Friday, December 30, 2022

Does Aquaman Have a Shot at Being Any Good?




Image result for aquaman poster


Entourage, a partly-satirical television show about a fictional movie star (Vincent Chase) and his oldest friends, featured said movie star headlining a biopic about billionaire drug-trafficker Pablo Escobar. Before portraying Escobar, Chase took on the role of Aquaman. Both movies were chosen in order to illustrate Hollywood's tendency to scrape the bottom-of-the-barrel in terms of subject matter after having exhausted the most popular figures of a given genre. Since then, various real-life movies and television shows have been released about the deceased kingpin. One of which, Narcos, is among the best shows of 2015 and 2016. So maybe Mr. H2O has the goods as well. 

But then again, after Justice League's 2017 release the prospect of a quality Aquaman movie looked a whole lot less likely. To be fair, Aquaman himself wasn't the only disappointing aspect of JL. But after Justice League withered away, the official poster for Aquaman debuted to widespread ridicule, including negative comparisons to a Sharknado ad and tourist postcards for Seaworld.

To the relief of the studio, the movie's trailer was more readily welcomed by fans. However, the clip has prompted countless debate. Moviegoers have noticed that the brightly-colored cinematography on display in the teaser is a stark departure from the usual look of DC films and is more reminiscent of a Marvel movie. And there are more questions as well. Aquaman's love interest, Mera, bears a striking resemblance to Ariel aka the Little Mermaid. Is this a misguided homage? Will Mera be killed in a subliminal shot at the the studio's rival (rival Marvel's parent company, Disney, owns the film rights to The Little Mermaid)? Will there be comical easter eggs for eagle-eyed fans to spot -- like, perhaps a pineapple under the sea? Will Entourage star Adrian Grenier make a cameo?

Fans have also noticed the apparent plot and thematic similarities between Aquaman and Black Panther. Does that mean that Marvel-style humor will be on display as well? Will Aquaman prove to be yet another desperate but ultimately failed attempt to replicate Marvel's stunning accomplishments -- a la Justice League and Green Lantern

I suppose we'll find out in December. Aquaman hits U.S. theaters just five days before Christmas.






Originally Posted 9/10/18

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1 comment:

  1. All I can say is that the trailer does look good! I have not been enthused about this movie at with all the will happen/won’t it happen/who will star in it questions but now I am intrigued based on the trailer itself. I hope it does not disappoint!

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