Black Adam was released on Friday, Oct. 21, and is the newest installment into the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film follows the character of Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson), who is awoken after a 5,000-year slumber by archeologist Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi). Tomaz and her son, Amon Tomaz, (Bodhi Sabongui), then must convince the “man out of history” to save his country of Khandaq from the mercenary-led Intergang. At the same time, the Justice Society of America (JSA) is called in by government official Amanda Waller to protect international interest from Black Adam’s unknown and immeasurable power. The JSA is comprised of Carter Hall/Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Maxine Hunkel/Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Albert Rothstein/Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo). Be aware there are SPOILERS in the following review.
The Good:
Black Adam is exactly what it is advertised to be and never attempts to be anything else, a high-octane action movie full of thrills, kills and laughs. First, let’s break down Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam. Johnson is typically a predictable actor, normally bringing charisma, ridiculous humor and bravado to every character he plays. Most of the time, when Johnson is top billed, one can assume what they will receive during the movie. Black Adam, however, is a more nuanced character. Black Adam is an anti-hero, a main character who lacks conventional heroic attributes; for example, idealism, morality and mercy. Yet, the character will perform morally correct actions, though usually out of selfinterest or in a way that would be considered unethical.
Furthermore, Black Adam is a man out of time; his origin takes place in 2600 B.C. After receiving his powers, he is deemed unworthy of them and trapped inside a prison for 5,000 years. These two key character forms contribute to a very unique character, and Johnson pulls it off well. He creates a believable character with no ties to anyone around him. Adam’s guilt at his past is obvious throughout Johnson’s performance, as well as the fact that, even though he is in the same geographical location as Kahndaq was 5,000 years ago, he comes from an entirely different culture. Johnson excels in keeping the viewer on their toes with his aggression and violence, yet, by the end of the movie, Black Adam is truly humanized in a way that makes you like and even support the character.
The other standout characters in the movie are in the JSA. Hall plays a great leader of a dying team struggling to keep things together and dealing with his own pride. Brosnan clearly enjoyed playing the role of Doctor Fate, and the fun he had portraying the character can be felt by the audience, making his performance enjoyable. The two final big wins for the movie is the deadpan comedy and extensive action. Johnson’s portrayal of a man out of time leads to some hilarious encounters between modern era characters; his deadpan responses to their modern ideas and actions have some great laugh out loud moments. Finally, the action sequences in the movie are not only fun, but at some points, beautiful. Watching Black Adam use his super speed and strength to quickly destroy a crowd of faceless goons or fighting the members of the JAS and seeing unique powers interact with each other leads to a very entertaining spectacle. Swindell’s character, Cyclone, must be mentioned. Her power of wind has a very unique portrayal in the movie that can be described in two words: gorgeous and dancing.
The Bad:
While Black Adam has many wins, there are, of course, faults which must be acknowledged. The number one issue with Black Adam is the same as the number one issue with most superhero flicks: supersaturation. The film has a runtime of two hours and four minutes, and every second is jampacked with action or exposition. So much so that, at points, it can feel overwhelming. Furthermore, the film falters in a similar manner to most Marvel movies, while certainly not to the same degree. Meaning, the studio expects you to have an understanding of superheroes you may not have seen before. Now, granted, there are parts of the movie that imply there was initially more to the JSA stories and each character’s background but, nevertheless, that is speculation. The fact of the matter is there are four different characters introduced as members of the JSA, and there is little to no background information about each one. Its another, “if you’re not on the comic book train yet, better hop on, because we’re not stopping” moment.
The Ugly:
I, personally, don’t feel there is a large amount of “ugly” in this movie. There are really only two stand out points. Number one, the main antagonist of the story, Ishmael, later revealed to be the distant grandchild of Black Adam’s initial enemy, Ahk-Ton, and eventually culminating in his revealed supervillain status as Sabbac, is a lame one-note villain. He has the same super powers as Black Adam and his only character motivation is he believes he deserves to rule Kahndaq because his distant relative did. It’s not exactly great character development or motivation, leading to a boring villain who many will forget before they even leave the theater. This leads into the larger secondary issue of the movie at broad, which means almost all characters are one-note characters specifically, the non- super-powered characters. Tomaz characters do not change throughout the movie. Even though they are central to Black Adam’s character change, they remain the same. They begin the movie as believers in the legend Black Adam and end the movie as believers in Black Adam. They begin the movie wishing for Kahndaq to be a sovereign unoppressed nation and end the movie with the same goal. The character development shown in the super-powered characters is there, but microscopic at best.
Conclusion:
Black Adam is a lot of fun if you approach it with the right mindset. If one approaches the movie expecting a deep story with ulterior motives and a comment about the state of the world, you will be disappointed. However, if you walk into the movie expecting a fun action adventure film with cool visuals, not expecting more than the movie claims to be, you will enjoy it. Johnson does a wonderful job portraying a new character. His ensemble around him supports him well and are a truly enjoyable part of the movie. While the movie has drawbacks, absolutely, the positives outweigh the negatives by a significant degree. I rate it seven out of 10 gator tails, making it a recommendation from me.