Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023) Review

RATING: 3/10

FOR every superhero success there is bound to be one that fails, and the sequel to James Wan's Aquaman aptly flops financially and critically. It was a film destined to fail from the beginning due to the lingering life of the DC film franchise, and on top of the controversy surrounding one of its leading actresses, The Lost Kingdom was just the final nail in the coffin for the cinematic superhero universe.

Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) seeks revenge against Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) for the death of his father during the events of the first movie. Now influenced by the power of the Black Trident, the new wielder of the Black Manta mantle takes it upon himself to destroy everything Aquaman holds dear, including his family and kingdom. Left with little choice, Arthur decides to team up with his deceitful brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) in order to put a stop to this even greater threat.

If you think this sounds like a generic revenge plot, then you'd be right on the mark. The Lost Kingdom attempts to raise the stakes from the previous story, but what made the original somewhat bearable was its grounded-in-reality plot; a simple sibling rivalry based on jealously and a shifting power struggle. By needlessly raising the stakes, Aquaman 2 has become nothing more than another generic and forgettable superhero flick. This isn't helped by the fact that the entire first act has an offbeat tone, ironically becoming more comedic as the stakes are raised, leading many to wonder whether the crew cared about creating something special the longer production went on. In fact many actors, judging by their performances, didn't seem like they wanted anything to do with this doomed sequel.

Aside from Yahya Abdul-Mateen II who commands any sort of presence as Black Manta, nobody delivers any memorable performances. Jason Momoa, Randall Park and Patrick Wilson's performances felt egregiously phoned in, coming off as bland and with little emotion to show during critical points. But then again, this could be due to the fact the film contained very little heart or reason to care due to a lacklustre script. When three people, two of which being your director and lead actor, are working on a single script, this can lead to differing opinions and clashing directions on where you want to take a character, resulting in one big mess of a story.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a disappointing end to a disappointing DC universe. Terrible effects, poor writing and direction from James Wan, as well as underwhelming acting, rightfully leads Aquaman 2 to being one of the worst DC films in recent memory; a fitting end to what was already a convoluted cinematic universe.