Sorry.
She was competent in an era of camp where low budget shows were the norm for a character which has never had a good live action adaption.
The bar wasn't that high for her to be the best.
You're just burnt out on CGI. Just avoid the films with it for a while.
Aquaman's abilities to swim in the water can make him incredibly bad ass. He's got around Spider-man level super-strength, incredibly durable (bullet proof since Atlanteans have to survive in the ocean's constant pressure), enhanced reflexes and has minor super-speed on land. In the water these abilities are about a hundred times superior. His hook could cut through steel like butter in seconds with his speed and power behind it.
He once had the ability to cause seizures with any being which species was descended from fish, including White Martians. He's a warrior king that when I was reading commanded a fleet of ships that was powerful enough to threaten the entire world's surface militaries into surrendering just by showing up.
He's the kind of anti-hero who wouldn't be afraid to piss off guys like Orion if he doesn't like what they are doing. He did this in Morrison's JLA.
Watch the episodes he appeared in on JLU. Its the best adaption of the comics.
I'm only a casual Aquaman fan. There's plenty more there like the Water Hand but I don't know the specifics on that.