Black Adam (2022)

 Black Adam (2022)

 

3/10

Starring

Dwayne Johnson

Aldis Hodge

Sarah Shahi

 

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

 

Black Adam is a superhero film based on the DC character of the same name. It’s a spin-off of 2019's Shazam! and the eleventh feature film in the DCEU.

Watching Black Adam really makes you appreciate Marvel for not allowing its actors any liberty with how things unfold. I refuse to believe the director saw The Rock’s performance and thought, "This is good." I also find it hard to imagine that anyone approved this plot, thinking it was solid. It must have been some misguided creative freedom that led to this mess. Anyone who praised the acting needs to watch more anti-hero movies to understand what this genre should deliver.

The movie crumbles under the weight of a bad plot, a useless villain, and action sequences that feel like they belong in a TV movie. From about ten minutes in, it’s clear this is going to be a slog. The pacing is awful, and it’s even harder to stomach that this film is meant to be worth your time.

The story drags out the idea of Black Adam being alive and acting as an anti-hero for more than three-quarters of the runtime. I haven’t seen such obvious wasted gimmicks in a while. At one point, I wanted to yell at Hawkman: "I get it, he’s the bad guy. Can we move on, please?"

At this stage, it becomes obvious the movie had no real plan. It had a beginning (free Black Adam) and an end (he fights a descendant of the villain from his time), but the 100+ minutes in between are just filler.

The story starts in the past, where a child starts a revolt in his country. Just as he’s about to be executed, some wizards grant him powers—similar to Shazam’s. Fast-forward, and we see Black Adam using these powers to overthrow the ruler oppressing his people.

In the present day, the country is under the control of new villains who are searching for a magical crown. The crown’s leader believes it will give him ultimate power. The artifact is discovered by a professor, and while she’s being chased by the bad guys, she stumbles upon an ancient incantation. Desperate to survive, she reads it and unintentionally releases Black Adam, who saves her and is now free in the modern world.

Soon, Doctor Fate and his team arrive to confront Black Adam, telling him he isn’t needed and that they’ll handle saving his people. While these two groups clash over this strange argument, the villains kidnap the professor’s son and demand the crown as ransom.

Now, Black Adam and Doctor Fate’s team must put their differences aside to save the boy. By the end, it feels like the after-credit scene is the only thing this movie was really about. Honestly, if that’s all you see, you’re good. Skip the rest—it’s just fluff, filler, and a total waste of time.