Released: November 2018

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Run Time: 152 Minutes

Rated R

Distributor: Lionsgate Studios/Amazon Studios

Genre: Horror/Fantasy

Cast:
Dakota Johnson: Susie Bannion
Tilda Swinton: Madame Blanc/Helena Markos/Dr. Josef Klemperer
Mia Goth: Sara
Chloe Grace Moretz: Patricia
Angela Winkler: Miss Tanner

2018 was a HUGE year for horror movies:  Hereditary, Upgrade, Annihilation, Halloween, and A Quiet Place just to name a few.  While there were definitely sequels, we really didn’t see a whole lot of remakes this year.  Now, I’ve gone on record multiple times on how I feel about remakes, so I won’t bother repeating myself about them…..again.  That being said, originality in horror has seen a bit of a resurgence.  Some of the films that I just mentioned aren’t tied to any other movies, but really stand on their own as they should.  The ones that I mentioned are really good and are proof that original horror films can still happen and still be fairly successful.  Every once in a while, you will see a remake of a much older film.  There was a remake that came out in November that a number of people were not sure of: Suspiria.

Suspiria follows American dancer Susie Bannion as she travels to Berlin to become a part of a legendary dance company.  Noticing Susie’s natural talent for dancing, the company’s head, Madame Blanc takes Susie under her wing and begins to train her to take part in one of the company’s popular dance routines.  Shortly after, strange things begin to happen as one of the dancers accuse the company’s leaders of being witches because of the disappearance of a fellow dancer.  That’s as far as I’m going to go with the plot, because there’s a lot of weaving in and out of various plot points.  It’s not too difficult to follow, but this is a very strange movie, and I mean that in the best way possible.  I’ll be honest:  I haven’t seen Dario Argento’s original film, so I really don’t have anything that I can compare this to.  I ordered Argento’s film last night from Amazon, so as soon as that film shows up, I will deliver a review of that and deliver a final verdict on which is the better film.  That being said, the story here is very interesting as it deals with witchcraft in a fairly realistic fashion.  One thing that stands out to me with the film is that the narrative has a 6-act structure, which is very unusual for a movie, but in some strange way, it works.  Normally, I would bring up the pace and the run time of the film later on in the review, but now would probably be the best time to bring it up.  This is a two-and-a-half hour film.  That’s pretty lengthy for a horror film, and that may turn people off.  For me, it flew by.

Let’s get this out of the way:  Suspiria is not your average horror movie.  It has more of a focus on the story and characters than most people are used to.  That being said, it still is a horror movie, and when the horror hits, it hits really hard.  In one scene, a dancer that wants to leave the company gets trapped in a room with mirrors and as Susie dances, we see this dancer get literally all twisted out of shape, and it is a pretty disturbing thing to see, because its not a quick scene.  It’s meant to linger.  The problem for a lot of horror fans is that the horror stuff doesn’t happen very often.  In fact, it takes a while between events to get to the next one.  This isn’t that kind of movie and some people are not going to bother with it.  I definitely get it.  Two and a half hours is a very long time for a horror movie and it’s just not going to work for everyone.  Personally, I loved the fact that it spaced out those horrific moments.  It gives you a little bit of time to breather and process what you just saw.  This scene that I just mentioned also highlights one of the more interesting aspects of the film.  These dance routines are a disguise for the spell-casting that’s going on.  This is not the “in-your-face” magic that you see from other supernatural films.  This is a far more subtle and nuanced take on the idea of witchcraft.

This film is surprisingly hypnotic.  While the film may seem to drag on at times, it’s still manages to keep your eyes glued to the screen.  A lot of that also has to do with the dancing that’s going on.  It’s a very different kind of dancing that feels very ritualistic in nature.  The choreography is simply amazing.  A lot of how it works has to deal with the actual performances in the film.  I have to tell you, the acting in this film is extraordinary.  Dakota Johnson plays Susie, the American dancer.  She’s really good, even though her character seems to not be all that consequential, but there’s a reason for that and I won’t spoil it for you.  Tilda Swinton, though, almost steals the show.  She has no less than three roles that she plays in the film.  The first is that of Madame Blanc, the head of the dance company.  Second is Dr. Josef Klemperer.  Tilda is no stranger to playing men, given how she actually looks.  I mean that with no disrespect.  In fact, I like the fact that she’s able to convincingly play both men and women.  In that regard, Tilda Swinton is a real chameleon.  The third role she plays is that of Helena Markos, the actual leader of the coven, but you don’t see that character until towards the end of the film.  Everybody else in the film does a really good job with their roles, but the standouts here are Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton.

