Jason Momoa’s Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom won’t be making a splash this holiday season, according to the critics.
The sequel to the 2018 smash hit Aquaman received a dismal 37% movie score via Rotten Tomatoes on Thursday, as film critics largely panned the reportedly final film in the DC Extended Universe.
‘Tired tropes, a forgettable plot and a cast going through the motions – if this is the last movie in the DC Extended Universe it should sink to the bottom, never to be seen again,’ wrote The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw.
While comic book fans hoped the $215 million superhero flick — starring Momoa, Amber Heard, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman — might send the franchise off on a high, it appears moviegoers are in for a long and dismal goodbye.
‘At the end of 124 long minutes, both film and audience are deeply immersed in something – but it isn’t seawater,’ added Bradshaw.
Jason Momoa ‘s Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom won’t be making a splash this holiday season, according to the critics
The sequel to the 2018 smash hit Aquaman received a dismal 37% movie score via Rotten Tomatoes on Thursday, as film critics largely panned the reportedly final film in the DC Extended Universe
The James Wan-directed project features Momoa returning as Arthur Curry, now King Of Atlantis, who has married Mera (Heard), welcomed a son, splits his life between land and sea and has found an arch nemesis in Black Mantra (Abdul-Mateen II).
The first flood of reviews deemed the plot ‘formulaic’ and featuring a ‘juvenile tone’.
‘The Lost Kingdom becomes more and more formulaic as it digs into its mythos, as if the movie were caught between being its own thing and being nothing at all,’ wrote IndieWire.
Linda Marric of HeyUGuys argued the movie ‘struggles with a juvenile tone, a pendulous script and a cast who can’t mount the shifting sands of those challenges.’
She added, ‘Another low point for the DCEU.’
‘Even the actors seem worn out by the ridiculousness of this sequel,’ added Variety.
Bradshaw also noted, ‘The Aquaman franchise is just flatlining, floating through the dreary depths like the kind of discarded plastic bag which is going to choke.’
The Rotten Tomatoes score positions the Aquman sequel among the least favorably reviewed entries in the DCEU, situated between the ratings of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (29%) and Black Adam (38%).
‘Tired tropes, a forgettable plot and a cast going through the motions – if this is the last movie in the DC Extended Universe it should sink to the bottom, never to be seen again,’ wrote The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw
The James Wan-directed project features Momoa returning as Arthur Curry, now King Of Atlantis, who has married Mera (Heard), welcomed a son, splits his life between land and sea and has found an arch nemesis in Black Mantra (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II)
The first Aquaman installment garnered a 65% approval rating.
The reviews follow a trend in this year’s superhero movie-going, as many comic book adaptations have failed to connect with an audience.
In a recent Rotten Tomato assessment, Shazam! Fury of the Gods received a 49% rating, while The Flash achieved a 63% score.
Blue Beetle delivered a considerably more impressive 78%.
Even before the negative reviews poured in, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom was under a deluge of bad publicity.
While comic book fans hoped the $215 million superhero flick — starring Momoa, Amber Heard , Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nicole Kidman — might send the franchise off on a high, it appears moviegoers are in for a long and dismal goodbye
The first flood of reviews deemed the plot formulaic and featuring a ‘juvenile tone’
‘Even the actors seem worn out by the ridiculousness of this sequel,’ added Variety
In mid-September, when Warner Bros. released the trailer for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, troubling documents from the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial emerged on Reddit on the same day.
Court documents from Heard’s therapist described a hostile Aquaman set where an allegedly intoxicated Momoa dressed like Depp and pushed to have Heard booted from the role of Mera.
A DC spokesperson refuted Heard’s characterization at the time, saying, ‘Jason Momoa conducted himself in a professional manner at all times on the set of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.’
The therapist’s notes also depicted Heard sensing a lack of support from the film’s director, Wan.
The DC spokesperson said in a statement in support of Wan, ‘James is known for treating members of his cast and crew with the utmost respect and for fostering a positive, collaborative environment on set — the Aquaman films were no exception.’
Even before the negative reviews poured in, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom was under a deluge of bad publicity, including court documents bashing Momoa from the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation suit; Heard seen in 2021
Court documents from Heard’s therapist described a hostile Aquaman set where an allegedly intoxicated Momoa dressed like Depp and pushed to have Heard booted from the role of Mera; seen in November
There were reports Heard was almost fired from the sequel as well.
However, sources told Variety that the ‘sequel endured challenges outside of the Heard saga’ and was testing in the 60s before the summer of 2022.
Reshoots even took place right up until this year’s WGA strike in May.
Despite the ho-hum reviews, time will tell if the sequel might still work at the box office.
‘Everybody’s down on DC, but there is a chance, especially with the limited competition during the holiday season, that Aquaman could still play like gangbusters because of lack of product,’ Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations, told Variety.
‘Sometimes the right film at the right time is all you need.’
