# So help me Aquaman looks like a good movie! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, hbomax-wb-dc\ **Created:** [July 21, 2018, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347 "2018-07-21T22:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/41 "2018-07-23T18:30:59Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The trailer is [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDkg3h8PCVU&ab_channel=WarnerBros.Pictures). It looks like a good, fun to watch movie. > > Full disclosure, I actually liked Justice League. It looks… fun. I don’t know that it actually looks _good_. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/42 "2018-07-23T19:29:52Z")
It looks just as good as every other DC movie. Call me psychic, this is how this movie is going to go: Step One: Make a good trailer everyone talks about. But since it’s DC everyone will say “whoa, every other trailer looked good, but it’ll probably suck!” Step Two: Movie comes out and is actually a pretty good movie. Not spectacular, but quite good. Step Three: People see the movie, but because it’s DC they automatically hate it and talk about how it’s trying to be Marvel but isn’t. “The movie is stupid/doesn’t make sense/sucks” Step Four: No one goes and sees the movie because word of mouth says it’s bad, even though it isn’t. Step Five: A billion articles about how DC isn’t as good as Marvel and why and blah blah. It’s the same for every DC movie. BvS, Justice League and Suicide Squad were pretty good movies in their own right, but no one gives them a chance and they tank. For some reason, Wonder Woman gets a pass. I am guessing it’s because Gal Gadot is beautiful and did the character well, but the movie itself isn’t all that particularly good, it’s the same as every other DC movie. So, I’ll see this movie and enjoy it, but I doubt the sentiment will translate. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/43 "2018-07-23T19:37:11Z")
Wait just a minute, where are Vinnie Chase and Mandy Moore? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/44 "2018-07-23T19:59:50Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > BvS, Justice League and Suicide Squad were pretty good movies in their own right, but no one gives them a chance and they tank. Suicide Squad was awful. I mean, obviously we have a difference of opinion but I went into that movie ready to love it and it was some of the most terribly edited, obviously spliced together from re-cuts, nonsensical shit I’ve ever seen first run in the theater. To be fair, I’m usually pretty choosy about what’ll get me into a theater. If it tanked (did it? I assume it made a profit), it tanked because everyone walked out of opening night like I did saying “what was THAT mess?” not because of some latent Marvel fan-ism. I never saw BvS or JL so have no opinion on those. I’m not a comics guy and don’t really care if something is DC or Marvel except that Marvel has been making better movies for the last decade. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/45 "2018-07-23T20:34:34Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > BvS, Justice League and Suicide Squad were pretty good movies in their own right, but no one gives them a chance and they tank. For some reason, Wonder Woman gets a pass. I am guessing it’s because Gal Gadot is beautiful and did the character well, but the movie itself isn’t all that particularly good, it’s the same as every other DC movie. _Justice League_ and _Suicide Squad_ were not objectively good movies in any sense. You may have enjoyed them for your own reasons, and your opinion is valid for you, but the tonal shifts, lack of plot coherence, inconsistent characterization, and general lack of clear editing (especially in _Suicide Squad_) are indicative of rushed production and lack of a strong directorial hand. Your description above makes it seem like there is some cabal of people influencing the public opinion of the DC films instead of a genuine lack of enthusiasm by the majority of viewers. _Wonder Woman_ “got a pass” because it at least started strong, was the first superhero film to feature strong female characters in leading and critical supporting roles, and was carried by Gal Gadot who despite a lack of prior acting experience is a great screen presence and managed to carry the film past some of the poor pacing and clunky dialogue. _Aquaman_ will do well or poorly based upon how well Jason Momoa can carry the film (I have doubts but I’ll admit to having had similar concerns about Gadot, and she turned out to be the actress that is carrying the entire franchise at this point) and how much the film can consistently deliver what is appealing in the trailer. As for the supposed “MCU vs DCEU” argument, _most filmgoers don’t care about the “brand identity” of the films_ (myself included), or indeed are even aware that the characters belong to one studio or another. Marvel Studios has made a few pretty poor, or at least unmemorable films (_The Incredible Hulk_, _Iron Man 2_, _Thor: The Dark World_) but has largely succeeded by doing a number of smart things, including recruiting directors and letting them have a personal vision while feeding into the overarching MCU storyline, cannily selecting actors who manage to portray their characters in a memorable way, patiently developing projects and cultivating a bullpen of screenwriters to write in a narratively consistent fashion, and generally deftly balancing humor and pathos rather than just wantonly inserting jokes into dialogue. If the DC films are generally rated pretty low, it is in no small measure because DC Films is not making particularly good movies that appeal to a mass audience, nor narratively and thematically interesting movies that are critically praised. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/46 "2018-07-23T20:41:06Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > It looks just as good as every other DC movie. Call me psychic, this is how this movie is going to go: > > Step One: Make a good trailer everyone talks about. But since it’s DC everyone will say “whoa, every other trailer looked good, but it’ll probably suck!” > > Step Two: Movie comes out and is actually a pretty good movie. Not spectacular, but quite good. > > Step Three: People see the movie, but because it’s DC they automatically hate it and talk about how it’s trying to be Marvel but isn’t. “The movie is stupid/doesn’t make sense/sucks” > > Step Four: No one goes and sees the movie because word of mouth says it’s bad, even though it isn’t. > > Step Five: A billion articles about how DC isn’t as good as Marvel and why and blah blah. > It’s the same for every DC movie. > > BvS, Justice League and Suicide Squad were pretty good movies in their own right, but no one gives them a chance and they tank. For some reason, Wonder Woman gets a pass. I am guessing it’s because Gal Gadot is beautiful and did the character well, but the movie itself isn’t all that particularly good, it’s the same as every other DC movie. > > So, I’ll see this movie and enjoy it, but I doubt the sentiment will translate. Gonna have to disagree about BvS and Suicide Squad, they were both big disappointments to me. Especially Suicide Squad, I still have every issue of the original run. Those guys were Squad in name only, they are not supposed to be good guys. Color by numbers film-making ruined what could have been great. Deadshot and Enchantress really pissed me off. That rant aside, I am coming around on the Aquaman movie, I haven’t seen Justice League, but I think the smart-ass Arthur may work. I prefer the noble Arthurian portrayal, but not everyone can be as correct as I am. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/47 "2018-07-23T20:43:08Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Fun fact: The facial features of the original Captain Marvel was based on a young James Stewart. That picture looks like James Stewart on steroids. Fred MacMurray. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/48 "2018-07-23T21:22:03Z")
Suicide Squad was completely nonsensical. As someone who grew up a DC reader I found it an insult to my intelligence. Batman Versus Superman was in my opinion not terrible but it wasn’t really all that good either, except in the scene that introduced Gal Gadot. She was electrifying. Justice League was mediocre. Wonder Woman was my most favorite superhero movie ever, even given that the final sequence was not great. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/49 "2018-07-23T21:39:00Z")
Yeah, Wonder Woman was great, but the ending sucked. Spoiler for the ending: [spoiler] “Hey, I was Ares, God of War all along. But you know, I don’t make humans fight. They do that on their own, and I just sit back and enjoy it. You can kill me…but you can’t kill the violence in the human heart.” Gal Godot then explodinates CGI Ares into a million pieces. And the entire German army blinks their eyes and drops their weapons. The war is now over. It turns out they were all being mind controlled into fighting by Ares, and the war really was all his fault. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Plumpudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Plumpudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plumpudding)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/50 "2018-07-23T22:39:30Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > It looks just as good as every other DC movie. Call me psychic, this is how this movie is going to go: > > Step One: Make a good trailer everyone talks about. But since it’s DC everyone will say “whoa, every other trailer looked good, but it’ll probably suck!” > > Step Two: Movie comes out and is actually a pretty good movie. Not spectacular, but quite good. > > Step Three: People see the movie, but because it’s DC they automatically hate it and talk about how it’s trying to be Marvel but isn’t. “The movie is stupid/doesn’t make sense/sucks” > > Step Four: No one goes and sees the movie because word of mouth says it’s bad, even though it isn’t. > > Step Five: A billion articles about how DC isn’t as good as Marvel and why and blah blah. > It’s the same for every DC movie. > > BvS, Justice League and Suicide Squad were pretty good movies in their own right, but no one gives them a chance and they tank. For some reason, Wonder Woman gets a pass. I am guessing it’s because Gal Gadot is beautiful and did the character well, but the movie itself isn’t all that particularly good, it’s the same as every other DC movie. > > So, I’ll see this movie and enjoy it, but I doubt the sentiment will translate. I only saw BvS, but that movie was laugh-out-loud stupid. Very possibly a future so-bad-it’s-good classic, in my opinion! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/51 "2018-07-24T01:42:15Z")