From a visual standpoint, Suspiria really stands out.  This film is set in 1977 Berlin, so there’s a kind of a bleak and grey look throughout the film that adds to the creepy and dark vibe that you get from the film.  The use of color in movies like this is extremely important, because it fits in with what’s happening on the screen.  The final 30 minutes of the film are insane.  I’m not going to spoil it for you, but the use of color and the violent imagery are very, very vivid.  It’s a beautifully haunting and grotesque film that you can’t turn away from.  I have to give credit to Luca Guadagnino, the director for delivering a really solid and powerful horror film, considering that he’s never really made a horror movie before.

While I’m definitely singing the film’s praises, not everybody is going to like the film the way I did.  Again, the film is long, and there are large stretches where nothing appears to happen.  For people who aren’t willing to pay attention, they’re going to get lost and disinterested.  For people who aren’t a big fan of gore and graphic nudity are going to have to go somewhere else, because there’s a lot of that in this film, particularly the last 30 minutes.  It’s all done for a purpose and not just shock value, but it is something to consider if you’re looking for that’s a little more…..traditional.  Dario Argento himself has come out recently saying that he doesn’t care for the film itself, even though he credits the director for being a good director.  As I stated before, I haven’t seen the original Suspiria, so I have no basis for comparison.  I’m taking this film on its own merits, of which there are many.  If you have the patience and the stomach for it, there’s a hell of a lot to like here.

My Final Recommendation: Don’t go near dance companies.  They could be a cover for witches(not really, I’m just being facetious). 9/10.

As we grow older, there are certain things that we gain as we become adults, but there are also things that we lose along the way as we make the transition.  As kids looking at the world for the first time, we see this big magical place full of mystery and wonder.  As adults, we see the world as something that can be brutal and very mean at times.  It is one of the great tragedies of growing up that we lose that sense of wonder and excitement that we had as children.  While some of us are able to retain some of that, most of us gradually accept the reality of living in the real world:  Bills, jobs, taxes, and eventually death.  It’s depressing, really, that a lot of us can no longer see the world through the eyes of a child.  What’s even worse is that some of us, myself included, rushed to grow up only to be confronted with certain harsh realities.  To quote Calvin’s dad from Calvin and Hobbes, “I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to grow up if I’d known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed.”  It’s one of the reasons why I’ve chosen to bury myself in movies and video games to balance things out, because let’s face it:  Being a grown-up sucks sometimes.  Because of that, I want to talk about movies that have allowed me to remember that having a child-like sense of curiosity and wonder is an amazing thing and shouldn’t be taken for granted that many of us do from time to time.

Jurassic Park

Dinosaurs!  Who hates dinosaurs as a kid?  I sure didn’t.  While dinosaurs have been a part of cinema since the beginning, they’ve never been brought to life like Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.  I remember seeing this film back in 1993, and this scene just floored me.  I wasn’t concerned about how the film was made, I was just simply glued to the screen watching a brachiosaurus rear up on its hind legs.  Then the scene cuts to a group of dinosaurs roaming in herds.  26 years later, this scene still gives me goosebumps.  Jurassic Park is such an amazing experience.  Every time I watch it, I’m transported back to the first time that I saw it theaters.  While Jurassic Park has multiple sequels, none can compare to original film.  Not only was the film exciting and visually spectacular, it pushed visual effects and CGI to their absolute limits while still using practical effects, puppets and models.

Star Wars

While this one really doesn’t need an explanation, I’ll provide one anyway.  Star Wars was one of the first films that I remember watching.  I don’t even know how many times that I’ve seen the Original Trilogy.  I didn’t get to see these ones in theaters, but I do remember how amazing these films were.  As an adult, these films are still among my favorites.  Star Wars changed things forever in the film industry and has become a pop-culture phenomenon unlike anything else that has come before or since.  Every time those famous blue word, “A Long Time Ago, in A Galaxy Far, Far Way” pop up, I get excited.  Whether it’s the original films, the prequels or the new Disney films, there is something about Star Wars that speaks to us on a certain level.  For me, Star Wars will always be a reliable source of entertainment that will always make me feel like a kid.

