◎张伟
Unconsciously, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has come to an end. Many viewers may not realize that the "Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom" in front of them is the last work in the DC Extended Universe. Good or bad, it's all so innocuous. When all the additional features are stripped away, this "pure" superhero movie seems to be in the wrong era, more like a commercial blockbuster born 20 years ago.
The "Aquaman" who lost the movie universe
The DC extended universe started with 2013's "Superman: Man of Steel". At that time, DC, stimulated by the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, began to bid farewell to the convention of its own heroes fighting alone, and tried to build an interconnected cinematic universe. However, in the process of its formation and development, this universe was constantly disturbed by various factors, which eventually led to chaos and a sad ending. What is about to "replace" DCEU now is the DC Universe (DCU) created by James Gunn and Peter Safran - but the latter has only announced the first phase of planning, and no works have yet been released, and everything is still in the process of being In the clouds and fog.
Therefore, "Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom", which is affiliated with DCEU, is extremely special among superhero movies in recent years - on the one hand, it represents a world that has collapsed, and the ending that ends abruptly has already been written. Fans It is difficult for people to have a fanatical interest in it; on the other hand, "Aquaman 2" can remove all its baggage, and no longer has the "guest appearances" and "linkage" that are rampant today. It only connects the past and does not connect the following. Does not include matters unrelated to Neptune. In other words, this movie no longer needs to be responsible for the entire universe, but only itself.
This was a viewing experience that was once commonplace for superhero movies, but now it has become extremely luxurious. Audiences no longer have to worry about which celebrities will appear on stage like they do when watching a New Year movie, or wait for Easter eggs like looking forward to the encore at a concert. This "Aquaman 2" has no universe to rely on. The only easter egg is the bad taste of Aquaman's younger brother Orm when he experiences land delicacies, which is as irrelevant to the overall situation as the entire movie.
Making simple and happy retro movies
From the perspective of commercial movies, "Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom" is undoubtedly passing. When the audience puts down their expectations and burdens to enjoy it, they will find that this "Aquaman 2" does not have a lot of (sea) water, the controversial Amber Heard's scenes have not been deleted, and the frequency of the sea queen's appearance has also been reduced. Reasonable and reasonable. Overall, "Aquaman 2", which was affected by many unfavorable factors, is actually a highly completed movie. Compared with "Captain Marvel 2", which Marvel played with fire and burned itself, it is even more decisive.
Compared with "Captain Marvel 2", the biggest difference between "Aquaman 2" is that it does not introduce too many new characters in a thankless manner. The villain of "Aquaman 2", Black Manta, is one of the villains in the first film, and the clues of revenge for his father extend to this episode; and Orm, another opponent of Aquaman in the first film, transformed into a... teammate. The only new character that really matters is Cordax, the Lord of the Lost Kingdom, and his role is extremely limited. The film's grievances and hatreds are all concentrated on the characters of the previous film, avoiding the sense of fragmentation caused by too many new faces. This is a wise move.
How do old people develop new problems? The reason is simply that the situation has changed. After Sea King sat on the throne of Atlantis, he found that it was a hard job. His decisions were always vetoed by the parliament, and his status as a new father made him even more busy. In the first episode, Neptune's brother Orm went from king to prisoner. The earth-shaking change in his status did not defeat him, but gave him the opportunity to make meritorious deeds and atone for his sins. Black Manta couldn't let go of his obsession for revenge. In the process of repairing his armor, he accidentally came into contact with the secrets of the lost kingdom, and began to use ancient technology to resurrect Cordax, thus completing his revenge plan to destroy Aquaman.
The villains are powerful, so the brothers join forces; in addition, the person who sealed the villain Cordax is the ancestor of Neptune, and the current dispute hides past grudges; the resurrection involves the issue of blood, and the blood of Neptune's son becomes the key to resurrecting Cordax.In this way, Aquaman's journey of exploring monsters is connected with the mission of establishing brotherhood, protecting his son, and saving the world by the way.
The plot of the film is simple and retro, even old-fashioned, with no suspense and complexity, no innovation and brain-burning. "Aquaman 2", like many Hollywood movies of the 1990s, relies on nothing but action to provide two hours of happiness. The "black technology" of Lost Kingdom seems old and heavy because it is an ancient invention, but it adds to the texture of a retro action movie.
A patchwork visual puzzle
The success of superhero movies seems to depend on the characters, but in fact it depends on the director. No one can guarantee that the third and fourth parts of "Avengers" would have achieved such great success without the Russo brothers directing. Similarly, without James Wan to direct, "Aquaman 2" would be a super dud. After all, in the face of various problems such as frequent missteps among Warner's executives, the Expanded Universe's declaration of bankruptcy, chaotic reshoot delays, and constant disputes over overseas actors, the smooth launch of the film is already considered a huge success.
A major selling point of the "Aquaman" series is the beautiful underwater visual wonders, showing the wonder and magnificence of the kingdom of Atlantis. This is still reflected in "Aquaman 2". Not only that, the director tried to use the constant changes of scenes and dazzling special effects to make up for the film's weaknesses in plot and characters, so new scenes such as desert prisons, mutant jungles, and polar ice and snow were constantly unlocked, keeping the film's rhythm in a state of excitement for a long time. . Coupled with the whimsical bionic jellyfish vehicles, bionic hammerhead shark vehicles and other special weapons, as well as various strange species full of "Cthulhu" style, the whole movie is like a monster-fighting game, attracting the audience Keep exploring.
Unfortunately, although "Aquaman 2" is passable, it cannot be said to be outstanding. It can be seen that James Wan has made various efforts to save the quality of the film, but the patchwork feeling is still so obvious. The design and modeling of different scenes have a strong sense of conflict, and it is more like a collection of mixed cuts from multiple movies. I don’t know if it’s a tribute or an imitation, but some scenes clearly have echoes of classic films. For example, when the owner of the sunken castle appears, his strange appearance, bloated figure, lying on his side, and the swimsuit girl next to him are all reminiscent of Jabba's classic scene in "Star Wars". The Lost Kingdom is reminiscent of Mordor in The Lord of the Rings, with Cordax looking like Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor. No wonder some netizens joked that this movie should be called "Aquaman 2: The Lord of the Rings".
The most embarrassing part of "Aquaman 2" happens at the end. When Cordax was finally resurrected and was about to fight the Neptune brothers, Neptune threw the trident, and the villain was instantly killed - so perfunctory, it is really incredible. Poor Cordax spent nearly the entire movie preparing for resurrection, but his unblocked appearance lasted only a few minutes, just like the DC Extended Universe.
Source: Beijing Youth Daily
