The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
‘Aquaman’ makes a wildly entertaining, campy splash
Uneven ‘Bumblebee’ gives cuddly alien robot a chance to shine
You have to give credit to James Wan that “Aquaman” is as good as it is. The “Saw” and “The Conjuring” filmmaker doesn’t do anything halfway. He took a character from the hit-or-miss DC Comics Extended Universe, best known from the HBO show “Entourage” and a brief “Justice League” appearance, and made the biggest, goof- iest, craziest aquatic super- hero action movie he could. “Aquaman” is pure camp, wildly entertaining and an eye-popping spectacle. You have to admire the effort, scope and sheer audacity of everyone involved — especially Wan, who throws it all at the screen. To his credit, most of it sticks, if you’re willing to dive right into this wacky ocean adventure.
Nicole Kidman sets the tone for this b o mbastic and kooky movie, playing a quirky mermaid Barbie who washes ashore and is rescued by a kindly lighthouse keeper, Tom (Temuera Morrison). She’s Queen Atlanna of the underwater kingdom Atlantis. The fruit of their union is the hunky, long-haired Arthur ( Jason Momoa), half-human, halfAtlantean and bestowed with his mother’s unique oceangoing gifts — underwater breathing, super-strength, extremely good fighting skills — which he applies to taking down high-tech pirates, clad only in jeans and tattoos.
The plot is a globe-trotting, seafaring scavenger hunt to track down King Atlan’s trident so Arthur can challenge the war-mongering Orm’s claim to the throne of Atlantis. It’s a zany jour- ney, as Princess Mera (Amber Heard) and Arthur travel to the various ancient Atlantean kingdoms by sea and land for clues. They stop off in the Sahara and in Sicily, while fighting off the stormtrooperesque commandos sent to kill them by Orm, as well as the vengeful, laser-eyed supervillain Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).
This is the kind of movie where Mera will inexplicably play a flute, and Arthur frequently loses his shirt for no reason at all. But why question it? A giant octopus pounds war drums — heck yeah. It’s funny, intentionally, and at times, immaturely so. But Wan’s enthusiasm is infectious, his effort exhaustive. The Lovecraf- tian aesthetic is big, bold and intoxicating, the tone pleasantly light and the references deep.
It’s an overstuffed two-anda-half-hour behemoth, and though it skimps on things like character development, there’s enough to distract from that. Wan and screenwriters David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Will Beall and Geoff Johns know this movie is for kids and for those who want to feel like kids at the movies, and this visual extravaganza delivers just that. So come on in, the water’s fine.
Downsizing was the only answer for the “Transformers” franchise after 2017’s epic, sprawling “Transformers: The Last Knight.” After five bombastic installments from true gearhead Michael Bay, going bigger simply wasn’t an option. So Paramount decided to go home, paring the latest film back to an origin story and getting at what makes this franchise tick: the friendly yellow Transformer known as Bumblebee.
Paramount hired “Kubo and the Two Strings” director Travis Knight to helm the ’80s-set “Bumblebee” prequel, with a script penned by Christina Hodson. What Hodson and Knight bring to the film — which was previously missing from the franchise — is heart, honing in on the relationships and emo- tional connections that actually make us care about the talking robot cars from outer space.
Hailee Steinfeld stars as Charlie, a music-obsessed 18-year-old who wakes up to the Smiths and has quite the enviable collection of band T-shirts. She’s mourning the loss of her father, pouring herself into working on his classic car. All she wants is her own set of wheels, so when a d usty yellow VW Beetle shows upat the junk- yard, she finagl es a way to take it home. Much to her surprise, th el ittle beater morphs into a scared, quiv- eri ng,gia nt robot, whom she dubs Bumblebee.
Bumblebee is initially voiced by Dylan O’Brien, a wee Transformer sent by the Autobot resistance to protect Earth from the Decep- ticons. During an ugly clash, his vocal machinery is damaged, so Charlie gives him his voice back with an AM/ FM radio he le arns to use for communication. All audiences need to know about the context of the Autobot/ Decepticon war that’s landed Bumblebee here: Two Decepticons in the form of muscle cars land on Earth to destroy him, and in doing so, they infiltrate the U.S. Army’s resources. They’re hoping to find the rest of the Autobots, and presumably, at some point, plunder Earth forresources.
It’s during the melee that Charlie truly comes into her own. She’s been distanced from her family, including her mother (Pamela Adlon) and stepdad (Stephen Schneider), distraught ove rt he sudden loss of her fathe r.Fig hting to protect Bumblebee is how she learns to step into her power, take responsibility and accept the consequences.
The heart of “Bumblebee” is Bumblebee itself, and he’ sthefar thest thing from ironic. The giant yello wb ot is just a cuddl ycreature. His blue eyes widen innocently, and he leans his massive head in for a cuddl e.He’sag iant golden retriever puppy ,u naware of his massive size, sheepish,guiltywhenhewreaks havoc, an intens ely l oyal, big old goofball .T hi s prequel offers Bumblebee a chance to shine, and you’ll come away with a newfound sense of affection for the most lovable alien vehicle in the universe.