Black Adam’ is a chaotic mess
Question for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson: What happened, dude? How does “Black Adam, your passion project for the DC Extended Universe, finally hit theaters as such a chaotic mess? The script falters, confusion reigns, and you’re left holding the bag for an epic failure to launch.
Of course, no movie with Johnson, one of the most likable hulks in Hollywood’s action industrial complex, can be a total loss. You want to root for the guy, no matter how hard “Black Adam” douses his movie-star magnetism and mischievous humor in a glum muddle of global politics.
“Dark Adam” is a history that certainly needs a presentation. A preamble lets us know that quite a while back in fictitious, Center Eastern Kahndaq, Teth Adam (Johnson) – – a previous slave who shoots lightning from his fingers thanks to supportive wizards who give extra superpowers – – was held hostage for killing first and posing inquiries later.
Before you can say “SHAZAM” – – an abbreviation of the immortals Solomon, Hercules, Map book, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury – – an opportunity battling teacher named Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) coincidentally delivers Adam, whose demeanor issue has developed as large as his biceps, into present-day Kahndaq where her skating, livewire child Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) takes him close by.
Don’t confuse Adam with the cuddlebug in spandex that Zachary Levi embodied in the DCEU’s 2019 “Shazam.” The Rock is playing an anti-hero with no intention of going soft, especially on Ishmael (Marwan Kenzari), a Kahndaq traitor with a god complex.
Don’t confuse Adam with the cuddlebug in spandex that Zachary Levi embodied in the DCEU’s 2019 “Shazam.” The Rock is playing an anti-hero with no intention of going soft, especially on Ishmael (Marwan Kenzari), a Kahndaq traitor with a god complex.
And I haven’t even mentioned the Intergang-hating Justice Society of America, which includes the winged Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), the wizard-like Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), the aptly-named Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), a kid who turns into a giant.
“Black Adam” feels like an elaborate setup for a franchise no one’s made any plans to film. Worse, it sidelines the 270 pounds of charisma that is Johnson, who still bulldozes through the film like a human muscle car but is deprived of the wicked sass that this 50-year-old son of a Black father and Samoan mother has been generating since his days as a pro wrestler.
And I haven’t even mentioned the Intergang-hating Justice Society of America, which includes the winged Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), the wizard-like Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), the aptly-named Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), a kid who turns into a giant.
“Black Adam” feels like an elaborate setup for a franchise no one’s made any plans to film. Worse, it sidelines the 270 pounds of charisma that is Johnson, who still bulldozes through the film like a human muscle car but is deprived of the wicked sass that this 50-year-old son of a Black father and Samoan mother has been generating since his days as a pro wrestler.