'Aquaman' Trailer Breakdown: The DC Film Delivers Goofy Jason Momoa And Goofy CGI Fish

The one-two punch of Aquaman and Shazam! signaled a new era for Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe. No longer will the DCEU be solely dark, gritty, and brooding — here are two male heroes who are bright and, dare I say it, goofy. The Aquaman trailer in particular may have been a little too goofy for the audiences at the Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend.

But if you were skeptical after seeing the Aquaman trailer for the first time, dive into our Aquaman trailer breakdown to find out if James Wan's movie holds water.

Exposition time! Even though we met Aquaman/Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) in Justice League and got a glimpse of his strained existence between the sea and the land, Aquaman will delve into his origin — which means we're going all the way back to the beginning. And Aquaman's story begins with the meeting of a human and the queen of Atlantis. New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison plays Thomas Curry, Arthur Curry's father and a lighthouse keeper, who discovers Nicole Kidman's Queen Atlanna washed up ashore during a terrible storm.

Queen Atlanna washes up injured and unconscious, and curiously, laying next to King Atlan's trident. In a set visit report from JoBlo, it was reported that the majority of the Aquaman movie will chronicle Arthur Curry's search for the trident, with the help of Mera (Amber Heard). The pair embark on this quest after discovering an artifact from the dead king saying, "The time has come to pass on my legacy ... If you seek my power, you must prove your worth." However, Arthur's not the only one on the hunt: They will be pursued by Patrick Wilson's Orm, a.k.a Ocean Master, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's David Hyde, aka Black Manta.

"You could unite our worlds one day," Queen Atlanna tells an adorable baby Arthur Curry. It seems more than just love that brought Thomas and Atlanna together, but a necessity to stop growing tensions between the people of the land and the kingdoms of Atlantis.

Here is the scene that had everyone scoffing. Yes, the CGI for the sharks and fish all look very rough, and yes this moment is not quite as epic as this movie seems to think it is, but look at how cute baby Arthur Curry (Kaan Guldur) is! How could you bully him!

Here we have Mera emerging from the seas with a task for Aquaman: to take back the throne from his half-brother King Orm and stop his war against the surface world. But I have to wonder: does Amber Heard's costume designer have it out for her? Or maybe her wig supplier does? Because I'm guessing whoever her costume designer is just pointed at a picture of Ariel from The Little Mermaid and said, "That, but radioactive." Yes, it's nice to have something brighter than the desaturated look that we got in Justice League, but does it have to be quite that bright?

When Aquaman's poster first hit the web, fans speculated that the tag line "Unite the Seven" referred to the members of the Justice League. But that theory quickly fell apart when the League only came to six members. It turns out the "Seven" refers to the seven kingdoms of Atlantis, which fractured into several kingdoms when it sank into the ocean. King Orm's army (riding the white sharks) faces off against King Nereus' army aboard sea dragons at an ancient meeting place called The Council of the Kings, which once used to be the ruling place of the single king of Atlantis but has since fallen into disarray.

"Your half-brother King Orm is about to declare war upon the surface world. The only way to stop this war is for you to take your rightful place as king," Mera tells a reluctant Arthur Curry, who argues that he has no ties to the world of Atlantis. But when King Orm presumably sends a tidal wave that sends a fishing boat crashing against the road that Arthur, Mera, and his father are driving along, Arthur changes his mind.

Arthur, Thomas, and Mera survey the wreckage that King Orm has wrought upon the land, with Arthur's face turning to anger. They stand in front of the crashed car they were driving in, but thankfully all three seem to be unharmed — perhaps thanks to Arthur's heroics.

In what looks like a scene from the past, the dead King Atlan strikes his trident on the floor in front of his throne. I'm going to assume it's King Atlan because of the flowing hair and golden cape. Perhaps this is a vision that Arthur receives which sends him on his quest for the trident.

Arthur dons damaged armor very unlike the one he wore in Justice League — instead of the green and gold scaling, this one is gold and red and more along the lines of traditional armor. I thought at first it was the armor that he wears to challenge King Orm to the throne, but as we see later, that's not the case. Which makes me wonder: where did Aquaman get his battle armor for Justice League? In the early action scenes of this trailer we mostly see him fighting shirtless. Perhaps we'll find out in the next trailer.

