Critics Calling Aquaman ‘Best DC Movie’ Since The Dark Knight

Warner Bros.

The first reactions for Aquaman have flooded in and the verdict is overwhelmingly positive with some critics going so far as to compare The King of the Seven Seas’ first solo outing to The Dark Knight. 

Or at least they’re saying that it’s the best DC comicbook movie since The Dark Knight, which I’m sure we can all agree is pretty high praise when you consider the quality of some DCEU films.

Aquaman premiered in London’s Leicester Square last night and fans, critics, and every other lucky so and so in attendance, seems to have spent most of today banging on about how brilliant it is.

The general consensus is that the film is bigger and crazier than any DCEU movie before it and that director James Wan has created an amazing underwater world.

Plus we hear that Julie Andrews, yes the Julie Andrews of Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music fame, plays a giant talking crab which may be bullsh*t but goddamn it, we want to believe!

Here’s a selection of the best reactions to Aquaman:

In fact, the only criticism I seem to see online about Aquaman is that it seems like a Marvel Phase One movie ( a similar criticism was made of Wonder Woman) which is a weird criticism when we consider how good the MCU’s first phase was.

That said, and I hate to pour cold water over this or pull the scales from anyone’s eyes, but I can’t see Aquaman being as good as The Dark Knight, because one’s a classic and the other’s about a man who talks to fish.

I can, however, see it being better than The Dark Knight Rises (Nolan’s worst film by a nautical mile) and maybe, just maybe, Wonder Woman, which I think’s a bit overrated.

Regardless of my thoughts it definitely sounds like Aquaman’s going to make a splash with fans but it might not be making any waves at the box office, unfortunately.

According to early predictions, which were reported by Screenrant, Aquaman’s tracking, in the US at least, for the lowest opening weekend in the history of the DCEU, roughly $40-60 million, a figure is well below Justice League’s $93.8 million debut.

Aquaman will see Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) set out on a brand new adventure to discover both his heritage and a special trident which will give whoever wields it, the power to control the Seven Seas.

Warner Bros.

Amber Heard will return as Hera, after a brief appearance in Justice League while  Willem Dafoe, Dolph Lundgren and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II all join the cast.

Patrick Wilson will also star as Orm, Aquaman’s evil half-brother (why are so many half-brothers evil in fiction? Mine are lovely), who goes by the less than subtle codename, Ocean Master.

While the exact specifics of the plot aren’t known, the film’s believed to have adapted an awful lot of ideas from Geoff John’s most recent Aquaman run, including stories like The Trench and Throne of Atlantis

Aquaman is set for release here in the UK on December 14.

If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]

Tom Percival

More of a concept than a journalist, Tom Percival was forged in the bowels of Salford University from which he emerged grasping a Masters in journalism.

Since then his rise has been described by himself as ‘meteoric’ rising to the esteemed rank of Social Editor at UNILAD as well as working at the BBC, Manchester Evening News, and ITV.

He credits his success to three core techniques, name repetition, personality mirroring, and never breaking off a handshake.