Black Adam (2022)
Directed by Jaume Collet Serra
Written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani
Starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi
Release Date October 21st, 2022
Published October 21st, 2022
Black Adam is the film version of a shrug. It's a movie that exists and doesn't effect the world in any way. It's a mild, distracting, passing fad. I don't dislike Black Adam, but I am struggling to care about its existence at all. I admire Dwayne The Rock Johnson but he's distinctly average when not working with a great director and Jaume Collet Serra is not a great director. Serra is a serviceable director, a studio hack. Serra is the director you hire if you want a movie to be remarkably average. That's the best description I can think of for Black Adam, remarkably average.
Black Adam tells the story of the fictional Middle Eastern country Kahndaq. For centuries Kahndaq has been subject to numerous conquering armies and dictators. Only once in history has the country been able to fight back against oppression. This was through the sacrifice of a Champion who stepped forward to destroy a great evil. This came at a great cost however, as the Champion, known as Teth-Adam (Dwayne Johnson), created immense destruction through his God-like powers in his attempt to stop evil. For this destruction, Teth-Adam was imprisoned for centuries in a tomb in Kahndaq.
In present day Kahndaq, a researcher and professor, Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi), has discovered Teth-Adam's final resting place. This happens to also be where a crown of ancient evil power is located. Tomaz aims to take the crown and hide it away so that no one can wield its terrifying power. When she and her partners are nearly captured by an invading force, Tomaz uses her knowledge of ancient languages to recite a chant that raises Teth-Adam from the dead. Adam destroys the men who are chasing Tomaz and they begin a tentative alliance.
Finding out that the 5000 year old meta-human Teth-Adam has been raised from the dead, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis in a minor cameo) dispatches the Justice Society to take Teth-Adam into custody. The Justice Society is led by Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), and his partner Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan.). Joining them for this dangerous mission are newcomers Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), meta-humans whose superpowers mirror those of Ant-Man and Storm from the Marvel Universe.
The middle portion of Black Adam is taken up with The Justice Society facing off with Black Adam while ill-defined baddies take advantage of the chaos to try and steal the ancient cursed crown. The fight between Black Adam and The Justice Society amounts to a lot of chaotic wheel spinning. The one nice thing I can say about it is that Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate emerges in this portion of the movie as the most charismatic and interesting character in the movie. The debonair former James Bond plays an aging superhero with magic powers with a strong sense of dignity and good humor. It's honestly one of my favorite Pierce Brosnan performances in some time.
As for Dwayne The Rock Johnson, well, he's okay. This is not a challenging role for Dwayne Johnson. He already looks the part of a superhero so playing the part was halfway done when he accepted the role. The problem comes in the scripting and direction which has Johnson partnered with a nattering teenager named Amon (Bodhi Sabonguo) whose function is to be a fount of exposition and then to be placed in danger to spark a big action scene. He's also played as a counterpoint to underscore the bravery of Black Adam's son who, in a flashback scene, is shown to have been the true freedom fighter in his family.
Click here for my full length review of Black Adam at Geeks.Media
