Movie review
December 7, 2018 · 143 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Aquaman (2018) follows Arthur Curry, a half-human half-Atlantean raised on land by his lighthouse-keeper father, as he learns of his royal heritage and joins forces with Mera to stop his half-brother Orm from uniting underwater kingdoms for war against the polluted surface world. The film delivers large-scale action, underwater spectacle, and a classic hero's journey focused on family, destiny, and reluctant leadership. Mild references to ocean pollution appear as plot motivation for the antagonist but stay background elements without lectures, identity framing, or modern activist messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Aquaman.
Woke representation / casting
Jason Momoa’s mixed-heritage casting fits the character’s half-human premise and warrior archetype in a fantasy underwater world; diverse supporting cast present but not audience-visible signaling or quota-driven in marketing or story.
Woke political dialogue
Brief antagonist lines about surface pollution and ocean harm motivate conflict but remain fantasy setup without explicit modern ideological lectures or activist framing.
Identity-driven story themes
Arthur’s mixed heritage creates personal alienation and belonging questions resolved through traditional heroism and family bonds, without reframing into contemporary identity politics or systemic critiques.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Orm’s complaints about surface-world pollution and militarization drive the war plot but function as classic villain motivation in an epic battle story, not modern activist attacks on capitalism, patriarchy, Western institutions, or traditional norms.
Woke character or canon changes
Some visual and personality updates from classic comics versions enhance spectacle and align with the mixed-heritage origin; changes serve entertainment rather than ideological reinterpretation.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Minimal right-leaning or anti-woke criticism; film received broad praise as fun and apolitical, with only scattered minor casting notes rather than claims of pushing identity politics or DEI messaging.
Creator track record context
Core team (Wan, Johns, Johnson-McGoldrick, Beall, and editors) shows careers centered on genre entertainment, horror, action, and comics with no documented pattern of activist, identity-driven, or social-justice-focused work.
Production
