Anthony's Film Review - Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

The sequel to Aquaman maintains the excitement of its predecessor while still being fresh...

Here is yet another example of what a good movie sequel does: provide a new story while continuing the saga of characters made familiar with the previous movie. Aquaman back in 2018 laid the foundation for an underwater world and the titular super warrior. A few years later in 2023, we get a nice continuation that is easily just as solid as the last movie. So take it from me. You can put to rest any concerns that this second Aquaman is inferior to the first. In my opinion, it's not.

Let's review who the characters are. Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) is a half-human half-merman born to his human father Tom (Temuera Morrison) and mermaid mother Atlanna (Nicole Kidman). Arthur is now married to Mera (Amber Heard), and both have a new baby boy, Arthur Jr. Oh, and speaking of family, Arthur's brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) is currently imprisoned following the events of the last movie. Yes, he does have a fairly important presence here.

In this movie, the villain is Black Manta (played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). He wants to get revenge on Aquaman for letting his father die and not showing any mercy to save him. Manta's scheme involves a powerful resource known only to Atlanteans: orichalchum. What he ultimately does with it, after mining it out of certain places around the world, is yet to be seen, but it can't be good. He must be stopped.

Let me talk about the action for a bit. In my review of the previous Aquaman movie, I described some of the action as being an underwater Star Wars. I will say that there isn't a massive underwater fight like the climax of the first Aquaman movie. But don't get me wrong. The action in this movie is exciting. It takes place in various environments both under and above water. Special effects-laden action is standard these days.

The story takes the characters on a rather interesting journey. Locations include Atlantis, Arthur's home on the surface world, and several new places on land and underwater that we have not seen before, such as an aquatic haven for pirates. And yes, I haven't forgotten about the Lost Kingdom mentioned in the title. As you can guess, everything comes down to whatever that secret place is. It's something for the audience to discover for themselves.

Overall, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is another solid Aquaman movie. Enjoying the first Aquaman pretty much guarantees that you'll enjoy this sequel, at least in my opinion. Now, going back to what I said above about sequels, don't be surprised to see a third Aquaman movie. This one ends in a way that could work as both an epilogue for this movie and a launching pad for the next movie. To me, this movie makes a real splash in superhero action movies.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my review of Aquaman.