Aquaman

There are several ways to approach adapting the Aquaman comic book for the big screen. Unfortunately, Aquaman tries all of them.

It never finds the right tone as a special-effects extravaganza, a more grounded human story about acceptance and expectations, or a more straightforward clash of the tridents.

With Wonder Woman and Black Panther having recently raised the bar considerably for superhero origin stories, this waterlogged saga feels inferior as it chronicles the standalone back story of the character previously spotlighted in the Justice League ensemble.

Aquaman’s alter-ego is Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa), whose backstory is rooted in Greek mythology. As we quickly learn through an extended flashback, Arthur is the son of an Atlantean queen (Nicole Kidman) from her affair with a human lighthouse keeper (Temuera Morrison).

Meanwhile, Arthur is trained by a royal counselor (Willem Dafoe with a man-bun) to use his inherited superpowers as an amphibious hero. When his mother is killed back home, he becomes heir to the throne of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis.

He’s not interested in connecting with his roots, yet becomes convinced when a red-haired princess (Amber Heard) warns him about the megalomaniacal interests of Aquaman’s long-lost brother (Patrick Wilson), who sees a misguided war with the human world as the only method of rescuing his own empire from oblivion.

As directed by James Wan (The Conjuring), the film is visually impressive in re-creating its underwater fantasy realm. A sequence where Aquaman first tours Atlantis is filled with eye-popping spectacle.

If his performance lacks depth, Momoa flashes plenty of charisma as a hero whose physical intimidation is more convincing than his quick-witted sarcasm. His external bravado masks some internal vulnerability, which is good because the film seems reluctant to reveal any other flaws or weaknesses.

The screenplay bogs down in wooden dialogue and shallow characterizations that might be appropriate given the source material, yet feel lazy in this context. The cartoonish villains aren’t clearly developed or defined. The subtext about global warming is half-hearted. And it showcases an abundance of generic action sequences leading up to its inevitably chaotic final showdown with the future of the world at stake.

All the while, Aquaman lacks the courage to follow through on its campy convictions. Generating some modest thrills with minimal genuine suspense, the film dives deep visually while emotionally remaining on the surface.

Rated PG-13, 143 minutes.