Movie Review: Black Adam - Electrifying

When I started watching wrestling in 2001, one of the biggest stars of the time was Dwayne Johnson, better known by his ring name of The Rock. It was during this time when the Rock was starting to branch out as an actor. Initially splitting his time between WWE and Hollywood, I would go to see whatever movie, usually action based, was being promoted at the time, including "The Scorpion King", "The Rundown", and "Walking Tall". As Rock began spending less time in WWE and started to do more than action movies, I was less inclined to see a movie of his unless it interested me. He may be using his real name for starring roles and he's more actor than wrestler now, but to me, he'll always be The Rock.
When it comes to "Black Adam", this has been a passion project for Rock, having been attached since 2014 when the larger DC Extended Universe was still being planned out after "Man of Steel". It's taken some time, but the film that's been hyped up to forever change the DCEU has finally arrived. Was the hype warranted? While it certainly delivers repercussions that will be felt later in the DCEU, the film itself I can at least say is worthy of the Rock.

Of all the DCEU entries so far, "Black Adam" feels the most like a popcorn action flick. If you like seeing the Rock kick ass, you won't be disappointed. And personally, this is the most fun I've had watching a movie starring the Rock in a very long time. I didn't really have high hopes going in to this, but it started to win me over after the first action scene. And said action in the movie is the most unexpectedly brutal I can recall from a superhero movie from either DC or Marvel, and it apparently had to be toned down to avoid an R rating. The style as well as overall visuals of the film reminded me much of Zack Snyder's work (and that includes a lot of slow-motion), which really hasn't been seen from DC since his Justice League, despite the fact he doesn't seem to have been involved here. People who complained about the violence in Snyder's DC films will see he's actually been outdone here.

As Black Adam, the Rock's performance is the driving force of the film. Black Adam is intimidating and straightforward with a bit of a dark comedic side, making him a force to be reckoned with throughout. There's also a bit of an emotional arc to him as well; this isn't as surprising as John Cena in "Peacemaker" since the Rock has proven to have that kind of range, but I just didn't expect it here.

Admittedly though, the film is chock full of superhero movie tropes with many visuals and plot points that feel ripped from multiple DC and Marvel films. The most prominent way to describe the film is a darker "Shazam" (obviously), even down to a superhero fanboy offering advice to our protagonist, with the "fish out of water" plot from "Wonder Woman" thrown in. But I can honestly forgive all this though just because I was so entertained by the film.

One criticism I have could be seen as more nitpicky, but it's the Justice Society. For the most part, the Justice Society are fun characters in the film with their costumes and powers displayed well, not to mention their role offers an antithesis to Adam's methods and points out some hypocrisy in doing things by the book. I also must praise the performances of Aldis Hodge as Hawkman and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate. Quintessa Swindel as Cyclone is fine while Noah Centineo Atom Smasher had the same awkward comedy Ezra Miller brought as the Flash, but they get less focus compared to their older teammates. Despite all the good they brought, my main problem is their inclusion in the film actually kind of undermines them. They're either there to get jobbed by Black Adam or to act as support to him in defeating the film's main villain Sabbac. Their introduction also raises a lot of questions like how long the team has been active and how and why they work for Amanda Waller. The team honestly could have benefitted more from their own movie.

Personally, I think the overall plot of "Black Adam" could have been reworked into a "Shazam" sequel with Billy and his foster siblings filling the Justice Society's roles fighting Adam and eventually working together to defeat Sabbac. Considering Black Adam is Billy's archnemesis, the fact Rock wanted him to have his own movie first makes it feel like he didn't want to play second fiddle in such a movie or go full villain. The film we did get shows Adam's heroic ambitions despite his villainous actions and that same character arc could have applied to a "Shazam" movie. But it is what it is.

Despite some small issues and personal takes on how the story could have gone, "Black Adam" was still better than I thought it would be. It will quench the thirst for action and entertain for what it is. And based on the mid-credits scene (which had me freaking out as much as the one in "Spider-Man: Far From Home"), it seems the DCEU may have a plan moving forward after years of disarray. The promise of change in the hierarchy within the DCEU has been delivered, but time will tell whether we see what that entails.