Hook

To me, Hook is probably the best Peter Pan film ever made.  I loved it as a kid, because it was so imaginative, colorful, and Robin Williams was in perfect form.  While the film didn’t necessarily garner the following that it has now, there was something really magical about the film that brings me back to a simpler time and simpler story-telling.  As an adult, this film has multiple meanings for me.  For one, it teaches adults that being a kid should be one of the most cherished times in a person’s life because it will never come again.  At the same time, kids learn that growing up has its benefits as well, such as being able to have a family of your own.  This scene that I picked isn’t the whole scene, but it’s still intact enough to really capture what it means to be a kid and what it means to be a grown-up.  Watching Peter find his happy thought and soaring out of the tree-house never gets old.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Granted, when the first Lord of the Rings film came out back in 2001, I was 19, so I wasn’t technically a kid anymore, but that didn’t stop me from taking in the world of Middle-Earth like a kid.  It was an epic fantasy film that had very familiar themes that I remembered as a kid.  That opening prologue with Sauron and the One Ring had me glued to the big screen.  I had never seen anything like it before, at least not on that scale.  The Fellowship Of The Ring reminded me why I loved fantasy as a kid and why I had such a vivid imagination as a youngster.  Even to this day, The Lord of the Rings captured my imagination to a degree that not even Star Wars could.  From The Fellowship of the Ring to The Return of the King, these films told me that it’s okay to have an imagination and to enjoy stuff like this.

Aladdin

Disney’s always been a source of great imagination.  Just look at their old-school animated line-up.  From Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to The Lion King, each of their films were just brimming with creativity, color, story and humor.  Aladdin was my absolute favorite animated film during the early 90s.  It was incredibly vibrant with an incredible performance by Robin Williams as the Genie.  As far as I’m concerned, he made that movie what it was.  Yeah, it had good writing, great animation and music, but Robin’s incredible and oft-improvised performance just stole the show.  There was a lot going on visually.  I was utterly captivated when it first came out and I still feel that way whenever I watch the film.

The Abyss

To be honest, The Abyss doesn’t actually make me feel like a kid whenever watch it, despite it being a really great movie.  For me, watching The Abyss takes me back to when I saw it the first time.  I remember when the family went to go see The Abyss at the Pioneer Drive-In theater in Orem, UT.  The great thing about drive-ins is that they often played two movies for the price of one as double-features.  When we went to go see The Abyss, the film was playing with Tim Burton’s Batman playing right after.  That was a helluva one-two punch.  Two fantastic movies playing back-to-back was a steal.  But it was the experience of being in that drive-in with those big clunky speakers that would hook on to your window that made the experience so memorable.  It will be 30 years this summer since I saw these films for the first time.  Whenever I watch The Abyss, it takes me all the way back to 1989 when things used to be simpler.

Superman: The Movie

I’m a huge fan of comic-book movies.  I always have been.  But there’s always been one movie to which all the others are measured: Superman.  The original 1978 film was and still is one of the greatest superhero films of all time.  Christopher Reeve inhabited the character of Kal-El/Clark Kent the way that no-one else has been able to accomplish.  Like the film’s tagline said, you believed that a man could fly, and while the visual effects don’t hold up as well, the film is so well-written and acted, that it doesn’t matter.  The film was FUN.  A lot of comic-book movies these days try to be a little too serious for their own good, but Superman was pure joy.  Even more so as a kid.  There was so much imagination and the music by John Williams was nothing less than iconic.  After watching the film as a kid, I remember tying a towel around my neck and charging around the house and outside pretending I was flying.  Kids these days don’t really have that anymore.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

E.T. is the third Steven Spielberg film on this list.  There’s a reason for that.  His movies have been a huge part of my childhood.  From Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Indiana Jones, Spielberg’s movies have really been ingrained in my subconscious since I was a kid.  His movies were incredibly real, fun and powerful at times.  E.T. is one of his best movies.  I picked the film up on Blu-Ray last year because I hadn’t seen it in 20 years.  This film truly encapsulates what it means to be a child.  Look at the way its filmed.  The adults are filmed mostly from the neck down so the film can focus on the youngsters and that is where the heart of the film is.  It’s a lot of fun with some really incredible visuals, and watching Elliott fly across the moon with his alien friend is iconic.  There are many themes and messages about the importance of friendship and imagination throughout the film that are just as relevant today.  As complex as movies have gotten today, E.T. is a perfect example of how simple a movie can be but still reach people of all ages on an emotional level.  How many movies being made today can do that?  The ending to E.T. still gets me every time.

