Pros:
- It has a fun action-adventure tone and a fast pace; I’d love to see more films like this, because there aren’t nearly enough of them
- The imagination and creativity of the world, as well as the world building
- Some really great directing moments, as well as camera movements
- The action scenes that don’t involve a lot of CGI are fantastic and well edited (e.g. submarine, Sicily chase)
- Willem Defoe and Nicole Kidman are pretty good

Okay:
- The story. There are quite a few predictable cliches in it (even one soap opera trope), but there’s also enough unique stuff in it to make it fresh
- Orm, he’s a functional bad guy (and basically a less interesting version of Loki)

Cons:
- There is WAY too much exposition, this movie is constantly explaining itself, even at points when it doesn’t have to
- It’s very much the Fast and Furious of superhero movies because of how loud and overblown it is, at times
—> The action scenes that take place underwater are just too much to take in, and they feel weightless (e.g. arena fight and the climax)
- The score is awful. Not only does it sound bad, it often doesn’t match with the tone of scenes. Orm’s theme immediately reminded me of the “dun dun DUN!” sound effect (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cphNpqKpKc4)
—> Also, there are some non-sensical song choices.
- The underwater world is extremely ambitious, but it doesn’t feel tangible, as it all looks so artificial. Moreover, a lot of times it doesn’t feel like these characters are actually underwater.
- Characters, dialogue & acting
—> Jason Momoa and Amber Heard are just not strong enough actors to lead a franchise like this, they are completely overshadowed by any other actor they interact with (which, thankfully aren’t that many). Heard is stiff, and Momoa tries to too hard to be goofy and cool
—> At the same time, I will admit that the dialogue they were given, and especially the interaction between their characters, didn’t do them any favours
—> Because of that, neither one of their characters fully comes to life
- Powersets and levels are left undefined, hence you don't feel the stakes.

4.5/10