Much like the Marvel Universe before it, the DC Comics Universe has apparently gone through enough of their top shelf superhero roster that it’s time to unleash the B team. And while it’s unusual for an actor with the star power of Dwayne Johnson to play bench….well hey, at least the dude he’s portraying is interesting.
‘Black Adam’ is an antihero in every area of the term; originally created as an arch enemy of Captain Marvel (that is, DC’s version of ‘Captain Marvel’, the Shazam guy, not Marvel’s entry portrayed by Brie Larson), he’s vengeful, he’s moody and he’s not opposed to, as the Rock himself would say, laying the smack down. At one point in this film, one of the Justice Society members reminds Black Adam that, “heroes don’t kill people”.
His response, not surprisingly? “I do.”
The unfortunate aspect of ‘Black Adam’ is that the actual movie isn’t near as wild as the character deserves. Oh, it has special effects…lots of flying around, bolts of lightning shooting from fingertips, etc., it’s really loud, it has cool supporting heroes (how awesome is it to FINALLY see Hawkman come to life on the big screen??), but it’s approach is pretty darn cookie cutter. Serve up the origin – in this case, Adam received his superpowers 5,000 years ago in the ancient kingdom of Kahndaq, was trapped in suspended animation and, I dunno, other stuff. Then give the protagonist a reason to smash things – in this case, it’s a mother (Sarah Shahi) and son (Bohdi Sabongui) who are help captive in their own country by gun-wielding, power-hungry maniacs. Add some comic book flair – in this case, it’s the aforementioned Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), mix it with battles and sentimental dialogue over orchestral swells, and…..yeah….your cookie is ready to bake.
But here’s the thing – it’s still fun. Not a game changer. But a good time. How Adam avoided butting noggins with the gang from ‘Shazam’ in his first big adventure is a head scratcher, but so long as there is lightning to fire from digits and money to be made, the showdown is inevitable.
