can we talk about how derivative the new aquaman was?

The first one was horrendous. Why watch the second

I haven't seen the new one but I remember the first one being hella like a Saturday morning cartoon; especially with how damn near every major dialogue scene ended with a wall being blown up and bad guys pouring in for a fight.

Personally, I like that dumb shit. I want the super hero movie to feel like a comic book or cartoon.

Was it written during the pandemic?

My general impression is that all the media that tried to do things the same way despite the pandemic's restrictions often hit weird quality problems ... just like this. So much of it will look like it came from before/after the pandemic, but the writing or plot or something will just feel wrong ... almost as though someone was told to keep writing no matter what even though really didn't want to or just struggled to work, cuz creative work sometimes can't be forced.

On the flip side, it seemed that any media/art that leaned into the pandemic experience thrived ... because it was speaking truth ... and you, that's a good way to be creative.

It was so BAD. How many times did he say “Get your hands off my (fill in the blank)!” This will be a steelbook I buy to complete the DC collection that never comes out of its original shrink wrap.

What you call rip offs Hollywood calls “call backs” and “creative bankruptcy”

I watched the original but during the big end battle, because it was all underwater, I wasn't sure who was doing what. After that, didn't take need to see the sequel.