AQUAMAN (2018) Movie Review
Colossians 3:14 - "Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony." (NLT)
The DC adventures continue with Aquaman, the nonchalant and sarcastic Atlantian. After helping the Justice League save the world from Steppenwolf, the mamma's boy alien seeking to take over the world, Aquaman returns to the sea to find his place among his fellow Atlantians. Instead, he must save the world again by putting a stop to King Orm, a man fueled by intolerance and a lust for war.
Orm is also a man who holds tight to tradition. The son of an arranged marriage, he despises his "half breed" brother simply for existing. In his eyes, his mother Queen Atlanna is a traitor to her people. She abandons her world for a human. Even worse, she breeds with him. Orm punishes her for her betrayal and vows to destroy his half-blood brother, because they both represent a progressive, loving way of life. Meanwhile, Orm is a creature of tradition.
Though Orm is not completely at fault. His actions seek to save the ocean from decades of reckless pollution. The people on the surface, these polluters, are a threat to the welfare of the ocean and to his people. However, his solution of wiping the surface clean is very flawed.
Matthew 7:12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." (NLT)
He becomes wrapped up in his pursuit for a war that he fails to see his own actions nearly rip the ocean apart. He kills anyone to contradict him and starts a war with his own people for the power to declare war on the surface. Countless Atlantians die and the threat continues should he succeed. His pursuits not only blind him the consequences of violence, but it also blinds him to the loving example of his own mother.
Fortunately, Atlanna's example doesn't go unnoticed. Princess Mera, her feisty, would-be daughter-in-law, follows in footsteps to escape a loveless marriage to King Orm. Desperate to change the hostile state of her kingdom, she turns to the infuriating Aquaman and the one man with the legal right to overthrow Orm. She is so desperate that she sets aside her own hostility toward the surface world to put a half human on the throne.
Both Mera and Arthur embark on a journey to obtain the trident with the power to overthrow Orm and prevent a war. What begins a search for a weapon become a journey of discovery. Arthur finds his inner hero, while Mera discovers beauty in the world she resents. Both worlds are filled with good, innocent people who deserve a chance at life.
Arthur often times a thoughtless hot head and reluctant to lead, but he is still a better king than Orm. He eventually learns that unity and tolerance are greater than violence. His desire to save both worlds from which he comes makes him a worthy leader. With the help of Princess Mera and Queen Atlanna, he saves the ocean and the surface from the destruction of intolerance. The entire world becomes whole again through the love he represents.
