Black Adam (2022)
Movie rating: 5/10
“It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either.”
That was the verdict on Black Adam from a woman in the row behind me as she walked out of the screening I attended. I didn’t hear the rest of what she said, but she probably couldn’t have summed up better my own feelings on the movie. Given how long I’ve been waiting for the film—following its progress for the 15 years since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was announced as being cast in the title role, my anticipation growing for what the star described as a “passion project” as he extolled his love for all things DC—that can’t help but come off as bit of a disappointment.
Let’s start with the good. The main selling point of Black Adam is “Dwayne Johnson in a DC superhero movie” and that turns out to be as fun to watch as you would hope. Johnson’s natural charisma means he always carries the screen, even if some critics have noted his presence is more muted than usual. Really, that comes with this particular territory. If anything, it’s interesting to watch Johnson dial down his charisma a bit to play a more sullen, angry character. That choice makes Teth-Adam more than just Dwayne Johnson in a superhero costume and helps him come off more as an actual character.
The silver screen debut of the Justice Society of America (JSA) is also praiseworthy. Critics less steeped in comics have muttered about the JSA coming across across as knockoffs of other heroes they’ve seen in Marvel films. I can understand why they might think that, given the overwhelming cultural dominance of the MCU and the fact that Marvel managed to get their own characters onscreen first. That’s why Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan) can seem to these critics like a wannabe Doctor Strange—despite the fact that Fate made his first comic book appearance in 1940 while Strange didn’t show up until 1963. Another thing to keep in mind is that there are certain character archetypes that recur across different comic book universes. Once you accept that, it’s fun to see different spins on those archetypes.
Despite the fact that we’re given only the most basic background for the members of the JSA—who along with Doctor Fate include Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo)—the simple fact is that these characters are well cast and the actors, like Johnson, are very entertaining in their roles. They have good chemistry. Hodge is excellent as Carter Hall/Hawkman, playing the heroic team leader, and has a good relationship with the equally scene-stealing Brosnan. Swindell and Centineo offer likable counterbalance as the more youthful, inexperienced heroes. Many reviews have accused Hawkman of being like Iron Man, Falcon, or other Marvel characters. Again, on the printed page, Hawkman predates those characters by decades. This movie made me want to see more of the JSA, especially Hawkman.
The film has some fun action scenes, fantastic costumes, and an enjoyable score by Lorne Balfe. One of the recurring criticisms I’ve seen about Black Adam is that the movie owes too much to Zack Snyder’s style. Director Jaume Collet-Serra incorporates many Snyder-esque elements, with the prologue in Kahndaq owing more than a little to 300. If people don’t like this filmmaking style, that’s their problem. I’ve always been a fan of Snyder’s painterly tableaus, love of slow-motion, the muscular physicality of the actors, and willingness to take this cheesy, fantastical material with a serious attitude. Yes, this is a movie about superheroes and wizards and magic. It’s a comic book movie. Perhaps splitting the difference, Collet-Serra also includes some more lighthearted Marvel-style comedic moments. As a basic popcorn flick, it works. I was onboard as soon as Dwayne Johnson appeared.
Sadly, the film is also kind of a mess. For long portions, it’s not entirely clear what Adam’s motivation is. Key details about his character are not revealed until late in the film, and it might have worked better if they have shown these earlier. The trailers and the poster conveyed a solid premise—“power born from rage”, as the tagline puts it. Adam is born a slave and sees his son killed. These are good foundations to build an intriguing antihero upon. But by holding back major insights until late in the game, the movie dilutes some of the drama and interest around its title character.
There’s also lots of exposition, and a few too many scenes where characters talk about how Adam is not a hero. Much of the dialogue and plot revolves around the film’s McGuffin, the Crown of Sabbac, which bestows great power upon the wearer. It’s always irritating when screenwriters devote too much attention to a McGuffin, which by definition is an object that serves to trigger a movie’s plot but is not interesting in and of itself.
The supporting characters are adequate, but not that engrossing or unique. Adam forms a bond with the boy Amon Tomaz (Bodhi Sabongui) that owes more than a little to Terminator 2. The kid is a fan of superheroes and tries to give Adam advice on becoming a hero, such as having a cool catchphrase (his suggestion, “Tell them the man in black sent you,” is admittedly pretty cool). Trouble is, we’ve already seen a character around the same age in the DC Extended Universe who also loves superheroes: Freddy Freeman in Shazam! It ends up feeling tired and repetitive.
Amon’s mother Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) is a university professor and Kahndaqi resistance fighter, and her brother Karim (Mo Amer) is unfunny comic relief. Present-day Kahndaq in the movie lives under occupation by Intergang, which has a major presence in the comics but here serves mostly as a supply of henchmen for Adam to brutally dispatch. There are attempts at commentary on imperialism and foreign military intervention, but it’s as muddled as you might expect coming from a Hollywood blockbuster and amounts to little. Finally, the villain, Ishmael Gregor (Marwen Kenzari), is extremely weak. He becomes more visually interesting later on in the least subtle way possible, but that’s about the best I can say for him.
Much hype for Black Adam has centred around a cameo appearance in the now-de rigueur post credits scene. Footage of the cameo leaked a while ago and it’s an open secret at this point, spoiled by the studio itself on social media. Still, as a fan of the character and the actor who portrays him, this was probably the best post-credits scene I can remember. If only the rest of the film were as strong.
Black Adam is a passable superhero flick, notable mostly for introducing us to some cool characters I would like to see more of. Hopefully any future appearances of Black Adam and the JSA will have better writing and go in more interesting directions.