The DCEU as we know it is officially over, and Aquaman is the final film from the Snyder-birthed DC Universe. Man of Steel initiated the DCEU and a decade later Aquaman closes this chapter for Warner Bros.

The Lost Kingdom works in so many ways as a great and final crazy goodbye. Aquaman returns after defeating his brother Orm in the first film. We see as Arthur tries to navigate starting a family and also being King of Atlantis. Black Manta returns for revenge after his father’s death and becomes even more powerful when they unlock an ancient evil trident. It’s going to take the unlikely team up of Aquaman and Orm to defeat Black Manta and The Lost Kingdom.

I want to start off by saying that James Wan and company know how to build a world. The attention to detail and world building is such an incredible part of the film. A lot of what worked for me was seeing just how much creativity went into creating Atlantis. It kinda makes you sad to think all of these lands won’t be explored in another sequel. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom works as an episodic tale as we see Orm and Arthur jump from one world to another. The campy tones of the film also give it that cartoon quality in the best way possible. It’s a film that doesn’t take itself seriously but also has some hard-hitting action scenes.

The fight choreography was spot on and had some dazzling shots that made it that much more outstanding. Jason Momoa in my opinion is always great and here you can tell they’re just having fun knowing it’s the last. Patrick Wilson and Momoa have great chemistry and really make the scenes together work that much better. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta is what we’ve been waiting for since the first film, but in my opinion is underdeveloped in the last half. I really loved how his character was being built up in the beginning but a shift halfway in the film leads to a two-dimensional character. I believe this shortcoming may have been the result of a messy script and story.

You can only keep me entertained with great acting and incredible visuals for so long. The weak dialogue and no sense of direction story-wise are what ultimately bring this film down. I think with a bit more polishing to the script, we could have gotten a pretty good superhero film. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom suffers from trying to do too much that it ultimately falls flat when the film wants to get serious. The visuals and chemistry between some of the actors are what really bring this film together. In the end, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom is just a fun time at the theater and expecting anymore would just be foolish. We think it’s worth checking out at a matinee if you can and is overall, just okay.

We give Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom a 3.5/5.