# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/122 "2018-12-27T22:44:42Z")
I liked it. It wasn’t great by any means but I found it enjoyable enough. I’m glad his parents reunited (well you know what I mean) at the end of the movie. I also liked the fountain scene (Mera just happens to get a copy of Pinocchio? ) Brian ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/123 "2018-12-28T22:19:14Z")
It was a decent popcorn flick that did it’s job but I’m not liking this trend of going 100% CGI with everything. No set pieces, no stunts, no real locations. It’s even questionable if the actors bodies are even theirs or if they are just putting their faces onto GGI characters. It adds up to these movies feeling like cartoons and makes them rather thin and shallow. It’s part of what made the Star Wars prequels so bad. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/124 "2018-12-30T14:38:16Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > . . . > Black Mantis . . .Also, that costume/atlantean armor was kind of ridiculous. “Oh shit, I’m being hunted by a humanoid fly, in the water!” > . . . > Honestly, I think seeing this movie in a foreign language you don’t understand without subtitles would make it better. You would get the gist of it, enjoy the scenery, and assume all the dialogue and story parts were better than they actually were if you didn’t understand them. My overall sense is that the director wanted to do something different, and make a movie that \* felt like \* a comic book. Not just a movie based upon a comic book, but a Graphic Movie. I get where he was going, I’m just not certain it quite got there. If I’m right about that though, your comments above and most of my complaints might actually be the best compliments he could receive. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/125 "2018-12-30T14:50:49Z")
Forgot to say: I think it was a conscious decision to make Manta Ray’s costume look as it did in the old comic books. I never liked comic books, and even I have seen that costume in a childhood nightmare. It looks ridiculous to modern eyes, but I feel that leaving it alone may have been a gesture of respect to the fans. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/126 "2018-12-30T21:05:42Z")
I thought they were pretty explicit about the sub. When Orm shows up to pay Manta, he says “That sub you delivered to us was barely operational… but it did the job successfully, so here’s your payment”. And it’s not like it’s really surprising that he’s the sort of guy who would stage a false-flag operation to start a war. Overall, I thought the movie was cliched, and never really achieved greatness (the closest was probably the bottle in the hand of the king). But there wasn’t anything about it that was particularly bad, and it was an enjoyable enough couple of hours. I’ll agree with others that Manta was a much more interesting character than Orm, and that he was tragically underused in the film. The one point I wonder about, though: Just how does Atlantis’ primogeniture/gender roles work? On the one hand, Atlanna had low enough status that she was forced into an arranged marriage and had no way out of it other than fleeing to the land, but on the other hand, it’s her firstborn son, not the King’s, who has the greater claim to inherit. There are some real-world examples of societies which are matrilineal but patriarchal, but I don’t think that sort of thing really fits what we saw. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2018, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/127 "2018-12-30T21:29:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > . . . > The one point I wonder about, though: Just how does Atlantis’ primogeniture/gender roles work? On the one hand, Atlanna had low enough status that she was forced into an arranged marriage and had no way out of it other than fleeing to the land, but on the other hand, it’s her firstborn son, not the King’s, who has the greater claim to inherit. There are some real-world examples of societies which are matrilineal but patriarchal, but I don’t think that sort of thing really fits what we saw. As I understand it, Nicole Kidman’s Daddy was the king and she was an only child. Her husband was meant to rule beside her as he was also of high status. But she ran off with this landlubber, a serious no-no. Then the king (her Dad) found her and forced her into the marriage. That marriage produced Orm. At some point in the next twenty-odd years they sent her off to die, probably while Orm was a child. Was her father still alive for this? Most likely she and her husband were rulers by then. I wonder how many Atlanteans even knew about her first born? It’s not the low status people who get married off against their will. Low status marriages don’t matter. It’s the people in the line of succession who have to continue the line however unpleasant it may be. And who they marry is driven by DNA and consolidation of power. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2018, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/128 "2018-12-31T00:57:10Z")
Well, low authority, then, if you prefer to phrase it that way. In any event, there was certainly someone with the authority to both force her into marriage, and then sentence her to death. And it probably wasn’t someone outside of the royal structure, either, because the principle advisor to the monarch appears to have been on her side. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/129 "2019-01-04T06:32:35Z")
We saw it today. Not crazy about it. Mediocre. I thought much of the special effects looked amateurish including a lot of the figures who seemed to move like video-game avatars. Not _quite_ as godawful boring as the last two Superman or Justice League or whatever they were movies, but pretty close. And thanks to the previews giving it completely away … we already knew Nicole Kidman had never died. (Spoiler box in case anyone missed those previews.) I’ve always liked the Marvel universe much better than the DC one, and _Aquaman_ dd nothing to change it. Still, unless it’s positively cringe-worthy, one has to keep up on these storylines. Jason Momoa was born here in Honolulu and likes to play up his Hawaiian connection even though he was raised in Iowa. The locals here go gaga over him. I thought his performance in this one rather juvenile. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/130 "2019-01-04T14:38:05Z")
