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. WB at that point still
trusted its creators and although they did meddle a bit with the theatrically
released version, Snyder’s vision (altered as it was) was still evident in the
movie. Snyder and Chris Terrio envisioned a universe where the characters would
eventually come together in an epic arc to fight with DC’s biggest villain
Darkseid…where may be Superman would actually turn into a dictator at one point
and the Flash would have to go back in time to reboot the universe. But BvS
released and it was perhaps the most polarizing film in recent times. While by
no means a bad film (I found it personally to be a masterpiece) with excellent
music, awesome performances and great action, it received a lot of negative
press because it didn’t confirm to the ‘formula’. Batman and Superman didn’t
crack jokes while trying to murder each other (Oh you didn’t think
super-powered beings did that? remember the airport scene in Civil War? Yeah it’s
fairly common to crack jokes while trying to punch your colleague in the face) the
movie didn’t have a straightforward villain who clearly laid out the plans, it dealt with the idea of what if a super-powered alien actually existed among us humans, the
movie made constant existential and philosophical references to Gods and Demons
and had a post-credit like scene in the middle of the movie itself. May be the
movie was trying something different…you know taking risks with the genre. But
according to most people who watched it, it sucked..it sucked ass… it was the
‘worst movie ever made’….anyone who made that movie should die (literal quotes
from some well known people on twitter). It wasn’t a flop by any
standards and for being just the 2nd movie in a new cinematic
universe it was a super-hit and such a beautiful enigma for its fans that it
continues to be discussed and debated 2 years later.
At a time when the market was being flooded with a product
of a similar kind by your rival, WB/DC should have had the courage (and the business sense) to stick to what makes
them different ( that is what is called as an USP you basic level WB marketing morons!), it was the only way they were gonna survive. They had
originally announced 3-4 movies in due course with great directors (Aquaman- James Wan, the
Flash- Rick Fuwuyama, Wonder Woman - Patty Jenkins, Batman- Ben Affleck and few others) But they panicked. They
butchered Suicide Squad to point where it was full of a lot of jokes and action (trying
to ape Marvel) but no real meat as a story. They tried to meddle with Wonder-woman,
trying to make it more crowd pleasing, but thankfully the movie was almost done
at that point and the writers and the director had to fight to keep the tone of
the movie as they envisioned it. Thankfully Wonder-woman brought a lot of
success and turned out to be the one which pleased most people –audiences and
critics alike. Although Snyder was himself one of the story writers, naysayers
said they liked the movie only because he didn’t direct it. This kind of unwarranted hatred eventually
lead to Snyder leaving twitter. By the time Justice League (JL) was being finished,
there was already a lot of pressure to make it like the Avengers. Snyder’s
original 2 part arc was to be cut into a 2 hour movie. More jokes were
to be included. The intensity was asked to be toned down in order to make the
movie more kid-friendly. However, Snyder still shot most of his movie but then
due to sudden suicide of his daughter had to leave the project. Joss Whedon
(Director of the Avengers) was asked to take over for ‘completing’ the project
with a few 'minor reshoots'.
This my friends…is where it all went wrong. To take the
vision of a director who had been working on a project for more than 5 years,
who had been making financially successful and yet bold risk taking movies, and
to twist it to please the people was a fucking awful move. JL released in
the theatres was a Frankenstein of a movie which threw away all the careful
character building of BvS for jokes and a lighter tone. After the initial euphoria died
down, the DCEU fans hated it, some casual movie goers liked it but didnt love it, the haters appreciated its ‘light marvel-like’
tone (some even thanking God that Snyder’s daughter had killed herself at the
right time) and the movie eventually made much lesser than it should have. In
the end, WB had given up the very thing people watched DC movies for (intensity depth and something different) and of
course they weren’t able to compete with Marvel on Marvel’s own territory.
This was truly a crises for WB/DC. Ben Affleck and Henry
Cavill seemed to have quit their roles as Batman and Superman, the future of
Snyder’s original vision still remains uncertain (#releasethesnydercut). But it also lead to several huge changes in WB/DC’s organizational
structure. People who created the JL mess were fired or moved. WB seemed
to be taking a more consolidated approach. Their first release post Justice
League was going to be Aquaman. The fans didn’t know what to expect, the
critics were ready as always to rubbish this movie and move into sucking
Antman’s dick (seriously Antman and the Wasp was the most mediocre and boring MCU movie ever and critics still praised it as though it were a masterpiece).
But James Wan (The Conjuring, Saw, Fast and Furious 7) is a
talented director and it seemed that after the JL- Snyder fiasco, he had
negotiated a deal that would allow him complete creative control. And you know
what happened?
Aquaman is a fucking awesome movie! See WB?! SEE!!! This is
what happens when you place your trust in talented people and let them do their
job! Aquaman is by far one of the most exciting solo super-hero movies I have
seen in a long time. It has adventure vibes of Indiana Jones coupled with the
sci-fi imagination of Star Wars and also has the heart of Wonder-woman and Man
of Steel. It is truly a dive into uncharted waters (sorry but had to do a pun)
as we have rarely seen the underwater world setting explored on cinema. If not
for anything else, go for the visual treat. After Avatar this is one of the
movies which might hold you spell bound.
Aquaman is story of Arthur Curry whom you saw briefly in BvS
and then more briefly (or is it less briefly..I don’t know) in Justice League.
