Black Adam, Warner Bros.' latest superhero movie based on DC's comic books, has been in the works since the studio first came around on the idea of casting The Rock as a terrifying Superman analogue. You can see how much hope and faith Warner Bros. has in the idea that a darker, more brutal antiheroic figure might be just what it needs to pull itself out of what seems like a death spiral. It is hard to see how anyone at Warner Bros. didn't see Black Adam as a sign of the mess that the DCEU is in.
Black Adam is a movie that tells the story of Teth-Adam, an ancient god who first walked the Earth as a mortal man thousands of years ago. The majority of Black Adam is set in present-day Kahndaq and follows Teth-Adam as he tries to comprehend what happened to his nation after he vanished one day in the past.
Before Teth-Adam became a hulking, invulnerable thunderstorm shaped like a professional wrestler, he was one of the countless enslaved Kahndaqi who were forced to mine their land for the rare metal Eternium. No one dared to fight back against their oppressors for fear of death. One day, a young boy named Hurut ( Jalon Christian) caused a revolution and led to his death, thanks to his defiance.
One of the first signs that Black Adam's script isn't firing is the movie's way of slowly teasing out what happened to his family while also playing coy about some obvious details. Black Adam is hiding in the present day after Adrianna Tomaz wakes him from a long sleep by saying the word "shazam." Black Adam doesn't try to keep the secret hidden or make it interesting because once Teth-Adam's up and operating in modern Kahndaq, the movie shifts gears to focus on giving its main character the flashiest, most murder-
Black Adam beats you over the head with the idea that Kahndaq has been besieged, occupied, and in desperate need of a Hero for a long time. It might take more time for Teth-Adam to understand how superheroes like Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman are to the modern world than it would have been if it wasn't for Amon. When Teth-Adam comes face-to-face with the first of the many groups of soldiers sent to destroy him after he wakes up, Black Adam starts looking for ways to make murder look cool.
There are many superheros in DC's catalog of intellectual property, but only a few imaginative ways that Hollywood can bring them to the big screen. Black Adam doesn't place Teth-Adam into imaginative situations designed to show off his power set, but instead features an overabundance of 300-style action sequences that slow down and speed up in order to accentuate how unbothered the demigod is as he's zapping people with The movie tries to frame Black Adam as a solemn, self-assured arbiter of justice, which makes him look like an uncharming psychopath.
Black Adam feels weird because it feels like Johnson is capable of being charismatic even when he's portraying characters that you aren't supposed to see as "good" people. As Black Adam introduces a new version of the Justice Society of America consisting of Carter Hall, Hawkman, Kent Nelson, and Doctor Fate, you can see how much more compelling it is.
Black Adam remembers how fun and exciting superhero stories can be, even if their main characters are not. The movie's action sequence featuring Cyclone's sky-dancing aerokinesis and Doctor Fate's theatrical parlor tricks are some of its most memorable. There is a magnetism and worldliness that immediately makes you want to know more about him, his team, and what kind of presence they have outside of the comic book world.
The way Black Adam pits them against Teth-Adam is an unfortunate way of showing how hesitant the movie is to say what it really wants to say about our pop culture obsession with mythic superhumans. It would make sense for Teth-Adam to have a lot of fury and thunderbolts for foreigners who come into his home. Black Adam is not that logical because Warner Bros. knows how irredeemable it would be to make the character seem in people's eyes and because the studio has some plans for him in the future.
Black Adam and its mid-credits scene will not disappoint for those who have been waiting for a big celebration of how powerful Black Adam is. Black Adam may herald a new era of quality and substantive superhero features from Warner Bros., but there is always the chance that the next movie he pops up in might be a good one.
Black Adam has Marwan Kenzari and Mohammed Amer in it. On October 21st, the movie will be in theaters.
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