Given the controversies over the making of the Aquaman sequel and the well-publicized fact that it doesn't really matter anyway since the DC movie universe is being rebooted, I couldn't work up my usual enthusiasm to see Aquaman & the Lost Kingdom in a theater. When it appeared on Max, I approached it with trepidation.

It was ... OK. While not as bad as The Flash -- the other big-screen release in late 2023 that marked the end of the superhero universe DC and Warner Brothers have spent the last several years building -- it's certainly not good.

The opening montage sets the scene with snippets of Arthur Curry's (Aquaman's) life, both as monarch of the sea and as a domestic dad to his infant son. Ask yourself how often you need to see a superhero, played by Jason Momoa, getting pee in his mouth.

I have no complaints about Momoa, who does as good a job as he might possibly do with this script; he is powerful and affable and fun, and he has been a good Aquaman for his duration in the role.

Then there's his wife and queen, Mera, played by Amber Heard. Whether or not you like the actress or care about the recent controversies in her life, the character of Mera was central to the first movie and had good chemistry with Aquaman. She was not removed from this film, as some fans demanded, but she still was sidelined more than one might expect. Whatever your opinion of the actor and her private life, she does a very good job with the material provided to her here.

Enter the villain, Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who still has a mad on for Aquaman, but whose special underwater suit has been damaged. Convinced that only ancient Atlantean technology can help him, he goes on an extensive and no doubt very costly quest -- with the aid of his evil, one-note sidekick Stingray (Jani Zhao) and the morally conflicted scientist Dr. Shin (Randall Park) -- and instead discovers his own mystical trident and a rambling backstory for the even more villainous Kordax (Pilou Asbaek and a whole lot of CGI), who was trapped many generations ago in a polar icecap by Aquaman's ancestor Atlan (Vincent Regan). Kordax grants Manta great powers in order to free him, mostly by polluting the atmosphere with an ancient Atlantean energy source that hastens global warming.

I believe in and am concerned about global warming, but I still found Kordax and Manta's plan to destroy the world by accelerating the process hammy and overblown. So, too, is the destructive power of concentrated whale song, but that's another story. Also, the first glimpse of CGI Kordax is laughable; I hoped it would get better, but it really didn't.

Anyway, Aquaman decides he needs to rescue his evil brother Orm (Patrick Wilson), the villain of the previous movie, to help him fight Manta. Meanwhile, Manta kidnaps Aquaman's baby, because he needs his blood for a ritual. Hijinks ensue. Oh, and Aquaman's mother Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) is on hand for occasional combat and maternal advice, and his landlocked dad Tom (Temuera Morrison) offers his single-dad wisdom.

Overall, it's disappointing. Aquaman had some stunning underwater visuals and, while they aren't entirely absent here, there is also some dreadful CGI that borders on cartoonish. The ease with which Manta's single ship and inexperienced crew take on the entire defense of Atlantis is laughable. Some of the dialogue is truly cringe-worthy.

And then there's the whole thing about gaining strength through love, apparently, as well as a ridiculously disappointing final fight and a giant seahorse that whinnies like its unrelated land-based namesake just to remind us how silly this all is.

You know, I was disappointed when Warner Brothers announced that they were binning everything they've built with DC so far so they can reboot the universe in James Gunn's vision. Nothing against Gunn, but DC -- for all its many missteps over the last several years -- was finding its way with some solid releases (including the first Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Shazam movies). Unfortunately, all three of those successes were followed with exceptionally bad sequels, and DC in recent months -- perhaps because they know it's all pointless anyway -- has been giving a half-hearted effort at best. Let's face it, it's time to start over and see if a new vision can give DC a little consistency.