I want to preface this review by saying that my experience with projects in the DC comics universe has been a mixed bag. In recent years, I have enjoyed Shazam!, fallen asleep halfway through Aquaman, dozed off during The Batman, disliked Wonder Woman 1984, and absolutely adored Peacemaker. So, coming into Black Adam I sort of just went in blind. It is difficult enough for me to understand the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so trying to understand the choppy connections of the DC films is just too much for me. As soon as the movie began, I felt an instant realization that I should have done some research beforehand to get me up to speed, because the audience is automatically thrown into a story with “pre-established” characters and little context. With that being said, there should be little spoilers but again I have a bad background with this comic universe, so I apologize in advance. Let’s get into it.
Black Adam is led by Dwayne Johnson, with a supporting cast of Aldis Hodge, Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Quintessa Swindell, and Bohdi Sabongui. The film is set in an other-world city known as Kahndaq in which numerous supporting characters accidentally let out a 5,000 year old god (Black Adam). Appearing to be a bad guy, Johnson’s character fights the supporting characters in an effort to keep his newly re-establish power. The audience watches as Adam goes through his family history backstory and other characters have flashbacks that all connect as well. As everything wraps up, Johnson makes the audience question what “side” he is on, potentially leading to another story in the future. I apologize for not being more thorough, but again this film is choppy and hard to follow.
I have lightly been watching this film’s development process and am well aware of how much Johnson was involved along the entire way. If my memory serves correctly, I believe he was the one to pitch this movie to the executives at Warner Brothers. He basically set up himself being the star, and it is so abhorrently obvious. Much like Don’t Worry Darling, this film thinks it is smarter than it is. It tasks the audience to grapple with the idea that not all those with superpowers have to be good or be on one side, they are complicated beings. This part of the concept is executed clearly I suppose, but with little substance. I honestly think this is because of The Rock. I generally find him to be a bad actor, but he is just so blank in this film. Obviously, Johnson is best known for his physicality and prior wrestling career, but he should not be starring in this movie just for his pretty face, money, and recognition–it greatly takes away from the story.
Hodge, Brosan, and Centineo’s characters specifically have obvious ties back to prior DC films, but I could not tell you what they are. This creates a barrier for those less-committed audience members because there is no context on their back story which leads to an even more confusing story. DC often just throws groups together, but this group of supporting characters seems even farther a stretch than usual.
The story and plot itself simply have issues in my eyes. It is hard to follow yet feels familiar, like something that someone has done before. Key plot points like saving the citizens of a certain place, hero revitalization, and family reconciliation in this film feel as though they came from a template. The writing is rough, generic, and lazy–likely due to the film’s process–which hurt my attention span while watching. I suppose the best way to describe it is that nothing is genuine, which isn’t a great feeling to have about a story.
I will say that the action in this film is heavy and I greatly enjoyed that aspect. Unlike some recent DC films, I didn’t get a quick nap in at any particular point which is a positive. The costumes look very cool and the CGI is not appalling, which many superhero movies can have issues with. This film also seemingly moves the overall storyline of many of the supporting characters in a subtle way, which I appreciate. The non-leading actors actually throughly did their job to act, which is a plus. I would watch this movie again if I had to, which cannot be said about some of its predecessors.
Ultimately, Black Adam falls flat but no one should really be surprised by that. A movie self-promoted, heavily funded, and pitched by its own star can often lead with ego over quality. The supporting actors tried their best and I do still love The Rock, but I simply cannot recommend this movie. Stick with Marvel like the rest of us.
References:
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6443346/
- https://variety.com/2022/film/box-office/black-adam-projected-second-weekend-prey-for-the-devil-1235417560/
- https://www.koimoi.com/box-office/black-adam-box-office-day-2-dwayne-johnson-starrer-stays-decent-on-friday-its-the-top-performing-film-amidst-competition/