The first reviews for James Wan’s “Aquaman” film are now in and with forty-six reviews counted, the film sits on a 78% and 6.2/10 on Rotten Tomatoes, putting it in second place in the DCEU between “Wonder Woman” (93%) and “Man of Steel” (56%). The film has been heavily praised for its imaginative visuals, ambition, charm and energy, but criticised for its scripting which has been labelled as generic and bland. The tone of it was mostly embraced but some weren’t fans. Here’s a sampling of reaction:
“James Wan has absolutely no sense of taste, but he has a grand sense of scale, which he leverages throughout the ludicrously insane, but fun, Aquaman to great effect.” – Rodrigo Perez, The Playlist
“The way this movie ends, “that fish boy from the TV” (as he’s derisively dismissed early on) can clearly hold his own against any of his super friends.” – Peter Debruge, Variety
“Notwithstanding the inevitable formulaic dialogue and a superabundance of boilerplate superhero action sequences, “Aquaman” turns out to be, almost despite itself, an engaging undersea extravaganza.” – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
“Rich and retro, Aquaman is a higher form of adventure hokum. It is made to silence people who grew up saying, “They don’t make films like that any more.” – Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
“Wan seems to be operating under the philosophy that sci-fi/fantasy should stretch the limits of the imagination, even at the cost of possibly looking ludicrous. Either way, you’re in for a spectacle.” – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
“Aquaman’s as formulaic, excessively thrashy, and mommy-obsessed as any other entry in the DCEU, but its visual imagination is genuinely exciting and transportive, and dare I say, fun.” – Emily Yoshida, Vulture
“Like with so many movies tasked with introducing unseen worlds and great reams of brand-new mythology, Wan’s contribution to the DCEU offers a busy, overpowering deluge of information even if he conjures some stunning, operatic imagery along the way.” – Todd Gilchrist, Moviefone
“The majority of the time the action set pieces seem quite arbitrary… This saddles the overlong film with a ponderous, grinding feel, one driven by a sense of obligation more than the glee of inspiration.” – Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter
Check out a new clip from the film below. The reviews come as the future of the DCEU remains uncertain – Gadot and Momoa look likely to remain as Wonder Woman and Aquaman but the rest of the line-up seems more in doubt as this point. This week actress Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane, said she’s unsure if she will get to return to these films.
“Aquaman” opened in China last week to massive numbers, swims into some international markets Friday and then in the U.S. on the 21st.
