TIme & Tides
Quite a bit has happened since we last took a dip in the world of DC Comics’ Atlantis, specifically by way of Director James Wan and star Jason Momoa (see AQUAMAN: DC’s most MARVELous movie by Patrick Lugo). Back in 2018, escaping to under the sea seemed as good an option as any for washing the taste of current events from one’s mind. While not quite enough to be considered a trend (or even a sub-sub-genre) there have since been a handful of notable movies set at sea, below sea-level, or at that harsh shore border.
In 2018, arriving alongside AQUAMAN was the Jason Statham and Li Bingbing vehicle, the monster megalodon shark movie THE MEG. Coincidentally, its sequel, MEG 2: THE TRENCH, also landed this year, adding Wushu superstar Wu Jing to the cast. The sequel premiered at the Shanghai International Film Festival as another bid to court that PRC market. In the megalon’s wake, the director of THE NORTHMAN (2021), Robert Eggers, released his second “elevated horror” film THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019). A loose adaptation of Edger Allan Poe’s unfinished story The Light-House, this period horror was set on a barren coast featuring tour de force performances by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. One might also include GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS (2019) and its subsequent Kong related sequels; as well as UNDERWATER (2020). All these films featured an ocean deeper, scarier and more mysterious than we had imagined… filled with some really big monsters.
This was all before July 8 2022 when BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER brought the aquatic kingdom of Talokan to the surface, and its own king, known to his foes as Namor. We’ve covered the curious connection between both these undersea set comic Kings in our review for Aquaman. Leaving Atlantis to DC and Aquaman, the MCU opted for a loose combination of the Aztec Tlālōcān (Nahuatl: [t͡ɬaːˈloːkaːn̥]; "place of Tlāloc" a paradise, ruled by Tlāloc the god of rain), the Mayan “place of fright” Xibalba (Mayan: [ʃiɓalˈɓa]), Matlatzinca and other underworld myths originating from around the Yucatan Peninsula. Not the first time a link has been made between Mesoamerican civilizations and Atlantis. Coming back to that fateful year of 2018, there was even an episode of Ancient Civilizations titled “From Atlantis to Aztlan.” It was a brilliantly inclusive move on the part of the MCU, which has striven to even the representative superhero playing field.
Set on a different planet entirely was AVATAR WAY OF WATER (2022). The first sequel of the proposed five-installment franchise brought gorgeous new visuals although it was self-indulgently long. And as the title indicates, it was all about water. With even more scenes of people trapped in sinking boats - you’d think Director James Cameron would have had his fill already with TITANIC (1997) - the CGI water special effects reached new depths. And despite the excessive length of the film, we’re still invested in AVATAR 3 because Michelle Yeoh has signed on to join the cast as Dr. Karina Mogue.
However, this aquatic micro-trend may not be enough to keep the Aquaman franchise from sinking. Regardless of its box office reception, Aquaman exists in the wake of the unexpected success of THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021) directed by James Gunn. That movie put an end to Warner Bros. crisis of nearly infinite flops and moved executives to hand Gunn the keys to the DC Universe. The most immediate result of this change in leadership could be seen in the sequestering of the Zack Snyder Justice League and an attempt to justify these changes in-cannon with THE FLASH (2023), for anyone who bothered to see it.
While Gunn and his partner on the project, Peter Safran, rebuild the cinematic universe for DC adaptations, projects like a third sequel to Wonder Woman and Aquaman have been indefinitely shelved. There was also an Aquaman spin-off planned for release in-between the first and second Aquaman movies: THE TRENCH. That movie would have been a horror-tinged spin-off focused on the deadly amphibious creatures from AQUAMAN’s third act. Written by Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald, James Wan was developing it as producer in collaboration with Safran himself, but in April of 2021 the line was also cut on that project.
Momoa remains hopeful about remaining a part of the DC Universe even if it's not necessarily as Aquaman. But Momoa’s personal brand is that of an outdoorsman and ocean activist so Aquaman is a good fit. He has frequently shared his desire to make Aquaman cool, and he works overtime to make Arthur Curry almost unbearably so. Momoa recently told Entertainment Tonight "I love this character and [I would want to] play it for a long time, I kind of see where I would want it to go. And even in the next 10 years or so.” He’d go on to say “there's a lot of cool things they can do. And I do enjoy the role and the world. So, I mean, it just comes down to if people love it."
But audiences aren’t as in love with superhero movies anymore, or as evidenced by THE MARVELS (2023), not as many are going to theaters for them. The industry is talking about a decline in interest in the genre, dubbing it ‘superhero fatigue.’ Perhaps that’s why this movie is being released two days later than originally listed, opening opposite the biopic THE IRON CLAW, the animated feature MIGRATION, and the Glen Powell-Sydney Sweeney rom-com ANYONE BUT YOU. Nevertheless, it’s still Christmas weekend, an optimal time for certain films to make holiday box office grabs. AVATAR THE WAY OF WATER was last year’s Christmas weekend winner.
The Ultimate Fan-Bro
Christmas came early for James Wan who, with Aquaman, has found the perfect toys to unleash his inner nine-year-old upon. Wan’s devotion to the rule of cool has earned him diehard fans who are thrilled either by his frenetic horror or explosive action. In The Lost Kingdom, he gets to dabble in horror in the most kid friendly ways. He builds set pieces around remixes of favorite movie directors like Ray Harryhausen, Peter Jackson, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Actually, one could play a drinking game around “spot the reference” and end up as sloshed as a 2008 Tony Stark by the movie’s end. If we are kind, it's a homage. If critical, it’s straight up poaching.
