​After decades of being made fun of, Aquaman was reimagined in Justice League. The stern blonde King of Atlantis was nowhere to be found, with a rebellious and loud new version of Arthur Curry in his place. Love or hate the change, this new version of Arthur has been positioned as the DCEU’s Aquaman. With that in mind, we can assume some of the goals for the Aquman solo film were to further change public opinion on the character, and to prove that this different version of Arthur was a wise decision. Luckily for viewers and fans, it does both of those things, as one of the best things about the movie is the titular hero himself. Arthur is consistently funny and likable, providing a great contrast to the typical Atlantean royalty. His fight style is unique and extremely entertaining to watch as well, and the well-shot action scenes do an outstanding job of showing that off. Further, his relationship with Mera and the clear chemistry between the lead actors stops this from being like the first Thor movie, as every moment Aquaman and Mera share is a blast to watch. The movie is not without its flaws, however.

While they look great, the villains don’t come close to being as intriguing as the heroes and remain very one-dimensional antagonists from beginning to end. The film is also as formulaic as a superhero movie can be, and every twist can be seen coming ahead of time. Rather than being issues contained to part of the movie, they persist throughout the entirety of Arthur’s adventure to become King, and the problems do hold the movie back from being something special. Regardless, Aquaman is a good movie that is worth a watch in theaters. It may not be perfect, but its strengths do outweigh its flaws. Atlantis is visually gorgeous, the heroes are excellent, there are plenty of laughs and the action is awesome.

It certainly isn’t at the level of Infinity War, Black Panther or Into the Spider-Verse, but that’s okay; Aquaman is still a quality film that prioritizes fun over everything else.

For a score and a full review (with spoilers), keep reading!

It is no secret that Marvel animation has been lacking for years, falling far below the bar set by DC’s consistently great animated films. Since the success they found in the 90s with X-Men and the original Spider-Man series, the only legitimately great piece of Marvel animation has been the short-lived Spectacular Spider-Man series. Into the Spider-Verse has changed that.

The film offers a brilliant take on the origin story of Miles Morales, as well as a memorable version of Peter Parker that feels new, something that is hard to pull off after decades of storytelling. Every other spider gets time to shine, and there could not be a better place for them to do so than in this film thanks to the mind-blowing animation. Backed by a fitting soundtrack and featuring some stellar voice acting, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a must-see. The film is clearly aimed at hardcore fans since every scene has fan service, but Into the Spider-Verse is so well-made that even those who know nothing about the web-slinger can enjoy it. This is exactly what Spider-Man movies, and superhero movies in general, should strive to be.

For a deeper review (with a few spoilers), keep reading!