Black Adam has been in development for the better part of a decade. It has long been a passion project for Dwayne Johnson in his attempts to dominate the DC power landscape. Not only has he finally got his movie, it seems he’s getting his way with a few creative decisions as well.
It’s been 5,000 years since Black Adam has been sealed in the ruins of his country of Kahndaq. He’s awakened to a much different world, but realizes that there’s still plenty of people/armies/organizations that oppose him. In Black Adam’s mind, any that oppose him, must meet a swift end.
As Black Adam is making mince meat out of his enemies, the Justice Society of America is called in to mitigate the damage and take him in. This low-budget Justice League is composed of Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo).
There are a lot of moving parts to this slightly over two hour movie. Honestly, there are too many parts that require a bit more backstory and writing. The Justice Society have the potential to be a fun group of defenders, but it’s hard to care for them when they’re in peril, when only a sentence of exposition is given to each character. Though, let’s be real, anyone else is this movie might as well be cannon fodder for the titular character. When he’s given the chance to let loose, he cannot be stopped.
One of the few highlights is the action within this movie. In what may be the most violent cape flick this side of the Multiverse of Madness, Black Adam disintegrates, obliterates, and casually tosses foes miles into the air. His effortless attacks are really fun to watch. And when combined with the booming score, written by Lorne Balfe, these moments trick you into thinking the movie might be awesome.
The writing and extraneous characters bring this movie to a screeching. Much of the movie centers around a mother and son, who are meant to be Black Adam’s anchor point to the humanity of Kahndaq. Sadly, they bring nothing to the movie. They’re far from relatable and the acting is left wanting. Also, their primary story is centered around a mystical evil crown MacGuffin, that only serves to give the evil militia something to pursue. The kid, in particular, is given a Last Action Hero dynamic with Johnson. They attempt to bring in the humor here and every line falls flat. The script can’t seem to pin down if Adam is a soulless great white shark or someone who’s learning how to banter.
The editing, sound work, and CG is often half-cooked. There is an interesting story to tell about what Earth’s heroes would call a villain, but the beleaguered citizens of Kahndaq call their protector, but it gets lost in the shuffle. I feel very similar to this movie as I do any of the recent Godzilla movies. Skip the dialogue and human elements, but stay for the action.
Though, one extreme highlight is Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate. This mysterious character is so much fun to watch in action. And even outside of the suit, Pierce Brosnan brings so much gravitas and credibility to the movie. Personally, I wish we got a full-on Dr Fate movie instead.
Black Adam is made to entertain, but not provoke any deeper thoughts or themes. It’s a cape flick movie that’s built on tropes established in better superhero flicks. It’s easy to see that Dwayne Johnson is having the time of his life playing a character he loves so much and you can’t help but root for the guy. If only the script was better. It’s fun on the scale of a sloppy Fast and Furious movie, so it’s important to have that bar set going in. If nothing else, it’s an efficient way to bring Black Adam into the unpredictable DC film universe. Let’s see what happens next. C-
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