Review: ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ lunges for lightness even as franchise future is murky

It’s last swim for the troubled DC Extended Universe, planned for an overall rethink, as Jason Momoa returns as the King of Atlantis in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” In some important ways, the sequel laps the original. In others, it — and its mega-franchise — seem destined to sink without a ripple.

When last we saw Arthur Curry (Momoa), he was lying face-down drunk in a puddle in the jokey post-credits scene of “The Flash.” But storywise, we left him in triumph at the end of 2018’s “Aquaman,” having defeated his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), who was driven by semi-hilarious delusions of grandeur (“Ocean Master,” Orm wants them to call him). Arthur has become King of Atlantis.

Leaving aside the outmoded notions of the first film (Why isn’t Arthur’s mom, Queen Atlanna, allowed to rule? She is played by Nicole Kidman), the whole setup smacks of too much, too soon. Arthur, essentially a biker dude from the surface world who can swim fast and talk to fish but does not know Atlantean history or how the nation’s political system works, is apparently fit to be king. Cool.

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Anyhoo, the end of the last film left the door open to Ocean Master rejoining the fold. As they clapped him in chains, Arthur said, “When you’re ready, let’s talk.” And that’s just what happens when the ineffectual villain of the first one, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), finds an ancient Atlantean weapon and suddenly becomes much more powerful. Bringing big One True Ring energy, Manta finds himself guided by a malevolent force to destroy the world by burning fuel that releases greenhouse gases. So nice brother Arthur has to recruit mean brother Orm to stop that, because they agree it would be bad, and we’re off.

Patrick Wilson, left, and Jason Momoa in the movie “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Lost Kingdom” rings alarm bells over the climate crisis in earnest if clumsy fashion. It’s always jarring to hear members of an ancient undersea civilization speaking in American surface idioms, perhaps never more so than when the queen decries “greenhouse gases” — do they even have greenhouses in Atlantis? In real life, Momoa is a dedicated environmental activist and co-wrote the story, so his sincerity isn’t in question; one just wishes they could have made that pill go down easier. (By the way, 1987’s disastrous “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” was from a story co-written by its star, the late Christopher Reeve.)

The experience of watching “Lost Kingdom” (directed by James Wan, as was “Aquaman”) is often a fun one, though. Where the first movie felt like a superhero version of “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” this sequel is a buddy cop movie: Arthur, the freewheeling, fight-first-sort-it-out-later one and Orm, the by-the-book stickler. Wilson is a skilled actor who doesn’t play a one-note foil for Momoa’s antics. Along with some good work by returning screenwriter and longtime Wan collaborator David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Wilson fleshes out Orm’s motivations and worldview enough to make his redemption arc believable.

The underwater worlds are just fine, though there’s a lack of physics in the CGI action that rob the fights of dramatic weight. As a sequel, “Lost Kingdom” feels lighter, which is an improvement. Despite reducing the chemistry-free interactions between Arthur and his lady love, Mera (Amber Heard), it leans into the idea of superhero as family man, to humanizing effect. This leads to some new-parenting jokes — most viewers won’t expect to see Momoa peed on as much as he is here.

The first “Aquaman” was, by far, the biggest grosser in the DC Extended Universe, and Momoa has expressed doubt over the likelihood of his return as the character in the new plans. Losing him would be a shame. He balances the mellow biker-dude vibe with something hidden inside that’s ready to be roused. These movies allowed Arthur not to be the smartest guy in the room, a refreshing reversal. All of it resulted in one of the DCEU’s most alive-feeling characters.

And for a franchise with arguably more failures than successes, that’s not something to throw away easily. (One of the strengths of incoming rebooter James Gunn is reconceiving lightly regarded characters, as he did with “Guardians of the Galaxy.”) “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” may not be consequential in the long run, but it’s a mostly diverting, upbeat closer, one that could hint at the tone of things to come.