Eh, I never saw any of those previews, and that “twist” was still obvious right from the outset. The only ambiguity was whether they were going to spring it in this movie or save it for a sequel, and even that didn’t seem very likely. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/131 "2019-01-04T17:49:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eh, I never saw any of those previews, and that “twist” was still obvious right from the outset. The only ambiguity was whether they were going to spring it in this movie or save it for a sequel, and even that didn’t seem very likely. Yeah, you don’t spend thousands of dollars de-aging someone and then have them not show up later in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/132 "2019-01-05T01:30:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Eh, I never saw any of those previews, and that “twist” was still obvious right from the outset. The only ambiguity was whether they were going to spring it in this movie or save it for a sequel, and even that didn’t seem very likely. > [@Ashtura](#): > > Yeah, you don’t spend thousands of dollars de-aging someone and then have them not show up later in the movie. Yeah, but I know someone would have complained if I hadn’t spoilered it. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/133 "2019-01-11T01:11:11Z")
I just watched it for the second time. The first time, I was unimpressed by the wooden acting, the cumbersome exposition, and the weaknesses in the plot. I was like, “Okay, the effects are cool but it’s all just a string of CGI fights.” The second time, I shut my brain off and really focused on the details of the art, the creative designs, and the composition. It really is an astonishingly beautiful movie. At some points it’s even captivating. I enjoyed it much more the second time. It deserves to be seen on the biggest possible screen. I also noticed that there is a scene where Aquamom first wakes up in the lighthouse, and on the table is a copy of “The Dunwich Horror.” It is not a small thing… it’s under the snow globe so it’s really visible and easy to read the title. I wonder why they went with that story. I kinda-sorta see the relevance of the monster bred from a union between a human and a god. I would have picked “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” since that more directly deals with man-fish hybridization and we actually see Deep Ones in the film. Did anyone else notice this? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/134 "2019-01-11T01:51:41Z")
I noticed the title, and I knew that Lovecraft wrote stories about fish-people, but I didn’t know if that was one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/135 "2019-01-11T03:44:48Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Jason Momoa was born here in Honolulu and likes to play up his Hawaiian connection even though he was **raised in Iowa**. Fun fact: Momoa grew up not far from where fellow Iowan Brandon Routh (_Superman Returns_) lived. The future Superman and Aquaman actually played soccer against each other in middle school, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/136 "2019-01-11T15:26:08Z")
I don’t have the link but I read this is now DC’s biggest hit financially. I hope this helps the Flash movie get fast tracked as soon as what’s his name is done making Harry Potter movies. He was a highlight of Justice league and I want to see him in the part again. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/137 "2019-01-11T15:56:06Z")
Paul Scheer just gave an enthusiastic recommendation on the latest How Did This Get Made mini episode. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m more excited now. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/138 "2019-01-11T17:20:18Z")
Wait, Aquaman did better than Wonder Woman? No way is that deserved. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/139 "2019-01-11T17:29:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, Aquaman did better than Wonder Woman? No way is that deserved. WW did better in the US but Aquaman is doing better worldwide. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/140 "2019-01-11T17:56:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, Aquaman did better than Wonder Woman? No way is that deserved. [BoxOfficeMojo.com ranked list of total domestic grosses (and opening weekend gross)](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?view=main&id=dccomics.htm&p=.htm) _Aquaman_ had an opening gross that was somewhat more than half of _Wonder Woman_, and the total gross to date is less than _Man Of Steel_ (which was considered a disappointment by DC Films). _Wonder Woman_ has by far the highest gross of any “DCEU” film and is only trumped by the unrelated Nolan films _The Dark Knight_ and _The Dark Knight Rises_. (There is technically not a DC narrative universe in the way that Marvel Studios has architected the MCU to a central storyline, but this refers to the collective films as laid out by Bryan Singer prior to his departure from _Batman v. Superman_.) _Aquaman_ has outperformed beyond its pretty abysmal opening weekend but is unlikely to continue to bring in the nearly US$145M to match _Wonder Woman_, and as it stands, adjusted for inflation it is barely if at all outperforming _Superman Returns_, which killed the original attempt to revitalize the Superman franchise. It will actually be struggling to outgross _Suicide Squad_, which was less of a movie than a series of bad CGI setpieces punctuated by Will Smith mugging for the camera and redeemed only by Margot Robbie chewing scenery Jack Nicholson-style. The worldwide gross for _Aquaman_ may be nearly US$1B, but the way accounting is done makes it very difficult to make a like-to-like comparison. For instance, most of the film revenues made in China are required to stay in China, and there is a tendency to inflate the value just to be able to take away the most amount of profit. And what plays to foreign audiences is not necessarily the same things that American moviegoers and critics would consider good filmmaking, which anyone who has seen ‘blockbusters’ made for the Chinese domestic market can attest to. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347/141 "2019-01-11T18:01:06Z")
We saw this movie on New Year’s Eve. We were sending the long weekend on the Oregon Coast and had spent the morning beachcombing. We then went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and spent a couple of hours wandering through, looking at all the cool exhibits, which of course were all marine-based. We decided to finish the day with this movie, which seemed an appropriate. Sort of a nautical-themed day. I’m not at all into superhero movies; I can’t really put my finger on it but they just don’t appeal to me. This one, however, was pretty good. The acting sucked (or maybe it was just a crap script), especially from whatshername… Johnny Depp’s ex. The comedy seemed a bit forced. But overall I liked the CGI effects. As someone upthread noted, you have to suspend disbelief throughout pretty much the entire film but once you’ve done that the visuals are pretty amazing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-help-me-aquaman-looks-like-a-good-movie/818347.md?page=8)