When DC Comics launched its New 52 reboot in 2011, one of the biggest beneficiaries was Aquaman. For years, Aquaman has been much maligned as a mediocre at best comic book superhero. With the reboot of an entire universe, an opportunity to reinvent the King of Atlantis had presented itself. Now, comes his very own origins film, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, inspired by those stories written by Geoff Johns. Warning, spoilers ahead…
I’ve been very critical of the handling of the DC Cinematic Universe, if there is such a thing, but their Animated universe as been spot on thus far. That is, until this one. There are aspects of Throne of Atlantis that I enjoyed but sadly the weakest part revolves around Aquaman himself. The voice talent of Matt Lanter is well done and fitting but the character is boring. You should never be the weak link of your own origin story.
Throne of Atlantistells the story of Arthur Curry (Aquaman) discovering his regal heritage as heir to the Kingdom of Atlantis. After the death of his father, Arthur struggles to find meaning in his life. He doesn’t feel part of this world or any other for that matter. We learn that his half brother Orm wants the throne for himself and were willing to kill his own mother and wage war against the surface dwellers to do so. At 72 minutes long, it takes close to 50 plus to get Arthur from his ‘woe is me’ mindset to his orange and green persona that challenges his brother and the Black Manta to try and destroy the surface dwellers and rule Atlantis as their own. The actual answering the call to being a hero doesn’t take long at all it’s the journey that took forever. He accepted his role with relatively little opposition. Thus making the action climax in the end seem rushed and disjointed.
Of course along the way, he meets with and is introduced to the other members of the Justice League. Although no one Justice Leaguer is prominent in any way, when they do appear, some of the best scenes and dialogue take place. The interaction between Batman (Jason O’Mara) and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillon) in the beginning and those of The Flash (Christopher Gorham) throughout adds much needed value to a lackluster storyline.
One of the biggest problems the people at Warner Bros face with their DC product is if the main character isn’t Batman or Superman, the interest isn’t there from the public. I’m not sure what the answer is to correct that. Shows like the CW’s Arrowand The Flash however have given new life to these characters that now the public almost demands to see more of them in any incarnation. This would included wanting them to be added to the Cinematic universe that is set to be launched in 2016 with the eagerly awaited and much dissected Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice feature film. Only time will tell to see where the future lies.
The visuals and action scenes are top notch as one has come to expect from DC. They just fall a bit short on the story front. But rest assure that even though Throne of Atlantis isn’t their best work, more will be on the way starting this Spring with Batman vs. Robin, based on the popular Court of Owls storyline.
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis *** (out of 5 stars)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
