Movie Review: ‘Black Adam’

Rating: 2 of 5

Star Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

After the last DC superhero outing with THE BATMAN in March, now seven months later, we see the release of BLACK ADAM. Starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the film is based on the character from the Shazam series, wherein Black Adam features as the main antagonist to the superhero Shazam. While featuring a solo, standalone film on the character before introducing him as a villain or anti-hero in the Shazam series might not sit well with a few, it must be said that the film does hold its own.

BLACK ADAM features nothing new, that so many previous superhero films have been based on. Although Adam comes across as an unconventional and reluctant hero, the proceedings are rather predictable. While the action and CGI make for stunning visuals with some clap worthy moments, the overall essence leaves one wanting more. As for the characters, like previous DC films, BLACK ADAM suffers from a similar issues of featuring a rather overpowered villain who is severely underutilized. While the makers could have done so much more with the character of Sabbac, they have done very little with the character featuring in limited action sequences that are resigned to the climax.

Coming to the performances, each of the cast members from Dwayne Johnson, to Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, Sarah Shahi, and Quintessa Swindell have put their best foot forward. The cinematography, sound editing, VFX are equally good and offer a seamless viewing experience aided on by an invigorating background score that help build the crescendo in crucial scenes.

BLACK ADAM sets the stage by giving the viewers a brief insight into the city of Kahndaq 5000 years ago. From there, the story quickly progresses illustrating the plight the citizens of Kahndaq endured till a champion for the people rose. Coming in the form of a young boy, the people’s champion chosen by ancient wizards’ lays waste to the tyrant king Anh-Kot, however in his rage the city is destroyed. From there the film switches to current times, when an archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz is looking for the crown of Sabbac, which the Intergang, which has now taken over the city of Kahndaq, is on a similar quest. Surprisingly, for a film based on a particular character, Johnson’s BLACK ADAM makes a rather late entry. Though the actor is present in the initial few minutes, his absence is obvious. However, Johnson makes a stunning entry, when Tomaz recites an inscription setting BLACK ADAM free. 

Overall, BLACK ADAM makes for an electrifying one-time watch; while the audience might want more, the film does live up to its promise of action and drama.