I really enjoyed this. At first I was put off by how breakneck the pace was and how aggressively silly all the campy underwater CGI and awkward jokes felt, but eventually I grew to respect its balls-to-the-wall approach. It reminded me of a lot of classic sci-fi adventures I love like Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Time Machine, World without End, and the like - a constantly moving, globe-trotting genre adventure. James Wan is dreaming bigger than he has ever been able to before, and his imagination spills across the screen in a way that feels totally sincere and utterly infectious. The Sicily sequence is what finally won me over; it's so bright, colorful, and creative, and it's palpable that Wan was having a blast creating it. From then on, the wild visuals never seem to stop - the trench (wow!), the ocean in the center of the Earth, and - of course - the massive underwater battle. (By the way, that battle is the most overwhelming thing I've seen on the 4K format so far. Good lord.)

It makes me happy that this was such a huge success for Wan; I really like that guy. That said, I can't help but wonder what Guillermo del Toro could do with a sequel...