Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

Buried inside Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is a decent buddy comedy about two brothers who can’t stand each other, and it’s the only part that works. Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry, king of Atlantis and a new dad, springs his half-brother Orm from his cell to stop Black Manta, who has found a sinister Black Trident in Antarctica and is burning through Orichalcum, an ancient fuel that’s heating up the whole planet. Momoa and Patrick Wilson snipe at each other like brothers on a family road trip, and that clicks. The rest feels borrowed from bigger adventures: a pirate hideout run by Kingfish, voiced by Martin Short, an island crawling with mutated wildlife, a lost kingdom with an ancient evil king. Major turns get rushed through in montages, the jokes trample the emotional beats, and Manta is a grudge wearing a helmet. It made $440 million worldwide on a reported $205M to $215M. A 3.1 because two fun brothers can’t keep a sunken script afloat. $962.85 says you hear the word Orichalcum once and keep saying it for a week.

What works: Momoa and Patrick Wilson have a fun, scrappy brotherly chemistry, and the movie at least moves along quickly.

What doesn’t: The story feels borrowed from better adventure movies, key moments get rushed through in montages, and Black Manta is a flat, one-note villain.

Who it’s for: Momoa fans who will happily watch him crack jokes underwater for an evening, plot or no plot.