Okay, yes, Atlantis does kind of look like the cover of a Lisa Frank folder. But look at the giant turtles and whales lugging items across the kingdom! Look at them work!

King Orm proves to be quite the showboater, pompously shouting to the audience, "My brother has come from the surface to challenge me to the throne!" eliciting boos and jeers from the audience. While King Orm wields a three-pronged trident, Arthur's weapon looks more like King Atlan's mythical trident. Foreshadowing!

It seems like the battle between King Orm and Arthur has moved locations, now taking place in a chamber surrounded by hot flowing lava. Was this a plan by Orm or an unexpected twist thrown at the battle by outside forces? It may in fact be the beginning of the battle, as Orm soon jumps through a hole in the ceiling up to the cheering masses.

I just wanted to point out Patrick Wilson's man bun.

This is my favorite scene of the Aquaman trailer, and honestly, the encapsulation of its big, dumb goofiness — aside from Aquaman breaking into a submarine and cheekily saying, "Permission to come aboard?" The audience is blown back by the sheer power of Arthur and Orm's battle, pausing at first in shock then breaking into wide-eyed cheers. It's the bro-iest scene we've ever had in a DC movie and I love it. Not to mention the fact that it's preceded by a scene where Arthur tells Orm "I call it an ass-whupping" with a straight face. This movie is going to be great.

The trailer then gives us another flashback to Arthur's childhood, this time with teen Arthur (Otis Dhanji) training with an Atlantean to fight. Blessed with sharp reflexes and super strength, Arthur is easily able to catch the trident thrown at him. We then see him fighting on the beach with an unidentified person. (A teenaged Orm, perhaps?)

Another shot of teen Arthur with his trainer, who turns out to be Willlem Dafoe's Nuidis Vulko — Atlantis' counselor and Aquaman's mentor. That's right, you thought Willem Dafoe didn't appear in this trailer but there he is, barely visible for a half-second! Perhaps the movie is saving the best for last, because we would certainly be killed by the sight of Dafoe's man-bun.

This is a really beautiful shot of Arthur and Mera diving off a fishing boat that has come under the attack of the Trenchers: an ocean-dwelling race of creatures from one of the former Atlantean realms that have mutated into monsters. The stark contrast of the red flare against the stormy see is gorgeous and totally makes up for the Lisa Frank shots from before.

As Arthur and Mera dive deeper underwater, we see the Trenchers weren't limited to the boat: swarms of them descend upon the pair like some sort of hellish plague. Again, this shot looks great – screw all of you who said this movie's visuals look bad.

Black Manta reveals his face in a brief shot, as he takes off his helmet in what looks to be the same submarine that Arthur attacks early on. Unlike the majority of the characters in this film, Black Manta is human — he's a ruthless treasure hunter and a high-seas mercenary who creates deadly technological innovations that could rival the weapons of Atlantis.

Here is the reveal of Djimon Hounsou as the Fisherman King, standing alongside Natalia Safran and Sophia Forrest as the Fisherman Queen and the Fisherman Princess, whom Orm creates an alliance with as part of his plan to unite the seven kingdoms. The Fisherman Kingdom is mostly populated by residents with mermaid tails who celebrate poetry and philosophy. Fun fact: Hounsou's entire look is created by prosthetics and not CGI.

Here we get our first full look at Black Manta in full costume, with red, glowing eyes. He stands in a living room — perhaps ready to attack Arthur and Thomas Curry.

Black Manta launches an attack against Arthur, aiming his destructive lasers at Arthur, who leaps out of the way. But the tower that he was standing on is not quite so lucky.

King Orm's scheme to unite the seven kingdoms of Atlantis against the surface world doesn't seem to be going as planned, as the Atlantean armies face off in a deadly, giant sea-creature filled battle. Perhaps it's Black Manta's interference that leads to this deadly standoff.

Those who wished James Wan would go back to his horror movie roots would appreciate this brief cameo by Leigh Whannell as the pilot of the plane, which Mera and Arthur dive off of sans parachutes. Whannell is Wan's close friend who has written and starred many of Wan's most popular horror films including Saw, Dead Silence, Insidious, and Insidious: Chapter 2.

Aquaman hits theaters on December 21, 2018.