An Over-Muscled Super Antihero In A Not-So-Super Film

“Black Adam”   (2022)   —   movie review
Before I begin the “actual” review of this film, I need to say I have no prior knowledge of the “Justice Society of America“, its origin or its members.  I grew up reading about the “Justice League” – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, etc.  Basically, I’m approaching this film as a Sci-Fi, superhero, animation fan walking straight off the street…
Today’s review is for the DC superhero film:  “Black Adam”  (2022), starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Teth-Adam (a resurrected antihero from the ancient fictional nation of Kahndaq), Aldis Hodge as Hawkman / Carter Hall (the leader of the Justice Society of America.  He is a noble and principled hero [like Captain America] who believes in non-lethal force [like Batman] and becomes the main antagonist to Black Adam’s more violent methods), Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate / Kent Nelson (a founding member of the Justice Society, an older and wiser hero who can see the future and whose powers come from a “mystical” golden helmet), Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher / Albert Rothstein (a new, naive member of the Justice Society who can grow to immense size [like Giant-Man in the Avengers]), Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone / Maxine Hunkel (a wind-controlling technology genius), Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz (a freedom fighter / linguist / archaeologist who awakens Adam), Bodhi Sabongui as Amon Tomaz (Adrianna’s son), Maxine Hunkelas Karim (Adrianna’s brother), and Marwan Kenzari as Marwan Kenzari / Sabbac (the main villain and a leader of the “Intergang” mercenaries who seeks to claim the Crown of Sabbac to gain godlike power).
Background:  Like most folks who are into comic-book heroes and bigger-than-life media personalities, I’ve been waiting for “The Rock” to finally get a shot at playing a “meta-human” / super-person.  This movie was fairly poorly received except by “wraslin’ and ‘Da Rock‘” die hard fans – like my brother.  I saw the film back in ’23, when it first streamed, but it was forgettable, so I never reviewed it.  This makes up for that…
Plot Summary:  An evil king is forcing his people to mine for a rare element which will supposed give a person great power and eternal life.  By a strange coincidence it is called:  “Eternium”.  (Seriously…)  A “hero” arises to overthrow the king, but he (the hero) is somehow trapped for 5,000 years – until modern day.  The hero’s name is “Teth-Adam” but needs to say the word “Shazam” (Shazam is an acronym for six ancient gods who give power to the human host).  They are: “S” – Shu who has superhuman stamina, “H” – Heru who has enhanced speed and flight, “A” – Amon who has immense strength, “Z” – Zehuti who has wisdom and strategic intellect, “A” – Anpu who has magical resistance and durability, and “M” – Menthu who has courage and combat prowess) to alternate between a normal human and the “hero” with powers.  Fast forward 5,000 years:  modern-day Kahndaq is occupied by mercenaries still mining the ore and looking for the old king’s crown.  Adrianna, a local rebel, awakens Teth-Adam / Black Adam from his tomb / prison.   He proceeds to electrocute, pulverize, and dismember the invaders with lightning and super-strength.  Enter the Justice Society — Hawkman, Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher — who arrive to “contain / detain / restrain” Adam and restore order.  They quibble.  They fight.  They argue.  They team up.  Meanwhile, a demon named Sabbac (like “Shazam”, this is an acronym for six demons who take over the human host.  They are:  Satan, Aym, Belial, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, and Crateis) rises from hell to threaten the world.  Adam must choose between destruction and heroism.  Spoiler:  he chooses both.  The main morality conflict of the film revolves around the philosophical / ideological clash between the JSA’s heroic code (do good and don’t kill) and Black Adam’s brutal brand of justice / revenge (killing is optional when convenient).
So, is this film any good?  How’s the acting?  The filming / FX?  Any problems?  And, did I like / enjoy it?  Short answers:  So-so;  mostly wooden (at best);  although lifelike, it’s more cartoon-ish / comic-bookie than cinematic;  let’s not go there;  as a “movie”, forgettable – as a comic-book adaptation, not bad.
Any good:  Only if you are into special effects and want just enough dialogue to get you from one explosion (or fight) to the next.
Acting:  Johnson glowers.  Hodge snarls and threatens.  Centineo and Swindell are comic relief and (I guess) meant to draw a youth audience.  Shahi yells.  Sabongui skateboards and tries to encourage Teth-Adam to be a hero.  Kenzari tries his best to be a threatening (CGI) bad-guy / demon.  The Rock’s performance as Black Adam is pretty much what I expected from the actor – and disappointing.  He is physically “just” a body builder – not a superhero.  He is more Hulk than Superman.  The “best” performance comes from Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, who brings a sense of weary grace and wisdom (maybe it’s British colonialism) to the role.  Brosnan is the closest to rising to the occasion here.
Filming /  FX:  This film has the look of the “Dark Knight” trilogy.  If you like that – I did – the “filming” isn’t that bad.  The visual spectacle of the action sequences are arguably the main (only) strength of the film.  Semi-chaotic destruction looks good on film, but it fails to make up for a poor story and mostly weak dialogue.
Problems:  Loads…!  This film has the look of the “Dark Knight” trilogy.  If you don’t like that, you probably won’t like this film.  The film wants to be a parallel universe of “The Dark Knight” (feel) and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” (team building for sequels) but just doesn’t get there.  To someone off-the-street, with no background, the Justice Society is introduced with zero backstory to the characters or their powers.  The bad-guys are trivial for 95% of the movie.  The film presents multiple notable continuity issues with other DCEU films, particularly with “Shazam!” In “Shazam!”, the wizard states that his previous champion, Black Adam, was imprisoned for releasing the Seven Deadly Sins, but this is never mentioned or shown in “Black Adam”.  For me, as a comic-book fan, I don’t understand the limits of any of the characters’ powers.  And why is this lady from the “Suicide Squad” in this movie at all?  Honestly, none of this bares much consideration…
Like / Enjoy:  I hoped for more.  It didn’t deliver.  It is what it is – fights, explosions and special effects.  Forty years ago, I might have loved this film for being just what it is.
Final Recommendation:  Low to moderate.  The story, and hence the movie, are bad – so “Low“.  If you REALLY like Dwayne Johnson and want to see him glare, flex, float and quick fry / fricazzi people for two hours, it’s watchable and maybe “moderate“.  If you enjoy superhero tropes, ancient curses, and poorly landed “humor” dialogue, you might enjoy it more than I did.  I wanted it to be mythic, heroic AND have great F/X.  I think one out of three rates a “Low“…  While it is an action-packed spectacle with some truly impressive visual effects and a reasonable performance from Pierce Brosnan, the film’s narrative is weak and its characters are underdeveloped.  For a fun, mindless action flick, it’s worth a watch, but if you’re looking for a compelling story, you have to look at the other DCEU parallel universe – or maybe even Marvel’s (MCEU).
Final Thought:  By the way, in the alternate “Shazam!” film, the letters stand for: “S” Solomon who grants wisdom, “H” Hercules who grants strength, “A” Atlas who grants stamina, “Z” Zeus who grants power (lightning), “A” Achilles who grants courage, and, “M” Mercury who grants speed and flight.  So now you know…  LoL
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Click here (25 August) to see the posts of prior years.  I started this blog in late 2009.  Daily posting began in late January 2011.  Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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