I will leave reviewing, recapping and spoiling the film to others. I've found that lately I'm more interested in finding an angle that others have overlooked that makes for a point of interest. Aquaman has one and I think it's a biggie.
The "new" DC slate of films, starting with Man of Steel and continuing through Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and now Aquaman, has embraced many tones but really had the most success with one. Wonder Woman and now Aquaman are arguably the best of the lot so far and both are really sword and sorcery flix in spandex. At the heart of both films, the hero's prowess with traditional (non-firearm) weapons with special magic powers win the day. Wonder Woman has sword, shield and lasso and Aquaman rocks the trident. While you could argue that Thor and even Captain America have similar medieval accessories, only the first Thor film has a fantasy/sword and sorcery feel. Marvel sticks to shooting lightning, lasers and guns for the most part. While there are firearms in both Wonder Woman and Aquaman, the hero is firmly and decidedly a fantasy icon rather than sci-fi or straight up superhero.
Very little ink has been spilled to point this out but it seems to me that hitting twice with the same genre might be something to pay attention to. Wonder Woman is almost a straight up fantasy film, swords, shields, magic, a princess and all. Aquaman plays a bit more fantasy/horror with dragon-ee critters and straight up monsters for our hero to vanquish. There's even a witch (Mera's often called a "water witch" in the comics) and it is no spoiler to note that the hero has a queen for a mom and happens to be named "Arthur."
So what is my point here, you may ask.
Aquaman is going to be big. It might even be the first WB billion dollar earner for the new DCU. The powers that be should look to the fantasy genre for more inspiration. Go more horror with Swamp Thing and promote it that way. Do more swords and sorcery with an Aquaman sequel. Take a walk outside the box (Marvel hit big with a straight up space opera with Guardians) to space opera, or a real detective story for Batman. Some of Marvel's best (Captain America Winter Soldier - political action thriller, Ant-Man - action comedy, Black Panther - dynastic fantasy) are just barely superhero films. Take a lesson.
Use these characters to EXPAND the way we think of superhero cinema. Do not just retread another Superman saves the world story but instead spend that money on a smaller Superman film like a prison break picture where he winds up captured on an alien planet with a red sun and has to somehow get back home despite being basically powerless. Team him up with Lobo or Booster Gold and do a buddy cop movie with super powers. Have a hero like Black Canary assemble a team for a heist flick. I could give them a hundred of these that would be more fun to watch than another "hero stops the big bad/saves the world/ends the war" pic. The point being that they have only had limited success with straight up superhero films but have hit big with the outside the box movies they have made.
Find a way guys. I want more of these.
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