I burst into laughter during the first few _seconds_ of the Aquaman trailer. Does no one else know the old patter song: Oh, my father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light And he slept with a mermaid one fine night! Out of this union there came three: A herring and a haddock and the other was me. Yo ho ho, the wind blows free… Oh for the life of the open sea! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/52 "2018-07-24T01:44:40Z")
Yeah, I flashed on that one, too. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/53 "2018-07-24T01:49:43Z")
Well then, Aquaman really should enlist his brothers in his battles. He has armor; they’re in tin cans. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/54 "2018-07-24T01:50:45Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I burst into laughter during the first few _seconds_ of the Aquaman trailer. Does no one else know the old patter song: > > Oh, my father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light > And he slept with a mermaid one fine night! > Out of this union there came three: > A herring and a haddock and the other was me. > > Yo ho ho, the wind blows free… > Oh for the life of the open sea! I’ve certainly never heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/55 "2018-07-24T02:13:56Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > It looks just as good as every other DC movie. Call me psychic, this is how this movie is going to go: > > Step One: Make a good trailer everyone talks about. But since it’s DC everyone will say “whoa, every other trailer looked good, but it’ll probably suck!” > > Step Two: Movie comes out and is actually a pretty good movie. Not spectacular, but quite good. > > Step Three: People see the movie, but because it’s DC they automatically hate it and talk about how it’s trying to be Marvel but isn’t. “The movie is stupid/doesn’t make sense/sucks” > > Step Four: No one goes and sees the movie because word of mouth says it’s bad, even though it isn’t. > > Step Five: A billion articles about how DC isn’t as good as Marvel and why and blah blah. > It’s the same for every DC movie. > > BvS, Justice League and Suicide Squad were pretty good movies in their own right, but no one gives them a chance and they tank. For some reason, Wonder Woman gets a pass. I am guessing it’s because Gal Gadot is beautiful and did the character well, but the movie itself isn’t all that particularly good, it’s the same as every other DC movie. > > So, I’ll see this movie and enjoy it, but I doubt the sentiment will translate. I was with you all the way through Step One. People aren’t saying DC movies are bad because it’s trendy. They’re saying DC movies are bad because they’re bad. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/56 "2018-07-24T02:41:41Z")
Ukulele Ike, I’ve never heard that song (is that what they call a sea shanty?) but if that reference is something the writers intended in the trailer, it’s brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/57 "2018-07-24T03:03:50Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I burst into laughter during the first few _seconds_ of the Aquaman trailer. Does no one else know the old patter song: > > Oh, my father was the keeper of the Eddystone Light > And he slept with a mermaid one fine night! > Out of this union there came three: > A herring and a haddock and the other was me. > > Yo ho ho, the wind blows free… > Oh for the life of the open sea! Yep. First thing that came to my mind when the trailer started. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/58 "2018-07-24T16:50:07Z")
There are several versions on YouTube, but I like this one the most. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zIF1DPN_Njw/maxresdefault.jpg "The Eddystone Light") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIF1DPN_Njw) I also like the idea of Aquaman being served up in a chafing dish. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/59 "2018-07-24T16:51:54Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Ukulele Ike, I’ve never heard that song (is that what they call a sea shanty?) but if that reference is something the writers intended in the trailer, it’s brilliant. I agree with you. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/60 "2018-07-24T17:09:58Z")
I wouldn’t call it a real sea chantey…it’s more like a “lewd English folk song.” Chanteys tend to be about maritime work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347.md?page=4)