Movie Review: Black Adam

Any comic fan worth their salt knows Black Adam is far from a good guy. His position within the DC comic book universe is one bathed in destruction and chaos. His original origins cemented him purely as a villain but as far as I'm aware at the turn of the 21st century, his image within the comics has been far more grey. His loyalty is to his people and his kingdom and this can often put him on opposing sides with both heroes and villains from the DC library. Why is this important though? Well because knowing who Black Adam is and what he represents is a key element to determining whether Dwayne Johnson's 2022 feature film about the titular character captures their complexities which after watching the film I would probably say it did. 

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Dwayne Johnson in the role of Black Adam, the film serves as a origin story for the antihero and tells of his rise to power within the kingdom of Khandaq. After millennia of hibernation, Black Adam is called upon once more by the citizens of Khandaq to liberate them from the tyrannical rule of an oppressive group of mercenaries. As Black Adam dispenses his own brutal sense of justice, this alerts the world to his presence and the Justice Society of America accepts a mission to venture to the kingdom and neutralise Black Adam before he can become a major threat. This sets Black Adam up on a journey to determine what type of hero he wishes to be and how he can go about protecting a modern world when so much has changed from the time in which he once served. 

As far as narratives go I actually really enjoyed the set up of this movie. Most antihero films never go far enough in my eyes to justify why these characters are antiheroes. Black Adam in a lot of ways is a perfect representation of the comic book character based on his loyalty to his kingdom. He may be a protector of his kingdom, but his interests don't expand far past that objective. The most important thing this films story nails is his willingness to dispense with enemies through killing. This is a big element of the plot and why the Justice Society of America have to intervene because they can't help but see Black Adam as a potential threat. It's through their clash of stances and ideals that we get to see why Black Adam chooses a far more severe means of justice as the better approach. I was worried this film would be too scared to commit to that concept but I do applaud how transparent the films story ends up being on that front. There is the odd cringey bit of dialogue here or there but it's so miniscule compared to the actual story that I don't think it deviates the core focus of the story being really compelling in my eyes. 

Visually this film also does an excellent job. Some of the shots taken by cinematographer Lawrence Sher are fantastic and they definitely help Black Adam stand out as one of the better looking DCEU films. There's a fantastic use of visuals whenever there's a fight sequence too. Some of my favourite moments stem from when Black Adam clashes with the Justice Society of America. Each of the JSA's powers are captured so well within each scene, especially many of the Dr Fate orientated sequences. I think having such a varied collection of heroes within this movie gives the fights sequences a much more dynamic feel too and it's easier to capture your attention through them.  In regards to some of the action segments though, one small gripe I had was the need to include real-life songs over some of Black Adam's more destructive moments to enforce a sense of 'badassery' onto the segment. I think these moments felt too heavy handed and just served to remind me this DC and Dwayne really want you to realise how powerful Black Adam to an obnoxious extent.

Performance wise everyone in the cast really nails their characters. Dwayne feels like the perfect casting for this character and despite my gripes with his over-hyping of the film, I can truly understand why this character means so much to him. The Justice Society members are all played remarkably well too; with Pierce Brosnan being my favourite standout in the role of Dr Fate. The only performance I felt notably lacking was of the films main antagonist, as he kind of falls into the background all too easily in the wake of the movies more domineering plotline.

Black Adam doesn't redefine any of the DCEU's standard conventions for the most part, but I think it does manage to do it's antihero stance justice. It's committed to delivering a collection of entertaining action sequences while also exploring who Black Adam is and what his entry into the DC universe could potentially mean for future projects. I don't think this is a all out amazing film, but what it does manage to achieve is in being a fun film that delivers you a antihero story that doesn't shy away from being truly antihero; go give it a watch I say,