Film Preview: Aquaman (2018)

Page Revisions:

(July 29, 2018) Original
(November 25, 2018) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#2-#12)
(December 16, 2018) New Posters (#13-#15)

Release Date:

December 21, 2018

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “Arthur Curry learns that he is the heir to the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and must step forward to lead his people and to be a hero to the world.”

Poster Rating: C+ / B- / C+ / C (7) / C / C- / C / C- (2)

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Review: (#1) Barely released, this poster has already been endlessly parodied and that’s both a boon to the film’s potential success, but also speaks to the corny aspects of it, the ones that make it too easy to poke fun at.

(#2) This almost looks like it was done in water colors, which would have been a fine and thematic decision, but the end result is something that has a bevy of color that doesn’t fit well together. (#3) The golden trident and green-and-gold armor is a subtle enough hint to please comic fans that the dullness of the rest of the design won’t be noticeable to anyone but everyone else. (#4-#10) This series of character posters is individually distinct, but they feel rather unexciting. (#11) A king and his queen in a poster backdrop that’s unappealing and overused for these designs. The poses are also bland and unconvincing. (#12) This may appeal more to Jason Momoa fans than to Aquaman fans. The waterfall motif just doesn’t have much oomph.

(#13) The stacked diamond shape often employed in posters for films that are supposed to look epic usually don’t feel so cheaply cobbled together as this. (#14-#15) This pair of IMAX posters are completely characteristic of the format: dull and unappealing.

Trailer Rating: B- / B

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Review: (#1) The backstory feels interesting, but the primary villain arc doesn’t have sufficient teeth to it.

(#2) There is a sizable amount of extra action in this trailer hoping to draw viewers to the theater without them expecting anything more than a rollicking adventure flick. Unfortunately, that kind of hyper-kinetic approach only serves to sew doubt in an viewer base that wants something more than hollow action set pieces.