Aquaman. Growing up loving the water I had an affinity for the superhero who seemed to be the butt of all jokes. But in 2010 writer Geoff Johns brought the character back to life in Brightest Day, and made sure he'd never be anybodies joke again.
DC Animated recently has been outshining their live-action films to me. I thought Man of Steel and Green Lantern were a mess, but The Flashpoint Paradox and Son of Batman were good films. Justice League: Throne of Atlantis is based on a Geoff Johns comic story and is a sequel to the DC animated film, Justice League: War. I wasn't a fan of War, but this movie was based on a favorite storyline of mine. Plus the voice talent seemed much better than War so I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Arthur Curry has just buried his father. He never knew his mother, and his birthright is about to try and kill him. Arthur finds out he is the heir to the lost underwater city of Atlantis, but his younger brother, Orm, is secretly taking the throne for himself and wants to start a war with the surface world. To stop his brother Arthur must embrace is destiny and team up with the newly former Justice League to divert all-out war.
First off, let me just say that I was disappointed Aquaman did not appear in Justice League: War like in the original source material and was replaced by Shazam. But I'm glad he is front and center for this animated sequel. Star Wars: The Clone Wars alumni Matt Lanter and Sam Witwer lead this voice cast as Aquaman and Orm. Rosario Dawson has replaced Michelle Monaghan as Wonder Woman; which I thought was a great change. Sean Astin is back as Shazam and Jason O'Mara is starting to grow on me as his third time voicing Batman. However, the best voice change is the return of THEE Green Lantern, Nathan Fillion, as Hal Jordan.
One thing I've loved about the recent DC animated movies is that they aren't kids movies. The stories are rich and deep with a lot of emotional stuff happening. In this film alone bodies are cut in half, heads are severed, and the word 'shit' is used. I'm not saying these gratuitous things make the film better, but it makes the movie more credible if you don't try to censor the actual violence these heroes witness and dish out.
I thought adding in Aquaman's origin to this storyline would make it too crowded, but it was blended nicely. Some fan boys yell blasphemy if you stray from the source material, but I feel as though as long as it serves the movie, and doesn't change the characters core, I'm fine with it. Maybe it's my affection for Aquaman that made me like this film so much but I think this will end up being one of my Top 5 DC animated films. My only jeer is that the last five minutes seemed a bit rushed, almost forced, but the other hour and seven minutes more than make up for it.
RATING: A-
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