'Aquaman' Early Buzz: This Wild, Weird, Fun Movie Proves The DCEU Isn't Going Anywhere

An argument could be made that James Wan has already directed a superhero movie because he helmed 2015's Furious 7, but Aquaman, his first official comic book blockbuster, is set to arrive next month. The social media embargo has officially lifted, so check out what critics – including /Film's Peter Sciretta – are saying about the latest Warner Bros./DC offering below.

Aquaman Reviews

After some iffy trailers and a mixed response out of San Diego Comic-Con, the jury was out about Aquaman. Would Jason Momoa's waterlogged hero be able to lead his own adventure? It turns out the answer is a resounding "yes," because the brief Aquaman reviews that have hit the internet so far are overwhelmingly positive.

Here's the reaction from our own Peter Sciretta:

Peter's reaction is pretty measured, and the only other tweets I saw that even remotely hinted at negativity were this one from Meg Downey...

...and this one from Brandon Davis (who also called the movie "great," so his problems clearly weren't enough to ruin the experience for him):

The rest of the internet seems to have had a wholly terrific time with this one. Here's a fun game: count how many times critics allude to the movie being weird or use a variation on the phrase "an absolute blast." Spoiler alert: it happens a lot!

If "a little long" and "buckwild" are the worst descriptions out there so far, I have a feeling I'm going to like this movie way more than I thought. Things were looking creatively dire for the DCEU in the wake of films like Suicide Squad and Justice League, but it seems like Aquaman is joining Wonder Woman as the rare DC movie that both critics and fans will enjoy.

Here's the movie's official synopsis:

From Warner Bros. Pictures and director James Wan comes an action-packed adventure that spans the vast, visually breathtaking underwater world of the seven seas, "Aquaman," starring Jason Momoa in the title role. The film reveals the origin story of half-human, half-Atlantean Arthur Curry and takes him on the journey of his lifetime—one that will not only force him to face who he really is, but to discover if he is worthy of who he was born to be...a king.

Aquaman is directed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Patrick Wilson, and Nicole Kidman. It splashes into theaters on December 21, 2018.