Black Adam Movie Review: Dwayne Johnson’s Anti-Hero Could Not Save This Rushed and Messy DC Film (LatestLY Exclusive)

Black Adam Movie Review: Being casted all the way back in 2007, Dwayne Johnson is set to change the hierarchy of power in the DC universe with Black Adam. Focusing on the champion of the fictional city of Kahndaq, Johnson teams up with his Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra to bring about an anti-hero tale that often ends up feeling messy and rushed with a choppy side to it. Amidst all that barrage however, Johnson still is able to pack in a punch by delivering one of his best performances to date, yet that’s too little. Halloween Ends Movie Review: Michael Myers’ Final Showdown With Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode Is a Wild Swing-and-a-Miss! (LatestLY Exclusive).

Transporting us all the way back to 2600 BCE in a 300-esque styled sequence, we see the city of Kahndaq be under the rule of a dictator. Trying to forge the crown of Sabbac, and needing Eternium for it, he enslaves his city folks in an effort to mine out the material that will grant him the powers of Hell. Amidst those slaves, rises a champion, who is given powers by the gods, and by uttering the word “SHAZAM!” turns into a hero and liberates his city of the dictator.

Now almost 5000 years later, Kahndaq is again under dictatorship with the group of Intergang having a hold over the city and trying to find the crown of Sabbac. Amidst those, we have Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Sahi) leading a bunch of rebels to find the crown with her brother being a part of it, while her son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) always tries to find an in with them. When they find the crown, they are ambushed by the Intergang only for Adrianna to find that the champion of Kahndaq is buried right under her. Uttering the words of the gods to awaken him, Teth-Adam/Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson) rises and starts his onslaught of justice.

Black Adam wastes no time in setting up the constant theme of the film, and it’s that “heroes don’t kill,” only for Dwayne Johnson to stoically say “but I do.” Johnson is good in this role as he escapes the allegations of playing the same character every time. Putting on a broody front and almost being villainous in his execution, there is a certain brutality attached to his character that still isn’t above an eyebrow raise. Makes for a hard-hitting anti-hero, however, occasionally he is let down by disappointing side characters that try their best to hone in on his fish out of the water aspect.

Watch the Trailer:

Sarah Sahi is especially underwhelming in the role of Adrianna. Amounting to someone who just drops a big exposition dump, Adrianna never truly is able to be a compelling character. The bit of history we get with her is relating to her dead husband, and even then, her relationship with her son ends up becoming a hindrance, rather than a thought-out beat. The same can be said about Bodhi Sabongui’s Amon too, who builds up a friendly relationship with Adam, yet never has it explored due to the frantic pace of the movie just skipping about many meaningful moments.

However, the Justice Society of America is introduced here and adds some spice to this dull affair. Working alongside Amanda Waller, with Viola Davis being a scene stealer like always, the group is lead by Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and consists of heroes like Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell).

Hawkman and Fate ended up being the two highlights among the side characters because of Black Adam heavily focusing on the two of them. Fate being my personal favourite with Brosnan bringing quite the magic and experience to the role and packing in some of the best visuals of the movie. Hodge’s portrayal of Hakwman had something to say too, sadly, Cyclone, who just gets regulated to falling with style, and Atom Smasher end up getting the short end of the stick with the film hardly giving them anything to do.

Sabbac also makes for an underwhelming villain due to the movie just conveniently forgetting about him until the third act, and that brings me to Black Adam’s biggest problem - it’s pace. There is a good film underneath here, but it feels so heavily edited and chopped up that it never is able to embrace its potential. Shots never feel established, and by the time you are almost able to process a scene, it cuts to something different entirely.

Also featuring the most action out of any superhero film in recent memory, Black Adam does have its moments, however, the scenes themselves feel extremely chopped up once more. A particular sequence featuring Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black” that tries to riff on Quicksilver’s slow-mo scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past, it just ends extremely quickly and you never feel the impact of it.

There is so much chopped up action here that by the time the finale hits, it almost feels desensitising after the umpteenth CGI heavy fight. Lorne Balfe’s impressive and bombastic score does its best to add some excitement, yet it gets lost under the constant hammering of “I am no hero.” We get it Adam, you kill people, we got it the first 100 times you told us, no need to hammer us with it. Black Adam packs in all the clichés of the genre, and never really says anything new. Catherine Called Birdy Movie Review: Bella Ramsey Shines While Andrew Scott Tugs at Your Heartstrings in This Fantastic Coming-of-Age Comedy! (LatestLY Exclusive).

That also brings me to the script, which is extremely thin in its execution. These characters have rich histories and origins in the comics that get lost in Black Adam due to the movie just coming under 124 minutes. Hawkman especially has a beautiful love story that fuels his journey in the comics, yet it’s nowhere to be found here and will probably send a fan to the DC wiki to research more about him. Thankfully, the final stinger in its end credits for Black Adam was able to bring down the house.

Yay!

Dwayne Johnson as Adam

Lorne Balfe’s Score

Nay!

Paper Thin Plot

Underwhelming Side Characters

Final Thoughts

Black Adam is an underwhelming caped adventure that feels messy and convoluted. While Dwayne Johnson makes the best out of the role, everything else surrounding him fails to bring a sense of weight and gravitas. With a bit more depth and an extended runtime, maybe Black Adam could have had the impact it was going for. Black Adam is playing in theatres right now.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 20, 2022 01:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).