Well, this is certainly a dramatic change of pace. After the relative failure of Justice League effectively ended the grimdark Zack Snyder vision for the DCEU, James Wan's Aquaman now goes in almost the exact opposite direction. Perhaps this was in reaction to criticisms of the Synder films, or perhaps out of a reasonable presumption that Aquaman is one of the hardest characters to get audiences to take seriously. Whatever reason is, Aquaman is one of the campiest, silliest, most over-the-top superhero movies around. Kids will love it and adults will be blown away by the crazy spectacle despite themselves. Connoisseurs of MST3K-style cinema, meanwhile, might find themselves surprisingly reminded of another Warner Bros. release from a few years back: Jupiter Ascending.
Yeah, the next big superhero blockbuster shares more than a few traits in common with the Wachowskis' infamous bomb. Surprisingly, this isn't an insult. While not traditionally "good," Jupiter Ascending's more gonzo properties have earned it a minor cult fanbase, and Aquaman captures a lot of that energy while also avoiding Jupiter Ascending's more dull qualities. If Jupiter Ascending is the self-indulgent fanfiction fantasies of nerdy 13-year-old girl brought to starting life, Aquaman is the same but for a jock-y 13-year-old boy. Cultural critics can argue over what it means that the latter is destined to make a gagillion more dollars than the former, but let it be said that the appeal of both films is closer than some fans might admit. This list contains 10 reasons Aquaman is basically the macho Jupiter Ascending, four things Aquaman does better and one area Jupiter has it beat.
15 SAME: GENERIC OVERALL STORIES...
If you just heard the plots of Aquaman and Jupiter Ascending in the abstract, neither would seem that weird. On the contrary, they might sound almost boringly generic. Aquaman follows the basic superhero origin movie template to a T, with the main hero having pretty much the same character arc as Thor and a secret civilization dealing with struggles not entirely dissimilar to Wakanda in Black Panther.
Jupiter Ascending might feel slightly less typical in the abstract, being an "original screenplay" and all, but it's still a formulaic story, particularly in comparison to other more unique Wachowski projects like Sense8. The pitch was "sci-fi Snow White," with a Twilight-esque supernatural romance and plot beats right out of a basic Joseph Campbell outline.
14 SAME: ...WITH STRIKINGLY WEIRD DETAILS
It's in the small details where both Aquaman and Jupiter Ascending go from "typical blockbuster" to "WTF did I just watch?" The weird bits of Jupiter Ascending are the stuff of bad movie legend: "Bees can sense royalty," "I love dogs," everything Eddie Redmayne does.
Aquaman's craziest bits are likely to spawn millions of memes. Nicole Kidman eats a live goldfish (almost certainly a special effect and not an Oldboy-style actual animal, but still). An Octopus plays the drums. The bad guys have water guns which transform water into lasers. There's a Pitbull cover of "Africa" in the scene where they go to Africa. It's delightful nonsense.
13 SAME: PROTAGONIST ALWAYS NEEDS SAVING
Jupiter Jones in Jupiter Ascending is unusually passive for a modern sci-fi heroine. She doesn't really take action until the end of the movie, and spends most of the movie leading up to that being repeatedly rescued and taken from place to place by others. It's something of surprise that Aquaman is in the same position for most of his movie.
Oh, he's more aggro and tries to start more fights, but he's always getting his butt kicked and is constantly getting rescued. Like Jupiter, he's being chased and dragged around by others and is far less active in actually driving the plot that his fellow hero Mera. Of course, the moment he does take action at the end is far more dramatic than Jupiter's.
12 SAME: CONSPIRACY THEORIST OBSESSIONS
This is a slightly looser connection between the two movies, but Aquaman and Jupiter Ascending both deal in some of the classic conspiracy theorist obsessions; Atlantis and alien invasions, respectively. Aquaman directly calls attention to the conspiracy theorist interest in Atlantis, with a regularly dismissed but actually correct TV personality giving regular commentary on the news.
Jupiter Ascending's aliens take a variety of forms, both humanoid and wildly inhuman with various combinations thereof. Amidst all the creative designs, however, are an explanation for the stereotypical grey aliens of every Roswell conspiracy theory, with the shape-shifting watchdog aliens known as "The Keepers."
11 SAME: PREOCCUPATION WITH GENETICS
Both Atlantis and the House of Abrasax have certain... "things" about blood purity in rulers. Atlantis' denizens have evolved in various directions and believe a true ruler can only come from the pure bloodline of the original King Atlan. Jupiter Jones, meanwhile, is declared a queen because her genes match the previous queen in a society structured around eugenics.
Of course, both societies are proven wrong in their beliefs to an extent. Aquaman's mixed heritage, which he's put down over regularly, is proven to be a strength, while Jupiter Jones is rightfully horrified at how Abrasax discards the "less valuable."
10 SAME: AMAZING FASHION SENSE
If there's one aspect of Jupiter Ascending which both fans and haters can agree is genuinely amazing (as opposed to "so bad it's amazing"), it would be the costume design. Costume designer Kym Barrett filled those outfits with all the shiny regal intergalactic decadence you eyes could handle. Jupiter's wedding dress in particular is certainly A Look.
Aquaman offers similar if not more extravagant underwater gorgeousness with its costume designs, which just so happen to also be Kym Barrett's work. Atlanna's two major outfits are to die for, but the absolute showstopper is Mera's dress made of living jellyfish wrapping their tentacles around her body.
9 SAME: COPIOUS SHIRTLESSNESS
Here's one aspect of Aquaman which is actually shooting for the same target audience as Jupiter Ascending. OK, maybe a ripped bearded tattooed shirtless Jason Momoa has more of a "straight guys want to be him" appeal than winged cyborg wolfman shirtless Channing Tatum does, but it's undeniable that Warner Bros. is counting on Momoa's naked physique to sell tickets to straight women and gay men.
