After a long 15-year journey, Dwayne Johnson’s DC debut as Black Adam is finally here, proving that this role was meant for him.
In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam (Dwayne Johnson) bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed, and Black Adam has gone from man to myth to legend. Now free, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern-day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centino), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell).
I found myself laughing quite a lot during this movie and the jokes landed very well compared to other movies in the DCEU. Black Adam does a nice job of allowing many of the film’s jokes to come naturally, letting the reactions be just as natural and not forced. There were some forced jokes, but they were timed perfectly, and the gimmicks were fun and enjoyable. It did not overpower the film and was used more as an accessory which helped lighten up the darkness that this movie held.
Marvel is known for taking a movie and grabbing the audience by the hearts as a character is hit by some force, so it was nice seeing DC take a page out of that book. Black Adam has heart and a motivational force that should make you feel something for the character. A little political and in-your-face at times, but still manages to put a cultural and modern sense to the film that you’ll either love or hate. However, there is plenty of great character moments that were awesome and helped maximize these moments.
The introduction of the Justice Society was one of the best parts of the movie and added new and fresh blood to the DCEU. Each of the characters offered some new balance to the movie, adding an element to the story which helped expand the feel of the movie. With a combination of comedy, sass, and the story of friendship and mystery, The JSA is a strong aspect of the movie even though they did feel a bit forced in. Pierce Brosnan’s performance was brilliant as his character offered a wide range of great qualities that could be further explored if he gets his own movie. The JSA also serves as the launching point for a lot of potential factors that work well in this movie.
Black Adam does a nice job of using CGI to help make so much of the movie come to life and look natural in the process. Several of the action sequences were visually stunning and the animation was solid for the most part that went very well with many of the stunts they pulled off. Lightning throws, chasing vehicles while flying, and even that manifestation of weapons was nicely done. It all paired well with the energy of the film, really giving you that escape from reality that these movies do all too well.
It’s not the most unique thing, but this movie has a pretty good pace that makes it fun to engage with instead of constantly checking the time. Black Adam’s pace is very intense to help provide as much action as they could muster, taking a few moments to build the story and character development. It does feel like a video game, jamming as much excitement to the movies as possible while trying to keep the audience as engaged as possible.
Black Adam definitely shows that not all action sequences are cheapened out or short-lived as other movies have been showing. The main highlight of the film is unleashing the full potential of the comic book battles, making the images from the pages really shine. Most of the movie is action in some form or another, and the variety they brought with the fights was very enjoyable. Some were comedic in nature, but lots of them had stakes, edge, and strategy that really made them pop. Many of the scenes were nicely put together, and really had that anti-hero element that this movie was all about showing off.
Overall, Black Adam was not a disaster of a movie as most critics have said. I wouldn’t say it was mind-blowing or unique, far from it compared to some of the other superhero movies that we have gotten. Black Adam ended up being a movie that was very action-packed and comedic, wild, and filled with lots of things that will grab your attention and keep you in the moment to give you a great theater experience.
Black Adam is now playing in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below