Arthur Curry is the son of a human father and an Atlantean (an underwater
advanced ancient super-race) mother. This story is about how his half-brother
and current ruler of Atlantis wants to invade the land as they continue to
pollute his kingdom and a reluctant Arthur decides to stop him. While the story
is a bit generic and does not offer the same kind of intensity we know DC for
it still works for this movie. I mean it’s the first time we are being
introduced to this world (Superman and Batman have already been in movies many
times before) so it made sense to keep the story simple to set up the
mythology. I personally didn’t like the script as it wasn’t as intense or layered
as BvS, but I get what Wan was going for. Beside,s this script was probably
written when WB was in its confused state, so maybe they wanted to take lesser
risks with the story. I do have to say though that the movie lacks flow and shifts tone…maybe
it’s the editing (so apparent that even my Wonder-woman thought the same), but
it doesn’t flow as smoothly as Man of Steel or perhaps even Wonder Woman did.
But what it suffers in terms of flow or pacing, it really
makes up for in terms of spectacle and performances. Everybody fucking owns
their roles and Jason Momoa is amazing as Aquaman. Any non comic book fans have
to understand that for many decades Aquaman as a character was the butt of
jokes. Consistently being made fun of for his lukkha blonde look and his limited aquatic powers. Even the intense
New 52 comic book run by Geoff Jahns couldn’t really wash off the years of
ridicule. When Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa in Game of Thrones) was cast as Aquaman
by Zack Snyder I was skeptical but trusted Snyder and co to make it work. And
Voila! Momoa completely fits this role. His surfer dude, ‘don’t give a shit’
persona creates a beautiful paradox with his inherent need to help people avoid
suffering. Momoa appears to be a genuine open hearted person in real life and
that carries to his role. Add to it the fact that he has consistently been
standing by the DC fans and Zack Snyder, makes him a likeable presence on
screen for the fans. Also add to the fact that the long hair, hard abs and bad
boy looks make him a ahem…likeable presence for all the women. But don’t worry
guys, there is Amber Heard as Mera for you. She is a red head, extremely hot
and has a killer attitude without coming across as too pretentious. Patrick
Wilson (who previously worked in another DC film Watchmen) as the villain
Orm/Ocean master should ideally have had more depth to his character in the
script. Considering the reason he wants to attack the surface world is because
of a relevant contemporary issue like pollution should have made him a villain
who you can sympathize with. However, he is much more of a traditional villain
but still brings his own qualities to the role. I would love for the story to
explore more of his character in the sequels. Yahya Abdul Mateen as Black Manta
is fantastic and even in small screen time makes for a menacing presence. Stalwarts like Nicole Kidman and William Dafoe perform effortlessly.
The real highlight of the movie and of Wan’s skills are the
action set pieces. Wan clearly knows what kind of action people expect in a DC movie
and gives them that. Some slo-mo scenes are clearly Zack Snyder inspired and
unlike the choppy action of the Marvel movies, the scenes are shot in a way to
clearly give you the geography of the scene…helping you keep track of each beautiful
move and raise the stakes of the scene from being mere special effects show to
an important aspect of the story. There are 3-4 one shot takes especially the
one you saw in the extended trailer with Mera running on the roofs in Sicily, which is something only
a masterful film-maker can shoot. The under-water epic battles are epic as they
get and I especially loved the climactic scene. Without spoiling it, let me say
that it is Lord of the rings followed by 300. Wan also depicts Aquamans communicating with all sea life in the most comic accurate yet badass way possible.
The only things that didn’t work for me other than the
pacing of the script was the background score. Now you can hate DC movies all you want but
their music has always been really amazing. While Rupert Gregson Williams (Who
also scored for Wonder Woman) has given a great combo of epic super hero music
with synth/techno vibes to truly represent the meeting of two worlds, the movie
chooses to use odd songs in many places, which looks like a remnant from Wan’s
Fast and Furious. Also, the dialogue is pretty generic and unlike other DC
movies which have fantastic dialogue, this one is pretty by the numbers.
While I understand that the movie may not be as pleasing for
many hardcore DC fans like me, but if you are just being introduced to the
world of Atlantis, then this makes for a pretty good beginning. Zack Snyder
makes movies for the hardcore fans which maybe alienates a few others, while
Wan and WB considering all the negative press, have I believe taken this
conscious decision to make a movie which would be more universally appealing. I
was looking for the movie to mention other DC characters but it doesn’t do
that much. WB is still in its consolidation phase and is stepping carefully. They
know that DC movies are better received abroad then in the US and they released
it in China and then later in India first so that it gains some good press.
Coming to the question of whether the DCEU is broken and whether it needs
fixing, I never thought it was broken before WB meddled with JL. They are still going on announcing movies
nobody asked for (Birds of Prey, Plastic Man etc.) while not giving its real
supporters what they want. But there is still hope… Wonder Woman 1984 and
Shazam look like movies where WB has again trusted their directors, the DC
stand-alone Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix looks promising…and Momoa and many
others have come out openly in support of Snyder Cut of the Justice League….Men
are still good, we fight we betray one another but we can rebuild…we will…we
have too.
I am not gonna give a rating to this movie as I will always
be biased towards DC movies. All I have to say is…do give this a watch
especially on the big screen….you’ll
be surprised by how much you enjoyed it.
PS- List of
Easter Eggs/references in the movie-
- Thomas Curry (Arthur’s father) has the book ‘The Dunwich Horror’ in his house by H P Lovecraft. The story is about weird sea creatures crawling out of the sea and terrorizing a town.
- Black Manta has a quote before his fight scene in Sicily. That is also from a Lovecraft story.
- There is a commercial on the TV in a 80’s flashback which ends in ‘Why not try Arthur Treachers?’, which was a popular Fish n Chips chain.
- In the post credits scene, there is news cutting on a wall referencing wonder woman
- Oh and mild spoiler...the voice of the 'Karathen' creature is Julie Andrews from Sound of Music.
T
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