One day after Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrived in American theaters, director James Wan announced that his next project would be an adaptation of The Call of Cthulhu. There is some irony in this, as Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is an ideal audition piece for that gig. I have no doubt that Wan is the director to finally bring H.P. Lovecraft’s masterpiece to the masses. Unfortunately, while the weird horror angle is the strongest aspect of the movie, it is also the most undeveloped.

The chief flaw of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is it tries to do too much with a limited run time. As a result, all of its many subplots suffer. How much of this is due to studio interference, continual delays, and reshoots is anybody’s guess. It is probably for the best, however, that Michael Keaton’s role was cut, along with all the other DCEU cameos. The movie already feels overstuffed at two hours!

Much has happened in the four years since the first Aquaman movie. Beyond being part of the Justice League, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) is now also a husband, a father, and King of Atlantis. It is this last role that troubles him most, however, as his monarchy is far from absolute. Atlantean traditionalists prevent him from addressing the needs of his people, half of whom disapprove of him spending so much time defending the surface world.

Enter Arthur’s arch-enemy, the pirate Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who uncovers ancient Atlantean artifacts that he turns upon the sunken kingdoms. This includes a cursed trident, possessed by the forgotten King Kordax of the titular Lost Kingdom, who steers Black Manta toward unearthing his sealed city. In order to save the world, Arthur must join with the most unlikely of allies; his half-brother, Orm (Patrick Wilson), who may be the only person who can find Black Manta’s secret base.

This synopsis covers the chief conflicts of the film, but there is so much more than that. Beyond Arthur’s worries about being a good king and a good father, he also has to try and start a relationship with his brother. There is also an environmental message, an unintentionally timely plea for world peace and understanding, and numerous nods to the Atlantean mythology of the comics for screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick to unpack in two hours.

Unfortunately, despite Johnson-McGoldrick doing a fair job spinning the plates, this act will seem all too familiar to general audiences. The question of how involved Atlantis should be in world affairs mirrors the conflict of the Black Panther franchise. The family drama between Orm and Arthur rips off the conflict between the MCU Thor and Loki. (It doesn’t help that Arthur calls Orm Loki at one point!)

The performances are solid across the board, but most of the cast have little to do but pose dramatically in between the CGI sequences. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has it the worst in this regard, with Black Manta being a puppet to an Atlantean ghost for most of the picture. Amber Heard also has less to do as Mera, but she at least has the excuse of being injured and in the hospital for half the film. (How much of this is due to reshoots and rumors of her role being cut is unclear, but it is odd that her issues with being a mother and queen go unexplored.)

Wan’s direction, at least, has not waned in the past four years. There is a little bit of wonky CGI, but nowhere near as bad as in this past summer’s The Flash. The plot takes a little while to get started, but the pacing improves greatly once we pass the opening scenes full of Atlantean political debates and submarine heists. Again, the horror themes of the cursed Lost Kingdom are the most striking visual element of the movie.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is not a bad film. Unfortunately, it seems cursed to be despised for what it is not. It is not the capstone the DCEU deserved, nor is it a bridge to the new DCU. It is, however, a solid sequel and a decent movie taken on its own merits.