Back in 2018, Aquaman was something of an unexpectedly successful squib (as in, a small firework that burns with a hissing sound before exploding – especially impressive as the movie is set underwater), making over a billion dollars worldwide. As such, a sequel was always going to happen, though no one at the time would have imagined a situation where superhero movies were tanking, stars, across both DC and Marvel franchises causing reputational damage for the brands. The impact can certainly be felt in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, with Amber Heard’s Mera, having little screen time compared to the first movie.
Instead, we have the pairing of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman paired up with his half-brother, Orm played by Patrick Wilson. While Momoa is an energetic and likeable screen presence, Wilson is – in the movie. It took me some time to realize that with this paring director, James Wan was attempting to mirror the chemistry we got with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston in the Thor movies. To say that this version pales in comparison would be a disservice to pale comparison. I’ll quote my son who accompanied me to the movie who said it was what you’d get if you’d ordered Thor and Loki from Wish. Ooof.
On a storytelling level, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is not a success – which is a shame as technically there are many things to admire. The creative design of the undersea work is impressive, and the myriad creatures and ships are pleasingly different and interesting to look at. I recall that the first Aquaman was impressive in converted 3D and was looking forward into diving into the world again in the third dimension, only to find that my local World of Cine IMAX, was only offering up the 2D IMAX version. If you are in traveling distance of it, the BFI IMAX has a couple of 3D showings this week. That said I found much of the action hard to follow, and I’m not sure 3D would help on that front.
The IMAX aspect ratio is a good match for the scale of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, even if the … [+] resultant movie could be better.
If you are going to see it IMAX is the gold standard, as the entire movie was “filmed” with a Panavision Millennium DXL2 digital camera that is part of the “Filmed for IMAX” programme. It’s capable of filming up to 8K at 60fps and the DXL RAW 8Lk is given as the sound format for the 4K digital intermediate.
You’ll see a lot of those pixels too as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will fill the entire screen of all IMAX digital screens in the 1.90:1 aspect ratio – offering more height than standard cinema screens. It works very well with the various large-scale vistas and locations of the movie. Unusually, the native aspect ratio is 1.78:1 so in large IMAX screens, you’ll get even taller pictures. It’s a perfect aspect ratio for home viewing on widescreen TVs, which indicates to me that the director knows that will be the place most people will get to see it.
For me though the best thing about my viewing at my local IMAX venue equipped with laser projection was the 12-channel sound mix. The sound was as large as the image, and a couple of times a fading reverberating echo as the image turned to black was particularly impressive.
Another great option for sound will be with theatres equipped with Dolby Atmos sound – either Dolby Cinema, which will give you superb HDR images too, albeit in standard widescreen aspect ratio, or in Premium Large Formats, such as Cineworld Superscreen in the UK or Regal RPX in the US.
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom would seem like a good candidate for the 4DX experience – que moving seats and air and water splashing you at choice moments – and I could find a few limited screenings for this format in the London area.
Having been spoilt by several viewings of Oppenheimer in full IMAX 15/70mm format, it’s hard not to be disappointed with current superhero fare and for 2024 I’m hoping for better things to enjoy on the big screens and sound systems of premium theaters.
