Aquaman Review: 5 Ups & 5 Downs

Downs...

5. It's An Insanely Generic Origin Story

It shouldn't be terribly surprising if you've been paying attention to the trailers, but for all of Aquaman's sea-dwelling shenanigans and impressive aquatic world-building, the plot and characters subscribe to pure, simplistic superhero movie formula.

From the been-there-done-that flashbacks to Arthur Curry's (Jason Momoa) childhood to the expected familial discord, the squabbling with his villainous half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the inevitable romance with Mera (Amber Heard) and so on, the script brings almost nothing new to the table.

Every single beat can be predicted with a metronome, likely a symptom of Warner Bros. being understandably nervous about spending $200 million on an Aquaman movie, especially in light of both Batman V Superman and Justice League under-performing at the box office.

It is a film tailor-made to appeal to as many demographics as possible, and considering it's already made over $100 million in China alone, it's clearly been a successful strategy.

If you're tired of all these over-familiar superhero origin stories, though, Aquaman will probably leave you feeling pretty indifferent.