Black Adam (2022)

Dwayne Johnson (“Super Pets”, “Red Notice”) picks up a superhero cape for the DC Universe and says “Shazam”, to become Teth Adam, later, Black Adam.

I won’t go into the background about the character, as that’s all explained at the start of the movie and then again later in the movie as we learn more, so I’ll just give you the general gist of the movie instead.

Adam is a hero, to some, and a villain to others. Those others are the Justice Society, not to be confused with the Justice League. In this movie the Justice Society comprises of: Hawkman, Aldis Hodge (“Hidden Figures”, “Straight Outta Compton”), Dr. Fate, Pierce Brosnan (“Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”, “The Foreigner”), Atom Smasher, Noah Centineo (“The Perfect Date”, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”), and Cyclone, Quintessa Swindell (“In Treatment (TV)”, “Granada Nights”).

They learn that Adam has been released from his tomb, quite accidentally, by Adrianna, Sarah Shahi (“Bad Therapy”, “Chicago Fire (TV)”), who was searching for a crown that can give the wearer access to hell and the ability to bring it to Earth.

The gang head for Khandaq to capture Adam as they know the truth behind his powers, or some of them at least. However, they aren’t welcome there as Khandaq has successively been under foreign rule for centuries, now held by Intergang, and they see Adam as their own saviour, even if he does not.

Political, right? So, Adam and the Justice Society fight, Adam fights Intergang, whilst Ishmael, Marwan Kenzari (“The Old Guard”, “What Happened To Monday”), a ‘friend’ of Adrianna, wants the crown for himself and has Adrianna and son Amon, Bodhi Sabongui (“The Main Event”, “A Million Little Things (TV)”), to contend with.

So that’s Black Adam then. Johnson is not quite the person you’ve seen in other movies, he’s more serious and certainly more brooding in this one. He floats, constantly, like his legs don’t work, and some of the CGI, particularly early on, is a little iffy.

The Justice Society flies around in a jet more than reminiscent of the one the X-Men use. This one belongs to Hawkman and has his logo on the seats…which greatly reminded me of the Thundercats logo. Ask your parents.

If Black Adam was a little more tongue in cheek, you’d expect him to mention, a-la Deadpool, that there’s very few characters from the rest of the DC Universe involved, although Amanda Waller, Viola Davis (“The Woman King”, “The Suicide Squad”), does make an appearance, as does another famous DC character in the post credits scene.

Black Adam is ok, it’s not great, it won’t blow you away, but it is ok. You always feel like you’re at least one step ahead of the movie, waiting for the next reveal that you already know, which is a shame.

Still, there are some nice characters and despite the shaky start it does eventually become a good backstory for the character and, if we’re being honest with each other, introducing a character to the big screen never usually makes for the best first movie.