This chaotic, balls-to-the-wall origin story about Justice League member Aquaman seems to crib the central tenets of its story from Marvel’s Thor; a hulking, frequently shirtless hero is pitted against a jealous, spindly brother with whom he is to compete for the throne. Yet where Chris Hemsworth’s good-natured Thor was built for leadership, Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry is decidedly indifferent – a self-styled antihero and “a blunt instrument” by his own admission.
Emerging from the water wearing, inexplicably, both his jeans and shoes, he smoulders and flips his hair, Herbal Essences-style, knowingly underscored by a parodying electric guitar. Later, joined by Amber Heard’s redheaded queen-to-be, he ventures into the Sahara and the film breaks into a kind of screwball comedy. Funny seems to be what the film is going for and yet one scene sees an octopus playing a drum kit in earnest. The film isn’t totally unenjoyable, but it isn’t particularly coherent either.
