Starring: Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Amber Heard, Dolph Lundgren, Randall Park, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, Ben Affleck, Willem Dafoe
OUR RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Story:
Superhero fantasy action adventure sequel directed by James Wan. Aquaman 2 (2023) follows Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa) as he turns to his imprisoned half-brother and nemesis Orm (Patrick Wilson), the former King of Atlantis, to forge an unlikely alliance. Together, they must set aside their differences in order to protect their kingdom, and the world, from irreversible destruction, by defeating David Kane/Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who is still driven by the need to avenge his father’s death, and will stop at nothing to take Aquaman down once and for all.
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Best Quotes
Arthur: They say everybody’s good at something. Me? I talk to fish. That’s how I met my friend, Storm. He’s always there when I need a lift. Some people think that makes me a joke. But I don’t care. You know why? Because I’m also good at something else. And that’s breaking heads.
Arthur: This is my son, Arthur Jr. See, four years ago, everything changed. I met a woman, fell in love, and the next thing I know, we’re getting married and having a kid.
Arthur: On top of getting married and having a kid, I finally got a job. That’s right. I’m the king of freaking Atlantis.
Arthur: But then, as it turned out, being king wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It’s just meetings all day and politics. I’m so bored, I don’t even know which end of the Brine King I’m supposed to be looking at half the time.
Arthur: The only thing that makes all the hard work and sleepless nights worthwhile is hanging with my little man.
Arthur: But for everything I get right, something else gets screwed up.
Tom: I saw how lonely it was for you growing up. An only child. I always regretted I couldn’t give you that.
Arthur: Yeah, well, don’t be too hard on yourself. Turns out I have a brother and he’s a total d**k bag.
Tom: Your relationship with Orm isn’t how it usually is. Sure, siblings bicker and fight, but at the end of the day, they’re family. You should be able to count on them for help.
Arthur: Yeah, well, I’ll still take the dog over him any day.
Arthur: You and me, son, we’re different. We’re special. We’re connected to the land and the sea. I can’t wait to introduce you to all the majestic creatures on our planet. And show you how awesome this world can be. Yeah, you and me.
David: Every day I don’t fix my power suit is another day Aquaman gets to live.
Kordax: [to David] Free me from my prison and I will grant you the strength to kill the man who murdered your father.
Council Lady: The surface has been poisoning our atmosphere for over a century.
Arthur: You can’t expect them to care about what happens to us if they don’t even know we exist. If you want to be a part of the conversation, we have to take our seat at the table. It’s time for Atlantis to reveal itself to the surface.
Arthur: And I know this is against our traditions, but the world is shrinking, and the old ways aren’t going to protect us anymore. Times have changed. Atlantis wants this. There’s a whole generation out there that don’t want to hide anymore.
Arthur: I don’t know how you did it, Pops. Mera and I have the whole kingdom helping us, but that little baby boy is still kicking our a**es. And you, taking care of me, raising me on your own. You’re the real superhero. To single parents.
Tom: Well, my job was a little less stressful than yours.
Arthur: Yeah. Well, I just plain suck at my job.
Tom: You really want to know how I raised you here by myself? I just kept going. You celebrate the wins, you mourn the losses. And you wake up the next day and you do it again.
'Sometimes not giving up is the most heroic thing you can do.' - Tom (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) Share on X
Arthur: Get away from my wife!
David: Your wife? First you steal your brother’s throne, then you steal his woman? Aquaman, shame on you.
Arthur: I think I know someone who might be able to help us. But you’re not going to like it.
Atlanna: Your brother?
Atlanna: Arthur, Atlantis cannot extract Orm from an allied nation. It would be an act of war.
Arthur: Atlantis isn’t going to do it. I’m going to break him out myself.
Arthur: My place is out there where I belong, where I’m actually good at what I do. I’m tired of nothing ever getting done. I’ve got to do this.
King Nereus: And here’s a special outfit for you.
Arthur: What is that, boy’s extra medium?
King Nereus: It’s supposed to be tight.
Arthur: Just try and lay low when we get in there, okay? You might be invisible, but your hectocotylus is starting to smell like warm chum butter.
Arthur: Aw, Topo, you dumb squid! God, come on! Is ink pi**?
King Nereus: [to Arthur] Look, I know he’s family, but you can’t forget who you’re dealing with here. Once you’ve broken Orm out, you’re not going to be able to turn your back on him. You need him, but you can never trust him.
Orm: What the hell are you doing here?
Arthur: I’m here to break you out.
Orm: Have you lost your mind? You’re the one who put me here.
Arthur: Eh, why you bringing up old s**t? Come on. We’ll talk about it later.
Arthur: [to Orm] Look, I got to stop David Kane from destroying the world. And you’re the only one that can help me. So you do the math. Oh, s**t. Come on, Cast Away. Grab Wilson. Let’s roll.
'A true king builds bridges.' - Arthur (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) Share on X
Orm: This changes nothing.
Arthur: Wouldn’t have it any other way, little brother.
Orm: Do not call me “brother”.
Orm: Did you bring water?
Arthur: Yeah. No. Sorry. I drank it all on the way here.
Orm: What?
Arthur: Bro, it’s hot up there.
Orm: You you know how to ride one of these?
Arthur: Are you kidding? I don’t know what the hell it is.
Arthur: Good job, little brother. High-five.
Orm: No.
Arthur: You know, I got a bunch of king s**t to do back in Atlantis so we should go.
Orm: How can you make jokes at a time like this? It’s undignified for a king to jest.
Arthur: Oh, excuse me, Your Highness, if I use comedy to mask my feelings and deal with stress. Otherwise, I’d end up looking like you. A very tight butthole. Super tight.
