AQUAMAN
Cert 12A Running time 143mins ★★★
The sixth instalment of the DC Extended Universe swims into cinemas on a high tide of stunning CGI and waves of superhero comic-book action.
Last seen in 2017’s Justice League fighting alongside Batman and Wonder Woman, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is a half-human outcast heir to the throne of the sunken city of Atlantis.
Lifting its cod mythology directly from Arthurian legend, he goes on a quest to find a magical weapon only the true king can yield, in order to prevent his half-brother from uniting the underwater kingdoms and waging war on humanity’s landlubbers. Willem Dafoe is unforgivably wasted in a small role as a Merlin figure, while Amber Heard’s princess has borrowed Scarlett Johansson’s fighting moves and exists to patiently explain the plot.
Surviving on a drip-feed of humour and romance, the wishy washy characters are thankfully drowned in a tsunami of Avatarquality visuals which bring giant armoured sea creatures to vivid life for an epic finale.