BLACK ADAM (2022)

BLACK ADAM (2022)

Tagline: The world needed a hero. It got Black Adam.

(Adventure, Action, Snake, Why Does It Always Have To Be Snake) [R]

Yeah, Mom. Who do you want to teach me violence?

In this one, we are taken to the distant past 5,000 years ago when Kahndaq is being ruled by king Anh-Kot. He is running slaves into the ground having them look for “Eternium” that can be fashioned into the Crown of Sabbac. One day a young boy leads a revolt against him and is set to be killed as a result when he is suddenly given the power of Shazam to become “the champion” of Kahndaq. No one in Kahndaq seems to be completely clear as to why “the champion” suddenly disappeared. Fast forward to the present day where Anh-Kot has been killed, but his descendants still occupy Kahndaq looking for the Crown of Sabbac. Finally “the champion” of Kahndaq is awakened, and with his amazing powers, is he Kahndaq’s destroyer or its hero? 

First off, whenever Dwayne Johnson shows up in something, there is over an 80% chance it’s going to be pretty good. This movie’s previews did not make me want to see it at all. They kind of paint Black Adam into a sort of “dark Jesus” sort of position a lot like some in the “DC hate camp” painted Superman. However, that isn’t really what we end up getting at all and when you start to understand Black Adam’s motives for what he does it makes you empathize with him more. Dwayne Johnson kills the role, but for most of the movie they are calling him Teth-Adam, which gets a little confusing if you are like me and only had very limited exposure to the whole SHAZAM!, BLACK ADAM connection and BLACK ADAM’s background. 

I am far more a Marvel guy than a DC guy when it comes to superhero platforms, but DC is killing it with their “mainline” movies. SHAZAM! was freaking brilliant and a ton of fun and this movie follows a bit in that vein. Yes, we do get ultra-serious bossy Hawkman and even more serious but kinder Dr. Fate, but Atom Smasher and Cyclone really lighten this thing up and that element in a DC movie has been sorely missing in the darker and more brooding depress-a-thons THE BATMAN and JOKER. I think this is why I like the main series so much. Yes, MAN OF STEEL is pretty humorless, but it’s not “overly dark” like you want to jump out of a first-story building or anything. This movie has a really good balance of light and dark and I will get to that in a bit. 

Acting wise I usually like when Pierce Brosnan (TOMORROW NEVER DIES) shows up and he does a great job as Dr. Fate. Aldis Hodge (DIE HARD WITH A VENGENCE) is solid as Hawkman.  Quintessa Swindell is great as Cyclone. I actually wouldn’t have minded seeing a solo film flesh out her story, because the background they give in the movie sounds nuts. Noah Centineo does a solid job as Atom Smasher, but his resemblance to Mark Ruffalo’s HULK character is pretty noticeable. I am not sure if that’s him, or if they told him to act that way, but yeah. All I was thinking every time he started talking is that he reminded me of Mark Ruffalo. Bodhi Sabongui was a solid cast as Amon Tomasz and he also played a likable character which is always a huge plus in movies. I love to be rooting for someone. 

I don’t want to give too much away in this review, but if you don’t like pretty much non-stop action, this is going to be a rough one for you. They do give us some backstories, but this movie is heavy on the stuff I go to movies for and low on the stuff that would have given this a bit more depth. Also as a Christian, there are some really wonky scenes in the last act where ordinary people are fighting something that you “shouldn’t” be able to fight off unless it’s a comic book movie I guess? Also, the main villain seems particularly vulnerable for what it’s supposed to be giving this movie the same villain problem SHAZAM! had. However, I get it, it’s a comic book movie and the people writing the comics and writing the scripts make the rules. 

Aside from that issue and a few weird plot things here and there, this one is just a lot of fun. Not as great as SHAZAM! but I am going to give it the same score. BLACK ADAM gets a 6 out of 7, especially for one scene that I think would make anyone of faith pretty happy to see even as scripturally disconnected as it is.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF DC ENTERTAINMENT AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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