DC, like Marvel, has all sorts of characters from their legacy of comic books that they could bring to the big screen, it is however always Superman or Batman that usually get films made instead of their lesser known characters, with last year’s The Suicide Squad being a welcome exception. Saying that a film based around Black Adam has been developed for a few decades with Dwayne Johnson championing the role since the film was announced all those years ago. A known antagonist to Shazam in the comics now was the right time to get a film made based on this anti-hero and we are here today to celebrate the release of DC’s latest superhero, someone who promises to “change to hierarchy of the DC Universe”!
Dwayne Johnson plays Teth Adam, a slave from the old kingdom of Kahndaq. 5,000 years ago Teth Adam was given unholy and godly powers to save the kingdom, however something happened that will remain unspoiled and he wasn’t seen again. Now, in the present day, the kingdom of Kahndaq is being constantly invaded by outsiders and a local woman summons Black Adam back into the world in order to save the city. The world has changed dramatically and Black Adam finds himself up against the modern world, and against the Justice Society of America.
Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge and Quintessa Swindell all play the members of the JSA as Dr Fate, Atom Smasher, Hawkman and Cyclone. These new superheroes all look amazing but some sequences with Dr Fate and Atom Smasher do look extremely familiar to the likes of Marvel’s Doctor Strange and Ant-Man. Their abilities look cool and the actors are all amazing in their roles, with a big shout-out to Brosnan as perhaps one of the coolest looking superheroes ever, but we’ve all seen this before. The film is a very, very effects heavy film and from start to finish there is nothing but action with little time for characters to develop and go deep into who they are.
The biggest highlight is Dwayne Johnson. This is his film, and his first superhero film too, but he manages to inhabit the role of Black Adam extremely well. He’s formidable, naive, and strong-willed and powerful in both physique and in terms of his superhuman abilities. Johnson completely embodies Black Adam and I can’t wait to see more of him in the future, and the enemies will potentially face. The story has a lot of generic hallmarks expected from a superhero film from an object that everyone is after, a “bad guy of the week” villain and characters constantly butting heads and proving how they have to “save the world”. Black Adam isn’t a revolutionary superhero film, but it’s visuals do make it stand out from others before it even if it feels more of the same.
★★★☆☆
3/5
Black Adam has finally arrived on the big screen and he’s arrived in style! Johnson is incredible and fully believable as the anti-hero who has the power to take out a whole army in the space of a second. The supporting characters are all brilliantly cast but a little underdeveloped and the story doesn’t attempt to do anything new. Saying that it is a highly entertaining film and you will want to see Black Adam again, but hopefully in the future he will go against some more interesting characters and have a proper space to finally shine in the crowded superhero landscape.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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