SZNS MAG

Photo via IMDb/Warner Bros. Pictures

4/10

After 16 films and one television series, the mixed bag that is the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has finally ended. Beginning with 2013’s “Man of Steel,” DC’s attempt to compete with Marvel’s cinematic universe has reached its final chapter in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”

Outside the tonal confusion of the movie, “Lost Kingdom” is mired by its real-world production, most notably the inclusion of Amber Heard as Queen Mera. Heard and ex-husband Johnny Depp were both found liable for defamation against one another in June 2022, by which time “Lost Kingdom” had completed principal photography.

Jason Momoa returns as Arthur Curry, the King of Atlantis, a title he usurped from his brother, Orm Marius. Dissatisfied with his role as king, Curry spends his time crusading as Aquaman and with his newborn son, Arthur Jr.

Meanwhile, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II returns as Black Manta, who finds the lost trident of Kordax, the undead king of Necrus, the lost seventh kingdom of Atlantis. In exchange for freeing Kordax from frozen suspension, the villain will empower Manta to defeat Aquaman, who left his father to die in a sinking submarine.

Heard’s role as Mera is noticeably reduced for this movie, which places larger emphasis on Arthur and Orm’s relationship. Their scenes felt like an attempt to replicate the chemistry between Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Thor and Loki, which Momoa and Wilson don’t quite share. Even so, their scenes remained the stronger and more tonally consistent aspects of the movie.

Patrick Wilson as Orm the Ocean Master remains a strong decision. Seeing how Momoa is playing himself, Wilson delivers a performance that makes him more like Aquaman than Aquaman. After years in a harsh desert prison, Orm agrees to help Aquaman defend Atlantis from Manta and Kordax. This eventually leads him to one of the few interesting things this movie has to say: “You’ve let your prejudice keep you from enjoying half the world.”

Orm reenters the world, both the sea and surface, as a new man. And yes, the gag with Arthur tricking him into eating a cockroach was actually funny, and no different than travelers who push themselves to eat local cuisine. However, an overflow of one-liners and “laugh here” moments fill nearly every silence and will exhaust you quickly.

Manta’s strength is diluted in the sequel, despite his mystical empowerment. In the comics, Manta is a ruthless killer with a disdain of anything Atlantean. In 1977, DC published a story where Manta kills Arthur’s baby merely to spite him, and the death has remained ever since. The decision to not kill a baby in a family blockbuster is more than reasonable, but Manta never demonstrates this level of extremism or sadism. Here, Manta’s strength comes from a needless connection to Kordax, who looks, sounds and acts ridiculous.

Kordax’s role as demon-zombie-tyrant isn’t even deliciously cliched, just stock evil. There’s nothing wrong with a villain who just wants to be villainous, but a villain who is villainous because he’s gray and “the greenhouse gasses drove him insane” is a weak character. And yes, that’s the looming threat. Super pollution. To create an environment Kordax can rule, Manta poisons the oceans with an ancient energy source that produces greenhouse gasses.

Climate change is a certain and looming threat in the real world, but fictionalizing it as a mystical weapon of mass destruction doesn’t help address the issue it actually presents. “Lost Kingdom” had an opportunity to show real examples and effects of greenhouse gasses emissions, like when Orm threw all the garbage in the oceans to the surface in the first movie. Instead, we only see the world of Atlantis, which seems to be just fine, despite the warnings of plague we hear from the Atlantean council. Atlanteans are still eating out, going to work and watching TV. There’s no sign of any sickness, which had apparently killed Willem Dafoe’s Vulko between the last movie and now.

Due to poor audience test scores, the DCEU’s poor reputation and Heard’s involvement, three rounds of reshoots were filmed from June 2022 to early 2023. The final round was overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran, co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios. According to The Hollywood Reporter, cameos made by Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as Batman were completely cut due to Gunn and Safran not wanting to suggest any future for the DCEU.

The continued mixed reception, failures and controversies surrounding the entire DCEU, however, led to a confused follow-up and somewhat passionless ending for this slate of films. A $4.5 million Thursday release preview does not bode well for the rest of the opening weekend.

However, the way forward is now clear for James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC Universe, beginning with the highly anticipated “Superman: Legacy,” set to release in 2025. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan will lead the film as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, respectively, and Nicholas Hoult will portray the iconic villain Lex Luthor. Time will tell if a new creative direction and strong emphasis on the Superman will reinvigorate the comic book movie genre, but it’s shaping up to be a strong start nevertheless.