Brief shirtless scenes have become a staple of the modern superhero movie, but Aquaman goes further than most in trying to please the "female gaze." It's as if the people at DC looked at Marvel and decided to beat them before Marvel could possibly make a Namor (aka "Aquaman but never wears a shirt") movie.
8 SAME: OVERWHELMING CGI
Aquaman's budget is estimated to be somewhere between $160 million and $200 million. Jupiter Ascending's is estimated between $176 million and $200 million. Aquaman's already made back its money internationally, while Jupiter Ascending lost money, but both of these movies wanted to put all that money up onscreen. How? Filling every frame with the most overwhelming CGI money can buy.
The visual lavishness of both movies can't forgive every flaw, but the spectacle of it all does make these profoundly silly films much easier to turn off your brain and enjoy. Aquaman especially is so CG-heavy it often looks more like a cartoon than anything remotely realistic, which might be why it's been snubbed for the Visual Effects Oscar, but it's an extremely pretty cartoon.
7 SAME: SOCIAL COMMENTARY MIXED WITH SILLINESS
James Wan and the Wachowskis don't just want to entertain. Entertainment's the number one priority, but both Aquaman and Jupiter Ascending also feature earnest attempts at making serious statements about real world issues pressing to the films' young audiences amidst all the silliness.
In Aquaman, there's a heavy "protect the oceans" message, as is typical for the character, as well as a celebration of multicultural families. Jupiter Ascending, meanwhile, builds a critique of capitalism into its complicated world-building. Whether most moviegoers think about these themes or just remember the drumming octopus and the royalty-sensing bees is a question potentially worth asking.
6 SAME: FOR SOME REASON, THERE'S DINOSAURS
In Jupiter Ascending, Eddie Redmayne has a number of "saurosapien" bodyguards called Sargorns, remnants of the first inhabitants of Earth (let's just say this science fiction movie is extremely loose with the science). In Aquaman, dinosaurs survive in The Lost Kingdom beneath the dangerous Trench.
The dinosaurs do not play a role of any importance to the story in either movie. They even get that much in the way of screentime. It begs the question, why waste billions of effects dollars on pointless dinosaurs? Because dinosaurs are cool and make every stupid movie at least 15% better, that's why! Who needs any deeper reason that that?
5 AQUAMAN: MORE INTERESTING CHARACTERS
The line between "campy but good" and "fascinating but bad" can be a very thin one. So why does Aquaman lean towards the former and Jupiter Ascending more to the latter, given all their similar qualities? The biggest difference is that Aquaman's characters are better developed and played by actors who, if not the greatest thespians in the world, are at least fully aware of what movie they're in.
Aquaman might be a passive protagonist like Jupiter, but he does have a character arc, growing from an underachieving dolt to a responsible king. Jason Momoa and Amber Heard actually have on-screen chemistry (though somewhat tainted by Momoa's rude actions off-screen), which is more than can be said for Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum.
4 AQUAMAN: MORE POWERFUL FEMALE LEAD
Jupiter Ascending is primarily a fantasy about being swept away and rescued by a man. There's nothing wrong enjoying with such fantasies; many women both write and enjoy them. That said, there is something refreshing how "Jupiter Ascending for bros" makes the macho dude the one who needs to be rescued, and Mera the actual hero for most of the movie.
Where Aquaman's "punch first, ask questions later" strategy is shown to be terrible for getting anything done, Mera actually knows what she's doing. Her water-manipulating powers make for some awesome action scenes. Aquaman might end up being the hero in the end, but only because he actually learns from Mera and grows beyond his more toxic attitudes.
3 AQUAMAN: EMOTIONAL FAMILY BACKSTORY
This must be the best Christmas ever for superhero-loving mixed-race kids. There's not only one but two mixed-race superhero movies in theaters this season, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Aquaman. Aquaman's family heritage and the star-crossed love story between his human father and his Atlantean mother gives this movie both its message and its heart.
Jupiter Ascending also had a family story, paying tribute to the Wachowskis' working class immigrant roots, but it was played mainly for dumb comic relief. Aquaman, in contrast, grounds its drama in the family storyline and gives this otherwise ridiculous popcorn movie some actual emotional weight.
2 AQUAMAN: AMAZING FINAL BATTLE
At some in the middle of Aquaman, you might get a bit antsy. "A movie this ridiculous shouldn't be this long," your rational brain might think. Then, as the final half hour of this 2.5 hour movie hits, all is forgiven as Aquaman reaches his full powers over the forces of the ocean, and the final battle ensues.
The climax of Aquaman, in which all the armies and creatures of the sea do battle with each other, is one of the wildest action scenes ever to hit cinemas. Jupiter Ascending's action scenes were OK, but not up to par with the Wachowski's typical Matrix/Speed Racer ingenuity. The end of Aquaman should get James Wan any blockbuster directing gig he wants next.
1 JUPITER ASCENDING: BEST SCREAMING VILLAIN
Sorry to Patrick Wilson's enjoyably hammy Ocean Master and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's cool but underutilized take on Black Manta (he'll be back and hopefully better served in the sequel). The one area where Jupiter Ascending surpasses Aquaman is its villain, Eddie Redmayne's Balem.
Yes, Patrick Wilson can do a good SCREAM, but he's ALWAYS SCREAMING in Aquaman. Redmayne does around 80% of his lines in a droning whisper so then when he randomly SCREAMS with no rhyme of reason it's amazing and hilarious, almost Nicolas Cage-calliber sublimely ridiculous. In a movie otherwise let down by performances that are not just bad but boring, every scene Redmayne's in is absurdly fun.