The longest, most epic trailer for ‘Aquaman’ is here and should give fans the best idea of what to expect when the film surfaces on December 21. What’s interesting is that the bulk of this trailer doesn’t take place underwater, although there are a few sweeping shots of Atlantis that bring to mind ‘Avatar’ and (I mean this in the nicest way) the ‘Star Wars’ prequels.
A large chunk of this new trailer takes place in the desert and it’s pretty cool to see Jason Momoa‘s Arthur Curry and Amber Heard‘s Mera leaping from stucco rooftop to rooftop, as they are pursued by Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and his henchmen.
Early reactions to test screenings have been moderate. The film appears to be fun, but not great. But at this point, is a fun DC movie a bad thing? Nope. This could have easily been ‘The Wet Knight’, but thankfully it doesn’t appear that it is.
Director James Wan discussed the film recently, saying:
“‘You’re making a movie about Aquaman!’ He talks to fish and stuff like that. You gotta lean into that. You gotta not be afraid of the camp of it all, but the key is try and make it cool, right? The key is to try and make it something that you can kind of smile at it, but then kind of go, ‘Oh, that’s kind of fun. That’s awesome!’ That is my job to try and take what collectively we all know from pop culture, the lamest superhero, and have fun with him and make him the freakin’ coolest superhero I can. That’s my dream. My dream is to make him cooler than Batman and Superman, so that’s just me.”
Lofty goals. It remains to be seen if he accomplished it, but perhaps this new trailer will give an idea. Bonus, get your first glimpse of Momoa in motion, wearing the classic orange and green costume!:
‘Aquaman’ arrives on the most combative weekend of the year, December 21. He’ll be swimming against the current to overcome Disney’s ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ and ‘Transformers’ spin-off/prequel ‘Bumblebee’ and the just-announced ‘Deadpool’ movie from Fox. Also opening are the Will Ferrell/John C. Reilly comedy ‘Holmes & Watson’, which may work as counterprogramming and awards-seeking ‘Welcome to Marwen‘ starring Steve Carrell.
What do you think? Will ‘Aquaman’ rise to the surface or will it sink into the depths?
