Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom [4K Ultra HD]

Director: James Wan

Cast: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard

Release Date: March 12, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 6/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis:

Having failed to defeat Aquaman the first time, Black Manta, still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all. This time Black Manta is more formidable than ever before, wielding the power of the mythic Black Trident, which unleashes an ancient and malevolent force. To defeat him, Aquaman will turn to his imprisoned brother Orm, the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom and save Aquaman’s family, and the world, from irreversible destruction.

Please Note: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ rejoins Arthur Curry aka Aquaman who now has his hands full as he tries to balance being the new King of Atlantis while also spending time on land trying to be a good father to his young son. But things take a terrible turn when his enemy Black Manta resurfaces with deadly new powers and a team backing him up; only to be noticed by Arthur as they pull off a nearly impossible hijacking of dangerous materials that could spell the end of the human world in the wrong hands. After a fight leaves his wife injured and the threat building, Arthur must hesitantly free his brother from the prison he’s been rotting in and join forces if he stands any hope of stopping Manta before it’s too late, not to mention letting a dangerous and long rumored world rise again.

Directed once again by James Wan (Aquaman, Saw) from a screenplay written by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (The Conjuring 2) and a story by James Wan & David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Jason Momoa & Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, Wan does a nice job at the helm of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingom’ guiding along the visually stunning and slapstick-like sequel with style. The cast features Jason Momoa (Fast X), Patrick Wilson (Insidious: The Red Door), Amber Heard (Drive Angry), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Ambulance), Nicole Kidman (The Northman), Dolph Lundgren (Expend4bles) and Randall Park (Totally Killer) along with more and the majority each offer capable or at least fitting performances in their respective roles.

‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ serves up an amusing, visually spectacular and largely enjoyable follow-up that’s almost as much of a buddy-cop style action comedy at times as it is a superhero film and the action is equally matched by the humor, although that’s not always a great thing in the quantity offered this time around as it often keeps the film’s tone and scope from ever feeling as crucial or serious as it should in the circumstances. Yet while it sometimes feels almost parodic or overly silly, that’s not to say it isn’t an awful lot of fun at the same time, with plenty of quite noteworthy action sequences that repeatedly dazzle and are further complemented by an almost visual overload of stunning beauty and visual splendor; easily one of the film’s most memorable and rewarding traits.

This ‘Aquaman’ sequel does have its share of heart in addition to the visual splendor and gorgeous action on regular display, although it’s often overshadowed by the spectacle and tongue in cheek humor along the way. It occasionally feels like it becomes lost within its own goofy style, yet there are still enough glimmers of beauty to elicit a few smiles. Even so, make no mistake; this one is aiming for full blown spectacle and in that department it most certainly delivers and at the very least it should have no trouble keeping viewers entertained from start to finish. If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to give this one a whirl and are a fan of the property and/or DC as a whole, then it should still be worth your time, especially if you can go in with your expectations somewhat in check.

Overall, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ is a visually gorgeous, action-packed and also somewhat goofy follow-up that rejoins our hero as the new King of Atlantis, as well as a new father. It does a great job of serving up some truly breathtaking visual effects, outstanding action sequences and a great deal of humor, although sometimes at the cost of forsaking the heart and emotion of the tale. It may not be quite as solid as its predecessor and often leans a bit too heavily into the humor, yet ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ is definitely still recommended to DC fans and anyone who enjoyed the first standalone film starring Momoa who once again offers up a charming and lovable take on the hero. If you haven’t yet had the chance to give this sequel a watch it’s certainly at least worth the cost of a rental.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio representing the film’s IMAX presentation. The video presentation looks utterly gorgeous and delivers a clean, sharp and beautiful presentation from start to finish that’s flawless throughout and never suffers from any troubles whatsoever along the way. It shows impeccable detail and clarity noticeable on character faces and costumes, along with the various stunning landscapes both underwater and on land, in addition to everything else appearing on screen at one point or another. The Dolby Vision HDR only complements all of it by delivering dazzling, rich and lifelike colors that repeatedly stand out, all perfectly balanced by clean, rich black levels. Overall, this is a phenomenal Ultra High Definition video presentation that impresses at every step and should thrill fans and first time viewers alike.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is an absolute blast in its own right and serves up a clean, crisp and wildly aggressive audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send a flurry of music, action and vehicle effects, nature content and a whole lot more repeatedly whipping throughout the various speakers at every fitting opportunity, while never allowing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered problematic in the process. Overall, this is a marvelous Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that sounds fantastic every step of the way and should have fans and first time viewers ecstatic.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ features a nice collection of bonus content in the way of various Behind the Scenes Featurettes that explore different aspects of bringing the film to life and feature interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more. The included Featurettes are ‘Finding the Lost Kingdom’ (running approximately 21 minutes in length), ‘Aquaman: Worlds Above and Below’ (running approximately 9 minutes), ‘Atlantean Blood is Thicker Than Water’ (approximately 4 minutes), ‘It’s a Manta World’ (10 minutes), ‘Necrus, The Lost Black City’ (6 minutes), ‘Escape from the Deserter World’ (8 minutes), ‘Brawling at Kingfish’s Lair’ (4 minutes), and ‘Oh, Topo!’ (2 minutes).

*Please note: The above images were provided by Warner Bros. and are not reflective of the actual 4K Ultra HD release or its quality. A standard Blu-ray copy of the film was not included in the release that could be used for screenshots therefore the above publicity stills were utilized. They are all the property of Warner Bros. Discovery, DC and any other respective owners.

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Film Rating: 6/10
Disc Rating: 8.5/10

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‘Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom’ Arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD March 12, 2024 & is Now Available on Digital from DC & Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment

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You can purchase your copy of the ‘Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom’ 4K UHD release on Amazon HERE!

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