Throne of Atlantis

Along side my well known fear of zombies and my love of Batman, we often joke about my defending Aquaman as a superhero that deserves a second shot. So when Throne of Atlantis was announced in the Justice League: War series, I was already on board. Putting the new 52 aside (I really am not a big fan), this movie is worth watching on it’s entertainment value alone!

This movie is inspired by the Throne of Atlantis series from 2-3 years ago – and yes – it’s not exact. Lets be honest though, if we’re looking for any video format that gives a direct translation, we’re doomed to be comic book guy, forever disappointed in everything. So lets step back and take a look at the movie for it’s own merits.

There is no question – these people are SUPER dead

For someone who does the squinty eye thing when I say YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT THIS AQUAMAN MOVIE!!! My guess is that they’ve never gotten over the superfriends Aquaman that didn’t really do anything more than act as a mode of transportation and talk to fish. This is not the kiddey Aquaman you grew up with. This film is dark. We know people die when super hero battles take place (that was a big part of my disappointment with the latest Superman film), but Throne of Atlantis doesn’t shy away from it. There is no question if these people were knocked out – there is blood, and there is missing limbs. The scene that stuck with me was when a giant tidal wave was coming and would hit major cities Shazam asks the question “How are we going to evacuate all these people?”, and Batman without missing a beat says “We don’t. People are going to die.” Ugh. Can I say, I love watching super hero stories grow up with me? SO GOOOD.

It is an origins tale – STOP ROLLING YOUR EYES. I know we’re getting tired of origins, but when was the last time Aquaman was introduced large scale? It is also told within a Justice League story, so we’re still watching the team form and solidify in something that we recognize. The real downside to this origins story is that it really rushes it. We see Arthur Curry go from drunk guy talking to a lobster (just being a silly drunk, he doesn’t actually communicate to sea critters at this point), go to a king of a magical under the sea kingdom with the support of his people who never knew he existed. We knew he was going to get there, but… wouldn’t you think there should have been an intermediary step between “I can talk to fish??” to “I AM YOUR KING”? Sometimes we need to stop being comic book nerds and just let the story happen I guess!

Without giving spoilers to those not familiar with the story, the Justice League is still an idea – there is no watch tower yet. They gather not because they were called, but because Flash and Green Lantern harassed them into coming. When they discover it was humanoid figures that caused the damage to a nuclear submarine by watching the tapes of Cyborg’s recordings, it doesn’t take long for them to figure out it is Atlantians, and it’s only a small leap that they need to look for Arthur Curry. Arthur and the Justice League now are in a battle less for the throne, and more to save all life on land as King Orm (Ocean Master, being manipulated by Black Manta) threatens to unleash the Atlantis battle plans of destroying all surface dwellers. Once that is dealt with then we can worry about who sits on the throne.

The story is fast, it’s kinda grim, and for not having Kevin Conroy, the voice acting is pretty good! Arthur Curry is voiced by Matt Lanter; I didn’t recognize the name either. IMDB told me though that he is the dude that voiced Anakin Skywalker in the Clone Wars. Nathan Fillion repeats his role as Green Lantern, and Sean Astin (Samwise from LOTR) made a pretty spectacular Shazaam!

Overall, I really liked the movie. I’ll super watch it again – to the point where I remember being disappointed in Justice League: WAR, and now I want to watch that again so I remember what happened walking into Throne of Atlantis.

TL;DR: You should watch it. It’s kinda grim, it’s fast, and it’s a good story! $15 on Amazon Prime, and out on DVD January 27th