THERE WERE SO MANY ADVERTISMENTS AND hype about the exhibit that was coming to our city, that I fell into its marketing push. I was interested in seeing the recently discovered artifacts, since they were part of our folklore for over a century. The television commercials showed glistening gold random objects, such as a plate charger, faucet handle and tie pin. I was fascinated with the print ads because they showed the event in numerous ways. Some had schematic drawings along with the print; others had old photographs and others had meticulously made sketches. The other thing that got me was the tagline, “Not seen for over 100 years.” I could easily get swept up into the idea that I would be part of a group that were the first people to see such items that were lost for so many years. I rounded up a couple of friends to join me in this pursuit, who I thought would appreciate the significance of being a part of this traveling exhibition. The ticketing process was not too painful, and I was able to purchase four tickets for a reasonable time slot. My friends and I agreed to meet in the lobby of the museum, where I would hand out the tickets, then we could go through the security line to see the exhibit.      ON THE DAY WE WERE TO meet, I arrived early at the museum. I was surprised to see such a lengthy line for same day ticket purchases and wondered how big the exhibition was to accommodate so many people. At our designated time all the friends were accounted for, and we went through security, gratefully without any hassle. The exhibit was on the second floor, spread out through three galleries. Hanging on the barrier walls to help with the flow of traffic, there were reproductions of the old posters that would have been used to advertise the company back a century ago. As we walked through, there were freestanding glass cases placed throughout that had the artifacts. I walked up to the first display and enclosed I saw a rusty pen, a broken dinner plate, and a tarnished fork. None of these items were shown in any of the advertisements. On to the second case and there I saw a tarnished flask, a piece of glass with an emblem etched on it, and what I assumed was an envelope opener. Again, nothing special or spectacular. The four of us made our way to a dark room where there would be a visual presentation; it was a film clip from a famous movie showing the disaster where these items were lost. Throughout the exhibit, there were a couple of highlights that made the trip worthwhile; but overall, the entire experience was a bust; which is how I felt about this action, adventure fantasy.      WHEN A VENGEFUL BEING BEGINS A campaign of destroying everything Arther, played by Jason Momoa (Dune, Slumberland) holds dear, there is no choice for Arthur but to reach out to the last person he wanted to contact for help. With Patrick Wilson (The Nun franchise, The Phantom of the Opera) as Ora, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Ambulance, The Trial of the Chicago 7) as Black Manta, Amber Heard (The Rum Diary, 3 Days to Kill) as Mera and Nicole Kidman (Being the Ricardos, The Goldfinch) as Atlanna; this sequel left much to be desired. On the plus side, Jason and Patrick did their best with what was handed to them. The script was basic, following a set pattern for a superhero movie. There was little drama or character development as the story unfolded. The special effects were decent, and the battle scenes were imaginative and hectic. However, I was bored through most of the film; even, the humor was basic and only worthy of one or two chuckles. Based on this picture, I felt this film franchise should consider hanging it up because it had the trappings of being all washed up.      

1 ½ stars