The son of Atlantis' Queen Atlanna (Kidman) and lighthouse keeper Tom (Morrison), Arthur (Momoa) enjoys taking on villains like nasty pirate Manta (Abdul-Mateen), but has no interest in his destiny as the ocean's One True King. Then hot babe Mera (Heard) appears, taking him Atlantis and the man (Defoe) who trained him as a child. He also meets half-brother Orm (Wilson), who has earth domination on his mind with the help of Mera's father King Nereus (Lundgren). Some globe-hopping ensues to find the magical trident that will confirm Arthur's power. And Manta reappears seeking vengeance.

The film has a colourful, deliberately digital design that never tries to be realistic. This means that the more comical or fanciful moments unapologetically draw the audience into the goofy atmosphere. And there are exhilarating set-pieces and amusing gags along the way. This makes the urge to massacre anyone not on your side ring scarily false. It also exposes how paper-thin the script is, merely adding obvious environmental nods to the superficial, exposition-heavy dialog.

So it's particularly pleasing that Momoa has discovered his light side. Self-deprecation suits him, making him snarky and sexy in his scenes with Heard. The trite romantic touches are harder to take, but both actors play them well. And thankfully Heard is a strong figure on her own: she certainly doesn't need a man. Wilson struggles manfully under the weight of being the blindly cruel antagonist, and Abdul-Mateen has it even worse as disposable super-villain (he unsurprisingly pops up in the mid-credit sting). Meanwhile, Kidman and Morrison quietly steal the film with the most tender story arc.

Aside from a script that can't be bothered to peer under the cool-looking surface, this is a relatively entertaining bit of mindless entertainment. Wan never tries to make it look like more than a flashy animated romp, even if the costume and production designers seem to be taking it far too seriously. A little more edge and fewer murky effects sequences would have helped bring the much more involving character moments into focus. Because inky underwater action is much more compelling with added personal drama.

themes, language, violence

12.Dec.18