Skip to main content

A Review of “Black Adam (2022)”

 

image

Black Adam is the 11th film in the DC cinematic universe. There is a weird trend of turning comic book villains into anti-heroes in their solo movies e.g. Venom and Morbius. I would’ve preferred having Black Adam be a villain in a Shazam movie before getting his own movie but here we are. It was promised that it will change the hierarchy of the DC universe but does it?

image

The biggest enjoyment I got out of this movie was the action sequences. The most memorable sequence in the entire film is the fight between Black Adam and the Justice Society. It is choreographed well and visually entertaining. The other action sequences are never as good as that one and the director does overuse slow-mo to a ridiculous degree. Nevertheless, they are still fun to watch.

image

On that note, I enjoyed the Justice Society in this movie. The way Dr Fate and Cyclone are animated is visually awesome. Their costumes are also great, I especially love the design of Dr Fate and Hawkman. I think the casting for the Justice Society was great. Pierce Brosnan is perfect casting as Dr Fate, Aldis Hodge is terrific as Hawkman, and Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell are fun as Atom Smasher and Cyclone respectively with good chemistry between the two.

image

However, Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam is just fine. I never got the feeling in the movie that he was the perfect casting or anything like that. Dwayne is overshadowed by everyone else here because their characters have more charm and personality than Black Adam. It doesn’t help that Dwayne’s performance feels very one-note thanks to the writing of the character. Black Adam is just very dull and uninteresting. He is just a character that kills people and spouts constantly how he isn’t a hero. He could have been very interesting as the character was a supervillain in the comics but the film felt too scared to go to that line. The Justice Society doesn’t get much depth either as they are just introduced to be an enemy for Black Adam to punch.

image

Additionally, the soundtrack, which is composed by Lorne Balfe, is quite forgettable. It’s not as good as some of his previous works such as Mission Impossible Fallout and Black Widow which is a shame. The story isn’t very memorable either. It’s very by the book with a hero who has to take out a group of bad guys with a forgettable main villain. The main overall clash is over by the 2nd act but they need a final one which results in a random villain from nowhere. The last act is as cliché as it gets with a beam in the sky, a CGI army and a dumb CGI villain. It is unfortunately kind of overstuffed and clashing though as it seems to be trying to be a Black Adam origin movie but also a Justice Society movie at the same time.

image

Overall, Black Adam is fine. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be but it’s as generic as it can be. The movie doesn’t try to do more with the superhero genre and in a market of superhero over-saturation, this doesn’t stand out whatsoever. It’s clear they wanted to make a fun, entertaining popcorn movie and I think in terms of that, it succeeds. The most interesting aspect of this movie is the post-credit scene and the implications for the future of the DC cinematic universe. It is a little bit sad though that the post-credit is more memorable than the actual movie. With James Gunn now head of DC studios, hopefully, we get more enjoyable and interesting DC movies than this.


 


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A “QUICK!” Review of “Boy Kills World (2024)”

  Bill Skarsgard in an action movie? Yes Please! The story is a generic revenge flick with an interesting concept of a mute and deaf protagonist. The main character has an inner voice which is voiced by H. Jon Benjamin of Archer and Bob’s Burger fame. This sounds interesting on paper but the problem is that the lines are so obnoxious and there are too many. It is always some kind of stupid quip or stating an obvious. It has a lot of comedy but most didn’t land for me. However, you are here for the action and it delivers on those. It has a lot of gore, gunplay, martial arts and over-the-top set pieces. It really shines in the 3rd act in both the story and the action. The final fight is a top-tier choreographed fight. In the end, Boy Kills World knows what it is and gives you exactly that. A bloody, fun action comedy!    
Post a Comment
Read more

A “QUICK!” Review of “Badland Hunters (2024)“

  Ma Dong-Seok is one of the coolest dudes in Korean cinema. I do think the film is a little disappointing as the post-apocalyptic setting isn’t used in an exciting way. The plot is also nothing special. It is incredibly dumb and predictable while also having minimal explanation about anything. The characters are also very bland. There is barely any exploration of any of the characters including the main character. Due to this, they all come off as one-dimensional and this makes it very difficult to care about anyone. However, it has some incredibly well-choreographed and fun action sequences. Who doesn’t want to see Ma Dong-seok kick ass!
Post a Comment
Read more

A “QUICK!” Review of “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024)”

  When I found out after watching, that this was based on a Manhua (Chinese Comic book), it started to make sense. Characters that feel straightforward, the action scenes that defy physics in every way, the power of friendship, straight-up superpowered abilities, and countless flashbacks. The film suffers from juggling too many things. We have this fish out of water, self-discovery story with our main character. We have this gang conflict between those in the Walled City and the Triads. We have a revenge plot. We have a man dealing with his past—the growing of bonds. Unfortunately, the story is all incredibly predictable and lacks real depth. The constant talk about the past conflict sounded more interesting than the main plot. The ending is lacklustre and the final fight is so weird with the unexplained superpowers. However, if you like martial arts movies then there is certainly fun to be had here.
Post a Comment
Read more