Movie Review: Black Adam

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

An excellent superhero film. 

This may not be one of the most complex or groundbreaking superhero films, but it is a really fun movie. I love how DC lately has been balancing out its very serious and dark movies with some more lighthearted and fun ones. This movie is of the latter variety and it provided this superhero fan with a very fun trip to the movies. This is somehow Dwayne Johnson's first live action superhero movie and he excels at it. This is a passion project for him and it shows here. He works perfectly as this famous anti-hero, balancing out this character's darker side with the actor's natural likability. The Rock simply brings a likable quality to pretty much every character he plays, and that works here as it makes us easily root for this character, even when what he is doing is morally questionable. Yet the character doesn't simply come off as The Rock instead of Black Adam, as some of the scenes require him to go a bit out of his typical screen persona. Yet he handles these scenes very well. Still The Rock is not the only actor who works very well here. My favorite Superhero comic books are the Justice Society comics and I am happy to say the filmmakers and actors did a wonderful job with these characters. Pierce Brosnan is perfect as Dr. Fate, and I don't think I could have picked anyone better for the role. His performance is simply how I picture the character when reading the comics. I was also happy to see one of my favorite Justice Society characters Cyclone here, and though the character is not given enough time to shine (I do wish she got to go on one of her excited talkfests here like in the comics) Quintessa Swindell is wonderful in the role and does a good job capturing the great charm of this character. This film also has a quite good storyline. While it doesn't offer anything in this department that superhero movies haven't done before, it delivers this familiar story very well. There was never a moment where I was bored or uninterested in what was happening on screen. It also moves at a really fast pace and doesn't feel like it is too hours. The humor is also very good here. The banter between Black Adam in the Justice Society is often quite funny and Black Adam gets some really good one liners. 

This movie does have some faults though. Like many DC films, there is some very forced and awkward dialogue, especially the open narration. As I said before the story feels quite familiar and there are times when it feels too obvious what is going to happen next. There are two rock songs used during action scenes and both feel out of place. There is also often an overreliance on CGI during the action scenes and it can be really obvious at times. 

All in all this is a really fun superhero movie and just what I love to see from DC.