Superhero films are pumped out more often than ever before, and with their formulaic structure it can be hard to distinguish one from another. Still, it’s a breath of fresh air to see more and more diversity on our screens, and multi-racial representation in the superhero franchise is a modern necessity. The latest to hit our screens is DC’s Black Adam, starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as the titular hero. Black Adam follows the story of Teth Adam, a legendary hero of ancient Kahndaq who was imprisoned for millennia and is unleashed again, to the concern of A.R.G.U.S.. All the while, modern-day Kahndaq struggles under a repressive and invasive military regime, waiting for a prophet to free them.
My expectations for Black Adam were relatively low. The DC Extended Universe has been living in the shadow of its Marvel competitor in terms of quality, up until its recent revelatory The Suicide Squad – taking advantage of the skills that ex-Marvel alumni James Gunn had to offer.Unfortunately, Black Adam does not stand out as a stellar exception. My biggest issues with it was that it is highly predictable, owing to its strict adherence to stereotypical superhero film formula. Even then, the formula demands certain inclusions: comic relief being one of them. Once again, this falls flat. The comic relief takes a few forms: Noah Centineo’s Atom Smasher, which revolves entirely around the fact that’s his large and clumsy; Mohammed Amer’s Karim, who has good delivery but the writing fails him; and the old, hashed-out jokes surrounding Teth Adam adapting to modern society and technology – they’ve been done a million times before and DC doesn’t revitalize them in any way. There is also an awkward attempt at reconciling the military invasion with the invasion of Waller’s dream team, and the morality surrounding the American task force taking law enforcement of a foreign country into their own hands. Seemed to be that the creators took on a little too much social responsibility and had no time within the film to properly address it.
Still, there are a few things that the film does right. The score and soundtrack work well, and the acting from most of the cast is great (minus a few corny lines and wistful glances at the camera). The story itself is heart-warming and wholesome and immersive, and the action scenes were lots of fun. As far as superhero movies go, even the standards offer a couple of hours of escapism and fun. Black Adam does not disappoint in this regard.
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