‘Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom’ Borrows From ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’
by Frank Martin
Tone is a bit of an anomaly when it comes to superhero stories. It can vary from dark and serious tales to stories that are light and goofy. Then there is every level in between. The Thor films took an interesting approach as they shifted their tone over time. A more recent example to examine is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The first Aquaman film more or less took a very direct approach to its tone. It wasn’t dark and stern, but it did lean to the DCEU’s more serious side. This was pretty much abandoned with the sequel, which appeared to take a page from the Guardians Of The Galaxy playbook in creating a rather quirky, otherworldly adventure.
The story picks up where the first film left off. After overthrowing his brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) as king of Atlantis, Aquaman Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) takes over the role, which he’s not too happy about. Unfortunately, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is still out for revenge after Aquaman killed his father. Manta finds a cursed trident that leads to the entire world being threatened by his plans. In order to stop him, Aquaman is forced to break his brother out of prison and seek his help.
It might be hard to see how a movie that doesn’t leave planet Earth can follow the example of a film that takes place entirely in space, but the sea and the galaxy have more in common than one might think. The oceans have been largely unexplored, so Aquaman and his brother venture into all matters of underwater society, meeting strange and whimsical creatures along the way. These interactions are riddled with humor, just like Guardians Of The Galaxy. Plus, the banter between Aquaman and his brother is much lighter than the first film. Overall, it’s clear to see why the first Aquaman film would lean towards the serious as that is what the DC films were going for at the time. But as the DCEU winds to a stop, this sequel veered in another direction and tried something wildly different. It’s up to audiences to decide whether or not it was worth it.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is now streaming on Max.