Growing up sucks.  It really does.  We don’t see the world with the wide-eyed optimism that we used to when we were younger.  A lot of the dreams that we had as kids and what we wanted to be were often dashed on the rocks of reality.  We often get told by our peers, teachers and bosses that we should just grow up and accept reality as it is.  To that, I say this:

Life’s too short to take everything so seriously.  In these dark times, it’s good to be reminded that sometimes we should say, “fuck off, I’m going to go have some fun!”  That was our attitude as kids and losing that attitude has kind of made life…..mundane.  I believe Sir Anthony Hopkins said it best:

 

Released: 2019

Director: Jonas Åkerlund

Run Time: 118 Minutes

Not Rated

Distributor: Netflix

Genre: Action/Crime

Cast:
Mads Mikkelson: Duncan Vizla
Vanessa Hudgens: Camille
Kathryn Winnick: Vivian
Fei Ren: Hilde
Ruby O. Fee: Sindy
Matt Lucas: Blut

Have you ever seen a movie and completely forget that you ever saw it almost immediately afterwards?  I’ve seen quite a few of those, but I can’t remember their names.  Maybe its because a particular genre has been over-saturated with movies that are so similar it’s hard to tell the difference between them.  It happens quite a bit in specific genres like horror, action, and science fiction.  I think part of the problem is that a lot of genre films have a tendency to follow a specific pattern.  It’s safe and it doesn’t require a whole lot of effort, and for certain films, that’s okay.  Originality can be quite difficult in an industry that doesn’t seem to care for originality anymore.  Sticking to certain tropes and ideas can be a good thing if it’s done well.  Apparently, director Jonas Åkerlund didn’t get the memo when he directed Polar.

Polar follows an aging assassin blah, blah, blah, wanting to retire when the organization that he works for betrays him, yadda, yadda, yadda.  While all of this is going on, he forms a connection to a lonely girl that may or may not figure into his past.  When said girl gets kidnapped, Mr. Aging Assassin pulls out all of his tricks to find her and destroy the organization that he used to work for.  If that setup sounds familiar, it should.  It’s the basis for pretty much nearly every revenge-type thriller that’s come out in the past decade.  The only exception that this particular story has is that it’s boring and fairly mean-spirited.  From what I understand, Polar is based on a graphic novel  written by Victor Santos and published by Dark Horse Comics.  I haven’t read any of it, but from what I’ve seen from this movie, it is the opposite of what the comics were trying to go for.  This particularly story isn’t well-written.  In fact, it feels like a generic thriller at times that borrows liberally from better films in the genre.  It’s boring.  We’ve seen it all before, and we’ve seen it done a hell of a lot better than this.  Don’t get me started on that ending, though.  Whatever good will this film was trying to muster up was completely shot in the head with that disastrous ending.  I haven’t been THAT insulted be an ending in years.

Let’s get some of the positives out of the way.  For one, Mads Mikkelson is freakin’ awesome here.  Then again, he’s pretty much awesome in nearly everything that he does.  He’s a fantastic actor.  He truly does inhabit the character of an assassin that’s wanting to retire.  While I can’t say that the chemistry between his character and Vanessa Hudgens’ Camille is anything substantial, he at least attempts to carry it the best he can.  His character is probably the most compelling out of all the characters in this film.  That’s not to say that the acting is bad.  Some are gloriously over-the-top, specifically Matt Lucas’ Blut.  He’s clearly having a lot of fun with the character and it shows, even though the character is about as threatening as a wet paper bag.  The gang of assassins trying to hunt down Duncan are at the very least, different, if not remarkable.  Vanessa Hudgens’ character though, is probably the weakest part of the film.  She’s not given a whole lot more than being clumsy and quiet.  There’s a lot of talent here, but they aren’t given a whole lot to do with.  There’s even a cameo by Richard Dreyfuss that seems oddly out of place.  A movie should not necessarily be held up by the strengths of one actor alone, and even Mads Mikkelson can’t really save this one.