Arthur: I cannot wait to throw your a** back in prison when this is all over.
Orm: You won’t have to. Once I stop David Kane, I’ll surrender myself to the Fishermen. That is my honor to Atlantis.
Arthur: You’re so dramatic. Whatever. Just help me find this a**hole.
Orm: The Sunken Citadel. It is the one place in the world where the scum of the land and sea mingle. It is where people come to disappear.
Arthur: Wow. It’s an impressive s**thole.
Orm: He’s our best shot at finding Manta, and he’s not going to tell us anything if you go in there flexing your muscles at him.
Arthur: You’re so lucky we didn’t grow up together, little brother.
Orm: Do not call me “brother”.
Arthur: [to Orm] You seriously expect me to play footsie with someone with that kind of blood on their hands?
Kingfish: I don’t have hands! Or feet!
Arthur: You know what’d be amazing right now?
Orm: Reinforcements?
Arthur: Great, big, greasy cheeseburger and a pint of Guinness.
Orm: Even the words that surface-dwellers give their food sound disgusting.
Arthur: You’ve let your prejudices stop you from enjoying half the world. You should think about that. It’s your loss, dude.
Arthur: Bet you never had one of these.
Orm: What is it?
Arthur: It’s a cockroach.
Orm: You eat it?
Arthur: Oh, yeah. Shrimp of the land.
Orm: We have to jump. We’ll survive the fall.
Arthur: Are you crazy? It’s going to hurt.
Orm: What do you want to do, stay here and fight the hopping demons?
Arthur: What is that? What does that say?
Orm: The writing is ancient Atlantean. “A true king builds bridges.”
Arthur: [as he knocks over a giant statue to create a crossing] See? A true king builds bridges.
Orm: That’s a metaphor!
Arthur: Hey! I forgot to tell you. Mom says she loves you. She thinks about you all the time.
Orm: Why the hell are you telling me this now?
Arthur: I don’t know. I’m just tired of waiting for the right moment.
Arthur: [to Orm] Looks like my metaphor just saved your a**.
David: I’m going to kill Aquaman and destroy everything he holds dear. I’m going to murder his family and burn his kingdom to ash. I will avenge my father. Even if I have to make a deal with the devil to do it.
Arthur: [to Orm] Yeah. Look, Loki, I’m not asking for your advice on this. You’ve already lived up to your end of the deal. So you can go on back to Azkaban for all I care.
Arthur: He came after my wife, which means I’m going to pull his tongue out of his butt.
Orm: Arthur, you are the king. You cannot let this get personal.
Arthur: This coming from the guy who turned the entire nation of Atlantis into his own private ego trip?
Arthur: If you weren’t such an a**hole, you’d still be king.
Orm: Unbelievable. Wait. Wait! Wait! You took my throne and you don’t even want it?
Arthur: Are you kidding me? I hate this job. Only reason I’m doing it is to keep Atlantis from destroying the surface. And I might even be screwing that up.
Orm: From the day my father found out you existed, he prepared me for the moment that you would come and challenge me for the throne.
Arthur: Wow, that’s really sad. Especially when you think how easily I kicked your a** with basically no prep time whatsoever. Roasted.
Arthur: Once this is over with, we should go get some burgers and beers.
Orm: Don’t push it.
Arthur: Tacos and tequila.
Orm: I don’t even know those words.
David: I never expected to see you two fighting side by side.
Orm: We’re making a special exception just for you.
Arthur: [as David knocks Orm down] No one hits my brother but me.
Atlanna: Blood magic isn’t really magic, it’s DNA. The key to Kordax’s prison is the royal bloodline itself.
Orm: That means he needs blood from either you, me, or Arthur. We’re the end of the bloodline.
Arthur: No, we’re not.
Atlanna: [to Arthur and Orm] I’ve dreamed of this. The two of you standing together as brothers. Promise me you will protect each other.
Arthur: Keep your eyes open.
Brine King: Well, that’ll be easy. Mine don’t close.
Kordax: [to Arthur] Don’t you see? You can’t win. Either you kill your brother or you die.
Arthur: [flashback, to Orm] You know, there was a time when I wanted to meet you more than anything. Let you know that you weren’t alone, that we were in it together.
Arthur: Come on, little brother, let’s end this b****rd. I meant what I said when I first met you. No matter what, you are not alone. We’re in this together. You are my brother.
Arthur: Just lay low for a while. But don’t go too far. I may need to call you up for some advice. You know, with the whole running the kingdom thing.
Orm: Thank you. Brother.
Orm: [to Arthur] You’re not as bad at this as you think. The people of Atlantis are lucky to have you. You are everything I was not. You do the right thing when doing the wrong thing is much easier. And you’re willing to ask for help even from your worst enemy.
Orm: I know it may not feel like you know what you’re doing sometimes, but keep trusting your instincts. If you lead, Atlantis will follow. After all, a true king builds bridges, right?
Arthur: I thought that was just a metaphor.
Orm: Well, your metaphor might have just saved the world’s a**.
Arthur: Sometimes it’s going to seem like our differences are too extreme, but all we have to do is look beneath the surface, to see that we’re all here on this planet with the same goals and aspirations. Even when our customs might seem strange and unfamiliar.
Arthur: And by overcoming our prejudices, we’ll become stronger and learn more about ourselves. We can seize this moment to create a better more hopeful future, for our children, and our families.
Arthur: My name is Arthur Curry. I’m the rightful sovereign of the undersea nation of Atlantis. I’m a father, a brother, a warrior, and a friend. I’m the King of Atlantis. I am Aquaman.