The poor man’s underwater Thor we were introduced to in Justice League now has a feature all to himself, directed by Australian pop auteur James Wan, who has brought surprising life and charm to several franchises before this one.

Though born on land, the title merfellow (Jason Momoa) discovers he’s heir to an underwater kingdom of Atlantis – or one possible heir. The other is his half-brother (Patrick Wilson) who’s out to conquer the world beneath the waves, then destroy the world above.

Wan delivers an unexpected, crowd-pleasing hit for the DC universe; a cheerful, sunny, and of course very wet spectacle.