The tone of this film is all over the place.  Look at how the color schemes in the film change at a breakneck pace.  At one moment, it’s bleak and grey while at other times its colorful and vibrant.  What kind of movie is this?  You need to pick a tone and stick with it.  That also brings us to the action and the violence.  Considering the movies that I love watching, I’m probably the last person on the planet to discuss the mean-spirited nature of the violence in this movie.  I’m not opposed to ultra-violence in my movies.  Quentin Tarantino does it all the time, but he does it in such a way that it seems like it’s done tongue-in-cheek.  It’s really over-the-top.  Here, there really is no such finesse.  At one point towards the beginning of the film, Duncan buys a dog only for him to inadvertently blow it away as a result of a PTSD flash-back.  Is that supposed to be funny?  Because I’m not laughing and fuck this movie for doing that.  There was no reason for that to happen.  That’s just being mean for the sake of being mean.  At least, in John Wick, when the dog died, there was a reason for the character’s rampage.  The dog was the last connection that Wick had to his dead wife, so it became personal.  Here, it’s pointless and cruel.  That’s not to say that the violence is entirely out of place in certain parts of the film.  Seeing Duncan tear through assassins and henchmen is pretty glorious and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.  The torture scene was completely unnecessary and feels out-of-place in a film where the tone is schizophrenic.  Again, it comes across as unnecessarily mean and it actually detracts from the film.  Don’t get me wrong:  As I said, I enjoy a great deal of ultra-violence in movies, but there has to be a purpose for it.  The story needs to drive the action, not the other way around, and that’s one of the biggest failings of Polar.  It’s driven by its violence, not its story.

At the end of the day, Polar is just another in a long list of utterly generic action thrillers that relies far too much on its over-the-top violence and sexuality to be worth of anything substantial.  It’s also boring.  It takes forever for the film to get going.  When the action hits, it hits hard and fast, and that’s where the movie biggest strength and weakness is.  No blame can be laid at the feet of the film’s actors, especially Mikkelson.  He’s absolutely phenomenal.  The problem lies with Jonas Åkerlund and his attempt to make his movie like Quentin Tarantino meets John Wick.  It fails at both and it fails to be a compelling thriller with anything memorable.  Honestly, I would skip it.  Mads Mikkelson has better movies out there, and there are an infinitely number of better thrillers than Polar.

My Final Recommendation:  Take this one out to the snow and bury it.  4/10.

 

Released: December 2018

Director: James Wan

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 143 Minutes

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Genre: Action/Fantasy

Cast:
Jason Momoa: Arthur Curry/Aquaman
Amber Heard: Mera
Patrick Wilson: Orm/Ocean Master
Willem Defoe: Vulko
Nicole Kidman: Atlanna
Dolph Lundgren: King Nereus
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Manta
Temuera Morrison: Tom Curry

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve reviewed a brand new theatrical release film.  My apologies.  My day job and other aspects of Real Life got in the way.  Everything seems to be working out right now, so I hope to be bringing more to you.  With the films coming out this year, both theatrical and direct-to-video, it’s going to be a busy year.  Anybody who knows me will know that I’m a huge fan of comic-book movies.  From Superman and Batman to The Avengers, I get a kick out of these films that bring so many well-known superheroes to life.  Some films have soared, while others have stumbled.  Regardless, there is no stopping the machine that is the comic-book movie.  I’ve been a fairly staunch supporter of the DCEU(DC Expanded Universe) films, despite the universe stumbling out the door.  Man of Steel got a fairly decent reception, but Batman V. Superman and Justice League got wrecked critically.  Wonder Woman appeared to be a huge step in the right direction.  So, where does Aquaman stand?

Aquaman tells the story of Arthur Curry, a man who was born when his human father fell in love with Atlanna, the queen of Atlantis.  After the climactic battle with Steppenwolf at the end of Justice League, Arthur finds himself roaming the seas to help people in trouble.  The film opens when a group of well-armed pirates hijack a Russian submarine only for Arthur, the Aquaman, the intervene.  Later, in the under-water city of Atlantis, Arthur’s half-brother Orm has assumed the throne of Atlantis with the intention of bringing war to the surface world.  Princess Mera, manages to convince Arthur to return with her to Atlantis and attempt to stop the war before it begins.  The story is pretty straight-forward and fairly typical of a superhero film.  This is the same kind of story that we’ve seen in many other comic-book movies, but what makes this one different, is the fact that it’s Aquaman.  Yeah, the story is pretty simple at its core, but it’s still a fairly compelling narrative at times.  It does go where you think it will go, but it does it with so much joy and so much fun that it’s hard NOT to get invested.

