Despite Messy Tonal Issues, "Black Adam" Sets the Stage for a Potential New Direction for DC

 

                                                                            Image via Future of the Force

    Dwayne Johnson is a physical specimen that the cinematic comic book landscape called upon long before the days of dominating box-office was a monthly occurrence. The former pro wrestler-turned actor was courted to play the antihero known as Black Adam, all the way back in 2007 and has been on the sidelines waiting to portray the character ever since. Fast forward fifteen years later, and the arch nemesis of Shazam! finally has his own movie led by "The Rock."

    The film jumpstarts in 2600 BC in a fictional Middle Eastern country known as Kahndaq ruled by a tyrannical king who rules over many for power and is in search of a mineral known as Eternium. This mineral would be used to create a crown of great power for the king to channel magical abilities and continue to conquer Kahndaq, until a young slave boy is given the power of Shazam (Djimon Hounsou, reprising his role from the 2019 film of the same name) and turned into the mighty champion known as Teth-Adam. Teth-Adam kills the king, ends his reign and goes into an eternal slumber.

    It's from here in which the film shifts into modern day Kahndaq, which is ruled by other unidentified outsiders before meeting the human characters who thrust the story into action. Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) is the brains of the group, an archaeologist and university professor who is joined on a journey to uncover the crown of Sabbac along with her brother, Karim (Mohammed Amer) as well as colleagues Ishmael (Marwan Kenzari) and Samir (James Cusati-Moyer). In quest of the crown, Adrianna awakens Teth-Adam from his slumber just in time for him to take out a mess of bad guys. 

    While the set-up and opening action sequence in which we see Johnson's Black Adam is one of the better introductions to a comic book character I can remember, from here, the film feels like it is battling between multiple iterations of the script and sets the stage for other comic book heroes to step into frame. 

    Those heroes I'm referring to are known as The Justice Society of America (The JSA, for short) who all get their introductions "Suicide Squad-style" with Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) giving quick blurbs about each person and their superhuman abilities. Among the team is Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan). This quartet of heroes balances out the no-nonsense, brutal nature, which is that of Black Adam, who often reminds the audience that he is not a hero in any sense of the word. Rather, someone who thwarts those who stand in his way with utter violence and no disregard for killing his enemies. This leads to a faceoff between the JSA and Black Adam which comes about halfway through the film.

    After that, frankly, the hyper-stylized comic book take directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows, Jungle Cruise) goes off the rails. While it has its moments throughout, the movie feels like it has kept some of the ideas from that first 2007 script and sprinkled in new ideas as more identity (or lack thereof) came out of the DC Extended Universe, or the DCEU as many has referred to it. Some believe it could have been too many cooks in the kitchen with three separate writers being credited for the screenplay that features a Mexican standoff scene mirroring that of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, mixed with at-times corny dialogue, a smattering of a Kanye West-track or two and an appearance of a devil by the end of it.

    Black Adam as a popcorn movie is a fine sentiment for a movie that features a terrific score by Lorne Balfe, really great action sequences and CGI-usage and some new, rich characters for the DC Universe to explore. It's clear that Johnson has a passion for this character and the mythology that comes with him, however, the standout performance is that of Brosnan's Doctor Fate whose unique powers and acting prowess gives this movie an added layer every time he graces the audience with his presence on screen.

    Having said all that, stay for the post-credit scene. You won't be disappointed.

Overall Score: 7.0