Early ‘Aquaman’ Review Compares Film to MMA in an Aquarium

DC’s Aquaman movie is fighting a major uphill battle to make the DC Extended Universe film franchise relevant again – thankfully, as we head down the stretch to release dat there are some good signs that the film will please DC Comics and blockbuster movie fans, alike.

Last week we got a slew of Aquaman first reactions praising the film – but those reactions were from a fan screening event, and clearly come with a heavy note of bias. Now we’re getting a first reaction from a full-fledged critic, and it, too, describes Aquaman as the type of DC superhero fun that fans have been calling for:

Here’s what THR’s deputy film editor Tatiana Siegel wants you to know about Aquaman: “Just saw AQUAMAN, which is a whole lot of fun. Like an afternoon at an aquarium crossed with an MMA match. In a good way”.

The specific line of the film being like “an afternoon at an aquarium crossed with an MMA match” has a lot of fans scratching their heads, trying to reconcile that description into some kind of comprehensive assessment of the film. That aside, fans are understandably feeling pretty good about this early critical reaction, which basically hits all the key words that DC fans want to hear at this juncture.

The word “fun” is a major trigger when it comes to DCEU movies, as Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman v Superman were both heavily criticized for being dour and dark and lacking a true sense of superhero movie fantasy and enjoyment. Justice League was supposed to be the major heel turn where the DCEU entered a new era of more lighthearted superhero fantasy, but ultimately that goal was lost in the muddled mess that the film became when switching between Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon as directors. So far, only Wonder Woman has struck a chord with both hardcore DC fans and general audiences, and that film’s ability to inspire the sense of both wonder and heroic inspiration expected of a DC superhero, is cited as a big reason why.

With every new Aquaman trailer we’ve seen growing evidence that the film is indeed a sprawlingly epic superhero adventure, which will deliver both the action and wonder fans want. While the majority of reviews have yet to come in, things are off to a much better start than most DCEU releases.

Upcoming DC Extended Universe films include Aquaman on December 21st, Shazamon April 5, 2019, and Wonder Woman 2 on November 1, 2019.