One of the biggest selling points of Justice League and Batman V. Superman before it, was the casting of Jason Momoa as the titular Aquaman.  Jason Momoa is one of the coolest actors in the industry today.  He is an exceptional actor and he definitely brings a very strong presence to whatever he’s doing.  Jason’s casting as Aquaman is perfect casting in the same way that Robert Downey, Jr. was perfect casting as Tony Stark in Iron Man.  While Jason was known for Stargate: Atlantis and Game of Thrones, I suspect that his role in Aquaman will become one of his most iconic roles in his career.  He’s fantastic.  He obviously has the physical build for the role, but he also makes the character incredibly human and relatable, even though Arthur isn’t completely human.  Amber Heard is wild as Mera.  Not only is she drop-dead gorgeous, but she can hold her own with the boys in the action scenes.  Her chemistry with Momoa’s Arthur feels very organic, human, and sometimes hilariously antagonistic.  Patrick Wilson plays King Orm, and here is one of the weaker characters of the film.  I’m not saying that Wilson did a bad job, far from it, it’s just that the character feels very cliche at times as the villain who wants the thrown.  Honestly, I would’ve liked to have seen more of Yahya Abdul-Mateen’s character of Black Manta as a central villain.  Don’t get me wrong, both characters have a personal connection to Aquaman, but it’s Manta’s hatred of Aquaman that feels more authentic.  Dolph Lundgren has a pretty decent appearance as King Nereus, Mera’s father, as he kind of hesitates to join Orm’s quest to destroy the surface world.  Lundgren is always a fun one to watch, whether or not he’s playing a good guy or a villain.  Willem Defoe actually plays a good guy for once in a comic book movie.  What can I say about Defoe?  He’s fantastic.  What makes the performances so enjoyable, is the fact that the actors absolutely know what kind of movie they’re in and they just roll with it.  There’s a lot of over-the-top posturing, speeches, and men being manly men.

This movie moves really quickly.  It’s not a boring movie and it will keep your eyes attached to the screen for the entire run-time.  Before I get to the action, I have to say that Aquaman is one of the most beautiful movies I’ve seen since James Cameron’s Avatar.  There are a lot of shots on land that are simply stunning.  The open desert as well Sicily are incredibly captured, and make you want to visit those places.  In case you haven’t figured it out, Aquaman is a visual-effects heavy film.  There is a lot of CGI here, but it’s utilized in a way that actually makes it feel like livable world.  The under-water sequences, including Atlantis itself are simply stunning.  The colors are extremely vibrant and they pop out as if to say, “look at me!”  The first few DCEU movies had this kind of grit and grime that tried to make the films seem more edgy than they needed to be.  None of that is here.  The action sequences are some of the most interesting I’ve seen in a comic-book movie.  The under-water fight scenes are well-choreographed and visually impressive.  The fights between Orm and Aquaman are some of the highlights.  Then you get some seriously epic battle sequences towards the end of the film which are mind-blowing at how well it came together.  The special effects gurus at Industrial Light and Magic for bringing such a fantastic under-water world to life.

While the film is mostly fantastic, there are a few niggling issues here and there that I’m not really a big fan of.  There are a number of uses of “de-aging” CGI that have been used periodically, and some of those effects are not very good.  Also, the film does run a little too long at 143 minutes.  I think a trimming of a few scenes here and there could’ve really tightened up the pace a bit.  Ultimately, though, the positives out-weigh the negative in nearly every category.

Is Aquaman a silly movie?  Yes.  Yes, it is.  Is it cheesy?  In the best possible way.  This is a movie that knows what it is and what it wants to be and just goes for it.  Everybody who worked on the film clearly had a vision in mind and had a blast doing it.  They wanted to make the best possible comic-book movie they could, and I think they succeeded very, very well.  Man of Steel, Batman V. Superman, and Justice League were taking the DCEU down the wrong path, in my opinion.  Wonder Woman and Aquaman are trying to make things right again, and I think they can do it.  With Shazam! coming in a couple of months, I believe the DCEU could be back on track.  Will it ever eclipse Marvel’s MCU?  Not anytime soon.  It’s been a very long time since a comic-book movie made me feel like a kid again, and Aquaman did just that.  This movie is an absolute blast.

My Final Recommendation: 9 Laser Sharks out of 10.  This one has to be seen on the big screen.