Five years after its successful debut in theaters worldwide, Aquaman is back in theaters. Still in the guise of Jason Momoa. Don’t remember the first movie? We summarize it for you before the release of the sequel.
On December 19, 2018, Aquaman made his first solo dive in French theaters. With, upon arrival, 3,289,776 spectators and 1.152 billion dollars in worldwide box office revenue. It was just five years ago and water has flowed under the bridge since then, going so far as to sink the DC universe launched with Man of Steel and which is living its last hours before being taken over by James Gunn and Peter Saffron.
And it is to the superhero to whom he owes his biggest success in theaters that the universe is preparing to bow out. Entitled The Lost Kingdom and still directed by James Wan, this sequel has been a long time coming since it has been postponed several times, leaving everyone a little more time than expected to catch up on the first opus, available on Netflix and Prime Video.
You haven’t had time to (re)watch it and aren’t afraid of spoilers? Don’t panic, we’ll summarize the film for you!
It all begins in 1985. While Back to the Future and Breakfast Club are released in the cinema, a funny story begins for Tom Curry (Temuera Morrison) when he discovers an inhabitant of the kingdom of Atlantis injured at the foot of the lighthouse whose he is the guardian.
The man from the land and the woman from the sea fell in love and lived happily with only one child, Arthur. Until the day when Atlanna’s compatriots find her trail, determined to bring her home.
An explosive action scene follows and gives us the opportunity to see Nicole Kidman fight for a sequence shot, something we didn’t necessarily imagine seeing in the cinema at the end of 2018.
Still, she must give up her relationship to return to King Orvax to whom she was promised, but leaves Arthur with Tom, to prevent harm from happening to them if they are found.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Thirty-three years later, the boy has grown up and, after long training alongside his mentor Vulko (Willem Dafoe), he has become Aquaman. Superhero as formidable in local bars (which will become his trademark, see the post-credits scene of The Flash) as at the bottom of the oceans.
Like when he saves a Russian submarine from a pirate attack and leaves their leader Jesse Kane (Michael Beach) to die. Without imagining the repercussions that this will have on his life (and his film adventures).
Because he will attract visceral hatred from his son David (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who does not yet call himself Black Manta. But already plays a role in a large-scale plot which involves humans that King Orm (Patrick Wilson), ruler of Atlantis and half-brother of Arthur, uses to attack the Earthlings (or Surfacians) and make them pay the pollution and overfishing, among other things for which they are deemed responsible.
Warner Bros. Pictures
In idea, his quest is noble. In practice, less. Because it requires manipulation (and attacks orchestrated by him) to convince at least three of the seven kingdoms to rally to his cause. Arthur’s two worlds then collide when a gigantic wave crashes onto the coast and nearly kills his father.
And when Mera (Amber Heard), daughter of King Nereus (Dolph Lundgren) and Orm’s bride, tells him that he can challenge the latter’s throne. Especially if he has King Atlan’s trident, forged millennia ago but lost in the fall of Atlantis, otherwise it would be too easy.
Under the ocean (famous tune)
The hero is therefore convinced to dive and, barely has he had time to admire this giant octopus which plays percussion and seems to have been failed in the casting of The Little Mermaid, that they are captured half-way brother.
As we are only halfway through the film, the confrontation between Orm and Arthur turns to the advantage of the first, without possible dispute. But the second owes his salvation to Mera, who manages to evacuate him, and Vulko, who gives them a cylindrical artifact containing a message from Atlan allowing them to know where his trident is. With a first stop in the Sahara desert.
At that moment, someone (the music supervisor, so as not to denounce him) said to himself that it would be original to illustrate the beginning of the sequence with a cover of “Africa” of Toto signed Pitbull. And that’s the case, for now. Fortunately for them, the heroes also find an ancient Atlantean city on the scene and Atlan’s message, which they finally listen to, sends them to Sicily.
Warner Bros. Pictures
There, Arthur and Mera realize that their quest will often be interrupted by explosions. And the hero finds David Kane who, that’s it, calls himself Black Manta. In addition to fighting in a high-tech suit of his creation, with… Atlantean weapons. A long action scene and a brutal fight later, the villain appears dead (spoiler: he’s not).
The future Aquaman and his partner then reach the third and final stage of their journey: the Pit, a secret sea populated by terrifying creatures (where director James Wan reminds us that he likes horror cinema), in which Atlanna had been thrown away after being sentenced to death upon her return to Atlantis, for having given birth to Arthur.
But – huge twist! – this one is still alive. And she can indicate to her son that the mythical trident is not far away, but that he will have to triumph over the Karathen, a monster who will only let the legitimate king of Atlantis pass (and who, in the original version, has the voice by Mary Poppins, it’s not a joke).
And this king turns out to be Arthur, who we see coming out from behind a waterfall, in his armor made of golden scales with the weapon in his hand, in one of the best-known shots of the feature film.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Always accompanied by Mera, he brings aid to the last kingdom that Orm is trying to subdue in order to launch its attack against the Surfaceians. Riding the Karathen, which he has definitely tamed, and helped by the underwater creatures with whom he can communicate, he defeats his half-brother’s army. And comes face to face with him for a revenge.
As we are at the end of the story this time, Arthur ‘Aquaman’ Curry triumphs. Thanks to his new trident and what Vulko taught him, when the fight takes place on Earth. But Atlanna prevents him from killing his half-brother, despite the latter’s requests, who is taken prisoner. While his mother is reunited with his father, the hero can ascend the throne of Atlantis.
All’s well That ends well ? On paper, yes. In fact, less. Because David ‘Black Manta’ Kane is saved at sea by a certain Dr. Stephen Chin (Randall Park), previously seen on a television screen and convinced of the existence of Atlantis… of which he finds traces in the technology of the villain’s outfit, who asks him to help him find Aquaman.
In the next episode…
And that will be in the sequel. Still signed by James Wan, it is expected in our theaters on December 20. In view of the images revealed so far, Black Manta will be determined to take revenge on Arthur, and he now possesses the legendary black trident, which makes him even more formidable and deadly.
To overcome it and save the underwater kingdoms, Arthur will have to team up with… Orm. In what will be Jason Momoa’s last adventure in Aquaman. And the final DCEU film, as envisioned ten years ago.