But it’s not just John Carpenter and Guillermo del Toro whose work will be recognised. The movie sources as much aqua-lore from the works of H.P Lovecraft and Jules Verne as it does from the storylines by Steve Skeates, Paul Levitz and Neal Pozner from AQUAMAN’s comic run of the 1970’s and 1980’s respectively. This Aquaman sequel leans more towards steampunk pulp adventure than superhero in its aesthetic. Its story picks up five years after and gives much of the cast a chance to reprise their previous roles; to varying results. But one of AQUAMAN’s animal companions Topo (first appearance 1958) is given a speaking role, sort of, and this is good for a few chuckles although its cephalopod banter echoes R2-D2-BB-8-Chopper. Another homage?
Taking the Plunge: Underwater Fights
AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM has a new Fight Coordinator. In 2018, John Valera was fight coordinator and former Beijing Wushu Team member Li Jing was trainer with several stuntmen listed on the fight team. This time has moved on to overall stunt coordination, leaving the role of fight coordinator to Japanese stunt performer and actor Akihiro Haga. Having worked stunts in JOHN WICK 3: PARABELLUM (2019) and BIRDS OF PREY (2020), this former Power Ranger has trained in several martial arts including Taekwondo, Capoeira, Judo, Aikido, and Wushu. His resume includes expertise in firearms as well as nunchaku, sword, and knife.
Filling out Haga’s Core Fight Team, as they’ve been titled, are the following stunt-people. Cameron Hilts worked stunts in ANT-MAN & THE WASP (2018).
Underwater fights present a distinct challenge. The dynamics are different. It’s harder to sell a punch or a kick underwater. The impact is lessened by the resistance of water. Weapons work differently. Slashing swords and hammers aren’t nearly as effective underwater as harpoons and tridents. It’s trickier to convince audiences with a hand-to-hand combat fight. In real life, underwater fights lean towards drowning tactics. But with Aquaman and Manta, drowning isn’t an issue.
Jackie Chan tackled the water fight in the finale of his final installment in his epic Police Story franchise, POLICE STORY 4: FIRST STRIKE (1996). Shot in the real shark tank of Australia’s Underwater World, Jackie knew that his signature awesome acrobatics wouldn’t play out well. He defaulted to usual comedic fighting style. He uses a chainmail shark suit worn by the hapless female sidekick Annie (played by Annie Wu) to block knife attacks. Meanwhile the shark swims by, adding tension. Ultimately, the fight scene lacks the drama required of a finale, and was significantly cut down for the American release of the film, titled just FIRST STRIKE. The moments fighting with the live shark are ruined by the close ups with a rubber shark, which Jackie fights using a lifesaver boat ring.
The fight choreography in AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, as well as all the aforementioned water themed movies, have been predominantly generated with special effects. This creates a whole new issue for stunts as the bodies must still move through space simulating the semi-weightlessness of being underwater. It requires masterful stunt rigging and wire work.
During the production for Aquaman, Wan’s production team spent millions inventing new forms of stunt rigging with an eye for that underwater motion. These multi-jointed rigs (picture one of those car assembling robots) would support an actor suspended at the hips and would be manipulated by the fight team, and in some cases professional puppeteers, all dressed in green-screen jumpsuits. They would be digitally removed during the same post production pass which added water and flowing hair.
AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM dodges this dilemma by staging all of its fights out of the water. There’s only one underwater fight that’s hand-to-hand - a cage fight no less - but it’s very short. The rest are in sea caves and other places where water is not a factor. This allows the fight dynamics to obey the ‘normal’ physics and gravity of superhero combat, with plenty of bodies being knocked to outrageous distances from super-powered blows. The choreography is solid, although given the extensive use of special effects, it’s difficult to tell how much is stunt people and how much is CGI. For Atlanna’s fights, Nicole Kidman is obviously replaced by a CGI stunt woman, but others aren’t as clear. Ocean Master (Patrick Wilson) is reduced to skin and bones with astonishingly convincing special effects. And when Momoa and Wilson clash, there’s an extended single shot of trident versus trident combat. However, it blends the special effects so seamlessly that it’s difficult to determine how much is good stunt work and how much is CGI. Coupled with Wan’s frenetic cinematography, the fight becomes muddled.
Drenched in Bromance
Much of the comedy relief lies in the bromance between Aquaman and his half brother, Ocean Master. The previous film hinged on their rivalry for the Atlantean throne. Now in the sequel, they must work together to fight a mutual foe - Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). It’s a total broseidon.
For readers not hip to the latest slang, The Urban Dictionary defines broseidon as such:
“Broseidon - noun
A bro with such an epic love for … y'know, keepin' it real that the amount of broticity in his brostream has endowed him with a supernatural degree of unfettered power--thus turning him into a God.
Not to be confused with Brosef Stalin, which although respectable, is considered a lesser rank than the Broseidon. Also, a destination.”
In so many ways, Broseidon defines what Momoa is reaching for with his characterisation of Aquaman. And it should have come to head with Ocean Master as his foil. However, their chemistry doesn’t quite congeal, despite numerous nods to fraternal rivalry and love. Even in 3D, it falls flat.
Once again, DC tries to emulate the MCU formula with Aquaman but James Wan doesn’t get away with it this time - it’s arguable if he did last time. There’s some oversimplified messages about climate change, but despite Momoa’s personal commitments to this issue, it feels a bit like fish lip service. And given the shifting currents with superhero fatigue, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM may just float away with the ebbing tide.
