‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ Sinks the DCEU With a Dry Sequel Thirsting for Originality 

Alci Rengifo

Here it is, the last gasp of the DC Extended Universe. Five years after “Aquaman” seemed to signal a big turn in fortunes for Marvel’s competitor, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” is actually closing off its era. What a difference a few years make. James Wan is back in the director’s chair and it must be said that while this is a bloated, rather clunky ride, Wan does manage to add his style in a way that stands out. DC movies have always tried to overcompensate by letting the effects do all the talking. “The Lost Kingdom” doesn’t feel as grand as its predecessor but you can still give the effects team some respect. This movie still feels like a great white shark that Wan just couldn’t control.

So it’s been a few years since the events of the last movie and Arthur aka Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is now king of the underwater civilization of Atlantis. As he tells us over the opening narration, being king is not that easy and comes with many boring bureaucratic hassles. Aquaman is also now a dad with wife Mera (Amber Heard). They don’t live in some oceanic palace but at the pleasant lighthouse cottage belonging to Arthur’s dad, Tom (Temuera Morrison). Out in the seven seas, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) has hired a scientist obsessed with Atlantis, Dr. Stephen Shin (Randall Park), to help him on a quest for revenge against Aquaman. You may recall Black Manta’s father died fighting the aquatic royal at the beginning of the first movie. Just his luck, Black Manta comes across a dark trident holding a menacing power linked to a lost kingdom. This force takes over the vengeful pirate and gives him the power to threaten Atlantis and the whole world.

In a telling sign of the DCEU’s fate, 2018’s “Aquaman” remains the studio’s top grossing film, meaning it’s the only one to cross $1 billion. “The Lost Kingdom” is meant to be the final entry before James Gunn revamps the whole universe with his upcoming Superman movie. The results of the reported reshoots and story tinkering are evident in how there’s no link made here to the other DC titles. Expect no cameos from Wonder Woman, the Flash or Batman. The first movie was a clear attempt at catching up to Marvel’s brand of mythic filmmaking where comic book goofiness combines with slick spectacle. Ironically enough, “The Lost Kingdom” has much in common with the MCU’s recent flop, “The Marvels.” Like that movie, this one returns to an even shallower bullet point kind of superhero movie. 

It’s always surprising when a popcorn entertainment like this one required three writers, only because the plot aims for nothing higher than a basic costumed romp. “Aquaman” wasn’t necessarily brilliant, but it gave space for some genuine charm and moments of geeky melodrama. Wan, no doubt under pressure to put posteriors in IMAX seats, this time goes for purely mindless action. The crammed plot charges along with predictable detours. When Aquaman discovers Black Manta has returned, he goes on a clandestine mission to a desert prison to liberate his brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), his adversary from the first movie. They are siblings after all, and learn to work together by running through a mutating jungle (where Orm learns the delicacy of eating roaches) and later, blowing up stuff underwater very well. Their best scene involves meeting a slimy undersea gangster, Kingfish (Martin Short). Comic characters like this are too rare in the movie. Another one is an octopus, Topo, who only pops in for one sequence as a skilled agent sent to give Aquaman some backup. Topo, who first appeared in the Aquaman comics in 1956, has the potential to be very likable but disappears. There’s also hype that it plays multiple instruments, which we never see.

Most of the cast feel like glorified cameos. Tabloids have been anticipating how Amber Heard would be featured following the scandalous public trial involving ex-husband Johnny Depp. There’s certainly nothing scandalous here. Heard, along with Nicole Kidman as Queen Atlanna (who surely returned solely for the paycheck) does nothing more than ride CGI beasts, throw a few punches, yell a few commands, control some swirling water and barely talk. Dolph Lundgren as King Nereus gets less lines than the crab king who joins the heroes to fight off the big threat at the end. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, a very good actor, is reduced to shouting lots of cliché lines about getting revenge, with a psychotic look reminding us his character is possessed by the spirit of the dark trident. Randall Park shines a bit more as the pitiful scientist forced to do Black Manta’s bidding before begging Aquaman and Orm to show some mercy. As for Momoa, there’s much else he can do here other than continue the bad boy as king persona, popping open a Guinness and cracking bad jokes.

James Wan has always been a visually lively director. His roots are in horror and the DCEU surely wanted him because of “The Conjuring,” which set off another big franchise. “The Lost Kingdom” lacks the pop art majesty of “Aquaman,” but in 3D it still has a few moments of genuine fun when Momoa has to speed through threats to save someone. We also get a wider sense of life in Atlantis during battles that crash through the kingdom’s markets and restaurants. There remain sequences where the skill of the animators is admirable, from the detail in an action scene to quirky underwater nightclub singers. Yet, Wan never lets loose because he has to follow the recycled plot’s beats. Everyone congregates at yet another ominous lair where they must battle the real, even bigger foe controlling Manta, who is connected to some Atlantean, “Lord of the Rings” style history. It’s a lot of set-up for Aquaman to then just lunge his trident and turning the villain into digital pixels. 

Moviegoers attending out of simple curiosity will at least not be treated to another superhero movie where you needed to watch the previous dozen to comprehend what’s happening. Wan closes the movie with some scenes of genuine cheer as Aquaman addresses the UN, introducing Atlantis to the surface world and Orm discovers the spell of a cheeseburger. But unlike its predecessors, don’t hold your breath, Wan has no surprises left. “The Lost Kingdom” truly marks the end of a defining phase for the DCEU. Now the studio will go back to the drawing board. For once, the big superhero factories, Marvel and DC, find themselves on equal footing. They both need to re-strategize and reboot their big galaxies. It may not quite be the end, but “The Lost Kingdom” confirms the format is lost at sea and needs to find new shores.

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” releases Dec. 22 in theaters nationwide.