Worth: $11.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Shahi, Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Quintessa Swindell, Noah Centineo, Marwan Kenzari, Bodhi Sabongui, Mohammed Amir, Viola Davis
Intro:
… just another exhaustingly ordinary cape flick which will only really be discussed for its post credit scene.
The DCEU is in trouble; from the shelved Batgirl movie to the beleaguered Flash film, the small ray of hope was the long gestating antihero movie Black Adam starring Dwayne Johnson. Unfortunately, nothing in Black Adam suggests that the film will do anything to resurrect the ailing franchise. If anything, Jaume Collet-Serra’s by-the-numbers comic book fare is so bland, it reinforces that DC pinning its hopes on the commercial appeal of Dwayne Johnson’s star power seems ludicrous if the film doesn’t know how to use it.
The movie begins with heavy exposition. It’s 2600 BCE and Khandaq (situated somewhere on the Sinai Peninsula) is a haven, until a corrupt and magic obsessed king enslaves his people to dig for a mineral called Eternium, so he can complete a demonic crown. One young boy stands up for the people and before he can be executed, he is miraculously whisked away by the same wizards that gave power to Captain Marvel (the DC one, Billy Batson) with the magic of SHAZAM. The King is defeated and the legend of Teth Adam is cemented in Khandaqi history. However, just as soon as the saviour appears, he disappears again.
Cut to five thousand years later, and Khandaq is under the rule of Intergang (yes, that Intergang, but no one seems to take note of that) who have oppressed the people and are leeching the country for its resources. Widowed archaeologist, Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) along with her brother Karim (Mohammed Amir), and Ishmael Gregor (Marwan Kenzari) are searching for the crown before Intergang can get their hands on it. Adriana finds the Sabbac crown but is intercepted by Intergang. She also finds the tomb of Teth Adam and releases him, and he easily dispatches the mercenaries with violent (but not too violent means – anything to keep the M rating).
The release of Teth Adam and his fight with intergang sets up the ludicrous tone for the rest of the film. Johnson throws planes together and tosses people willy-nilly into the sky to ‘Paint in Black’ by The Rolling Stones (get it?). He’s damaged by a missile infused with Eternium, and Adriana and Karim take him back to their house where her superhero obsessed skateboarding tween Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) tries to bond with the taciturn Adam.
News of Teth Adam’s re-emergence reaches Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), head of Task Force X, and she decides to send the Justice Society helmed by Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) to Khandaq to deal with the issue. Fair enough would be the response of anyone familiar with the comic lore; The Justice Society have been around since the 1940s and at least two members, Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan) and Carter Hall/Hawkman have their origin in antiquity – but this isn’t mentioned; Doctor Fate’s helmet is now some alien artefact not a mystical one. Waller is certainly bringing in the B-Team. With the roster rounded off by Al Rothstein/Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) grandson of The Atom – no, not the Ray Palmer version, and Maxine Hunkel/Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), granddaughter of the original Red Tornado (no, not the android created by T.O. Morrow, but with a vague connection to the scientist). The team get into Hawkman’s Nth Metal cruiser and head off to Khandaq to ensure Teth Adam’s peaceful surrender.
When they arrive, they aren’t greeted with the welcome they had hoped. Adriana makes the pointed reference that the world, and the world of superheros have ignored the occupation of Khandaq for years, and only now bother to turn up when there is someone actually fighting for their liberation. It’s something that should have been explored further but gets pushed by the wayside in the rush to deal with Teth Adam and secure the Sabbac.
Thinly drawn characters do nothing to help the movie. Cyclone and Atom Smasher as the junior members seem to exist to vaguely flirt with each other. Atom Smasher is meant to be comic relief and he does manage to get a few lines that work, but his presence wouldn’t be missed. Cyclone can do some cool stuff with the elements, but her powers are no match for Adam, and seem to just involve her swirling into a CGI mist. Hawkman is repetitive in his messaging that there is only “good or evil.” The only character who seems to have any grip on the situation is Doctor Fate (a character whose inception far precedes Marvel’s Doctor Strange, but whose powers seem almost identical to his).
By the time we see a team-up to deal with the obvious big bad, Sabbac, all good will towards the film has been spent. Exhausting and repetitive action beats all CGId to death, mean the audience probably has checked out before they get to the final battle. The Teth Adam twist reveals why he’s such an angry dude bent on revenge but doesn’t help to make the character more sympathetic – that’s supposed to be taken care of by his relationship with Amon.
If there’s any star that is more suited to suiting up in a superhero joint, it is Dwayne Johnson. Unfortunately, as Adam, he’s trying to do revenge-driven stone-faced killer, wounded father, occasional quip dropper, and reluctant hero all at once, and doesn’t quite manage to do any of them well. Collet-Serra’s history with action films shows; it’s action all the time but leaves little space for the movie to concentrate on character or purpose.
It’s a common cry that comic book fans will not like a filmed adaptation of their precious work, that’s to be expected. In the case of Black Adam, it’s not only the comic faithful who will be disappointed with the personality-free movie. Black Adam is a generic slog that fails to use the charm of Johnson and does nothing to ignite interest in any of the other characters (with perhaps the exception of Brosnan’s Doctor Fate). Black Adam is just another exhaustingly ordinary cape flick which will only really be discussed for its post credit scene.
