Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on TF1: aqua good? (critical)

Aquaman 2 concluded the DC universe launched 10 years ago by Zack Snyder. A degenerate film that pulls in all directions, but where some great ideas float through.

Aquaman 2 is broadcast for the first time unencrypted on television, this Sunday evening on TF1. We are republishing our review, initially broadcast when it was released in cinemas, at the end of 2023.

That’s it, it’s the end. With Aquaman and the Lost KingdomWarner Bros. closes an erratic chapter in its history, a ten-year superheroic parenthesis during which the studio tried to compete with Marvel by creating its own shared universe (James Gunn will reset the counters to zero in 2025 with a new Superman). Don’t expect any fanfare or fireworks: the Burbank firm has decided to rock Aquaman 2 in theaters with a minimalist promo and without showing it to the press beforehand. Preceded by persistent rumors of chaotic filming, catastrophic test screenings and messy reshoots, is this final part of the DCEU really the disaster predicted? It’s (a little bit) more complicated than that.

After a summary of what has happened off-screen since the first Aquaman (Arthur Curry tries to assume both his role as king of Atlantis and that of father), James Wan plants the seeds of a great adventure film with around ten minutes of exploration under Antarctica, where the famous Lost Kingdom is hidden. Summoning both Jules Verne and Lovecraft, the filmmaker imposes a mysterious and disturbing universe, full of steampunk ideas, mythological monsters and ancient curses. It’s obvious that it’s this movie, so Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea tinged with horror, which Wan really wants to achieve.