I think enough time has passed that I can ask this.
Aquaman
Wonder Woman
I liked them about the same
I think enough time has passed that I can ask this.
I probably like both about the same. They are both lacking in certain areas but feel about the same quality to me. It just depends if I want to watch one with more spectacle (Aquaman) or one with stronger character dynamics. (Wonder Woman)
"It's too bad she won't live! But then again, who does? - Gaff Blade Runner
"In a short time, this will be a long time ago." - Werner Slow West
"One of the biggest problems in the industry is apathy right now." - Dan Didio Co-Publisher of I Wonder Why That Is Comics
I liked them both quite a bit but Wonder Woman was a slight bit superior IMO.
Currently(or soon to be) Reading: Alan Scott: Green Lantern, Batman/Superman: World's Finest, Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Jay Garrick: The Flash, Justice Society of America, Power Girl, Superman, Shazam, Titans, Wesley Dodds: Sandman, Wonder Woman, & World's Finest: Teen Titans.
I think the Ares reveal brought down WW quite a bit. The movie would have had much more of an impact if he just didn’t exist. The best scene was when Diana was shocked and disillusioned that killing the fake Ares didn’t stop the fighting. Then she killed the real Ares and everyone stopped fighting . So I’m going with Aquaman.
Both were great movies as far as I'm concerned. With Man of Steel, that makes 3 for 3 great solo movies for me -- A- for each. Of the 3 team up movies, only BvS gets as high as B+ status.
I originally gave Aquaman a B+ in my personal rankings, but as time as passed and I've had time to think more about the movie, I like it more. That's rare for me as movies tend to "wear off" their sheen after a bit. Aquaman has risen from B+ to A- over time.
However, in comparing Aquaman to Wonder Woman, I like Wonder Woman better (but Man of Steel above both).
Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman was just pitch perfect in both performance and direction. The script and Patty Jenkins' direction allowed Gal to show many sides to Wonder Woman within that 2 hours -- strong, vulnerable, loving, adorable, warrior, fish out of water, etc. Momoa's script didn't really allow him to show all those colors or maybe Momoa doesn't quite have the acting chops to go too far beyond what's written on the page. He didn't really dig into the guts of the character and show tons of PASSION the way Gal did with Diana.
However, Momoa did deliver a fine, affable, engaging performance, so I don't have serious complaints about him at all. He was a strong lead. I was interested in his quest to "find himself." It just lacked the depth that Gal brought.
As far as triumphant hero-moments are concerned, nothing beats Wonder Woman in the No Man's Land sequence. It's an instant, lump-in-the-throat classic that I don't think any other comic book movie has ever come close to.
As far as romantic chemistry between the leads, Gal and Chris really lit up the screen in a way that Jason and Amber did not. After Chris and Margot in Donner-Superman, I think Gal and Chris just might be the best comic book movie couple -- from ANY company -- of course, Marvel has never shined in that department.
The tones of the movies were different, so I think Aquaman is just a feel good popcorn flick, while Wonder Woman is more weighty, but still has fun moments. Both triumphs for the DCEU!
Of course there are no options in the poll for whether a person didn't see one of them (or didn't see either of them) . . .
I thought were VERY good, but Aquaman got my vote for the final act.
Whereas Wonder Woman went the superhero movie cliché third act slugfest with a rather ho-hum villain (this isn't just a DC movie thing either, Marvel are just as guilty), Aquaman's final act was much more enjoyable (and MUCH larger scale)
"My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive!"
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AKA FlashFreak
Favorite Characters:
DC: The Flash (Jay & Wally), Starman- Jack Knight, Stargirl, & Shazam!.
MARVEL: Daredevil, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), & Doctor Strange.
Current Pulls: Not a thing!
Aquaman was a great mindless actioner. I had a great time then quickly forgot about it.
Wonder Woman was a movie with a soul and lots of heart, that happened to have some really good action. It stayed in my mind. Which makes it the best movie to me.
Wonder Woman, because it showed such a powerful woman in a mans world. If was quite striking.
I know I'll shock a lot of peoples, but I don't think that Wonder Woman was a great movie. A good Superheroes movie sure, but not a great movie overall. It had a lot of plot holes, incohérences, a scenario which required Ares to not exist to make sense of the actual World's History and a last fight which was largely underwhelming because the actor chosen to play Ares wasn't suited at all for this kind of fight.
I think it gets more points because it's the first good Superhero movie where the MC is female and treated with care and respect, and that's definitively something which needs to become the basic foundations for any movie with a female MC.
But it failed to tackle some important détails, unlike Aquaman (IMHO) : it lacked a sympathetic villain with relatable motivations (both from a personal and larger point of view, Orm's resentment toward the Surface World makes sense, when Ares sounded more insane than anything else), or a great supporting character (Chris Pine's Steve Trevor doesn't even hold half a candle compared to Amber Head's Mera).
Visually speaking, No Man's Land is probably the strongest scene of Wonder Woman and one of the most beautiful scene you can find in a superhero movie. But Aquaman...
spoilers:end of spoilers
It was choke full of those inonic scenes : Omr's breaking Arthur's trident, Mera using the wine to kill the Atlantean; Aquaman and Orm's final duel, The Trench, Atlantis revealed... Too many to count, really.
Now, don't get me wrong. Wonder Woman is a good film, I just find it really over-hyped.
Aquaman.
Which kinda surprises me, as I'm a much bigger fan of Wonder Woman as a character. Read way more of her comics than him.
I hated that Wonder Woman's movie was a period piece. And it didn't stick the landing with its 3rd act. And that it didn't feature the Cheetah, her rightful arch-nemesis. And Batfleck stuck his nose in it.
But the good still FAR outweighs the bad here. I just think endings matter more to me than beginnings in film. It's not a film that I rewatch much at all (saw it once in the theater, then once on blu-ray).
Aquaman was an unpretentious good time from start to finish that makes me overlook its own various flaws (not much onscreen chemistry between the two leads, Arthur is kinda ... not smart, Black Manta was in a weird spot where he was simultaneously both and not quite henchman and next big bad at the same time, mentioning Steppenwolf, etc). But I actually liked that the film was all over the place and the underwater effects were amazing. And the ending was so satisfying.
I still haven't read any recent Aquaman books. I don't know if this movie will change that. I do know that I'm getting the blu-ray.
Aquaman FTW.
Aquaman was a vastly superior film.
Wonder Woman was a solid flick though. I like them both but I LOVED Aquaman. Aquaman was also the first time in a very long time that a superhero felt "superheroic". He learned from his mistakes, overcame obstacles, and ended the film a far better man than he began. He rose to meet the needs of others, after having rejected the call to action for so long.
Not really worth comparing the two, they're both very different. Wonder Woman also really suffers from that end CGI eyesore fight with Ares which I felt really took the air out of everything. I was really into the idea that there was simply no "big bad boss" and that war just happens because people are flawed and that's why the world needs Wonder Woman. Not to punch CGI-Man in the face, but to lead us towards a different path.
Last edited by Flash Gordon; 01-11-2019 at 08:12 AM.
Aquaman definitely.
Wonder Woman as a character has been completely soured to me. Between the Injustice games, the New 52, the unaired TV pilot, ASBAR and the animated movies "Justice League: War" and "Throne of Atlantis" I can't stand Wonder Woman at all. Even when I try to watch/read a good version all I can think of are those. No offence to Gal Gadot, she's a fine actress and did a great job. I just don't find Wonder Woman appealing.
That too.
Wow, really? Aquaman was good dumb fun but aside for its lackluster final act, Wonder Woman was flat out excellent. There's really no comparison.
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