Movies have always been a great way to get out of the house and escape reality. Aquaman, the new DC film produced by James Wan, provides a perfect outlet to do so. Love, action, real history and global problems… Aquaman has got it all. In its entirety, the movie was very impressive.

   After watching Aquaman join forces with Batman and Wonder Woman in Justice League, hearing they would be coming out with a movie centered around the character played by Jason Momoa drew obvious excitement and anticipation from fans. “The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime — one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be… a king,” according to an online article about Aquaman (denofgreek.com).

   Many films have their own political agendas, in which the director is able to comment on a global issue. Aquaman is no exception, being that one of its main themes is about habitat destruction via dumping plastic and pollutants into the ocean. In an article for Bustle, an online magazine, Momoa said, “There’s some themes about the environment that I really want [audiences to] take away from it because it’s really a mirror of our society/modern times right now without being preachy” (bustle.com).

   Perhaps the best and most talked about aspect of the film is the actor who plays the  main character himself. “Jason Momoa is my man crush,” said Senior Charlie Openshaw.

   The first action scene, when Momoa helps save the soldiers on the submarine, shirtless, you can hear oohs and aahs echoing in the theatre. Not that anyone minds, but throughout the film, is Momoa ever not shirtless? According to an online article about how Director James Wan turned Momoa into Aquaman, “Wan wasn’t shy about using Momoa’s most obvious attributes either. Asked if we’ll see Curry in his iconic green-and-orange costume, Wan ducked the question by saying the actor mostly dons ‘a suit’; ‘his birthday suit — he’s shirtless a lot. Why would I want to put him in any costumes when he looks incredible without costumes?” (ew.com).

   Momoa wasn’t the only character with his own distinct costume. Wan not only made Nicole Kidman’s costume look like dinosaur bones, but also edited her face to make her look way younger than she actually is. No wonder it was so hard to recognize her.

   The cast for this movie wound up working much better than I personally thought they would. “Patrick Wilson’s character Orm has issues with his half-brother, notably that he thinks he’s more deserving of the throne of Atlantis than Arthur. He’s better known to DC Comics fans as Ocean Master. Now, this is certainly a villain dynamic we’re familiar with, thanks to the Thor franchise” (denofgreek.com).

   Despite all its good features, the film has some very obvious missteps. Notably, how the film seems to look somewhat like a video game and there are some incredibly awkward cringe-worthy lines. Another unfortunate quirk, Aquaman already has his brother, Orm, as a rival, so Black Manta is really an unnecessary villain with way too much backstory. Fortunately, Wan was able to pull it off with all the action scenes. Sophomore Johnny Clint explained, “The action scenes had a wide range of variety, often with characters out in the open, moving from one place to another. These scenes were very common in the Aquaman movie adding depth to the characters and storyline.”

   Another odd aspect in the film is the trident protection debacle, featuring the creature from the depths. “It’s implied that Atlan’s trident experiments are to blame for Atlantis’ fall, but even if that is true, it was an unintentional consequence. In the comics, Atlan means to sink Atlantis. It’s no accident,” according to an online article about Atlantis history (screenrant.com). What even was that thing protecting the trident? Some kind of giant living cactus?

  In spite of all its odd quirks, Aquaman was overall a great movie, whether you’re a DC fan or not, and is definitely worth the watch.  Even if you go just to see Jason Momoa. No one’s judging.