Summary
The Rock arrives in the DC Universe with a literal lightning bolt – but is this the jolt the studio needs to re-spark its world-building?
The DC Extended Universe is at something of a crossroads right now. Following the eventual release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Matt Reeves’ The Batman took a step away from established continuities. Then Discovery, Warner’s new business daddy, dumped Batgirl as a tax write-off. With Wonder Woman 1984 failing to excite audiences or critics, it’s been left to the historically second tier characters of Aquaman and Shazam to bring some light back to this comic book world.
Black Adam emerges from the pages of the latter, traditionally being a foil and anti-hero to Shazam’s misfit family of heroes. In director Jaume Collet-Serra’s adaptation, his story begins in the fictional kingdom of Kahndaq in 2600 BCE. A tyrannical ruler makes the citizens mine for the rare Eternium in the hopes he can craft a mystical crown. When a rebellious child stands up to his oppressors, the wizards of Shazam save him to become their champion, Teth-Adam.
By the time the story proper picks up, the rest of the backstory has become legend. Modern day Kahndaq is under the thumb of the criminal organisation Intergang. Multiple parties are in search of the ancient crown, including the wanted Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) and her family. The quest results in the unleashing of the destructive Teth-Adam (Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson) on the modern world, although his motivations are now ambiguous. Suicide Squad’s Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) activates the Justice Society to take him down, including Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo).
BLACK ADAM is, to put it bluntly, chaos on wheels. Swinging from scenes that are thuggish smash and grabs to other high-octane set pieces, it leaves very few moments for reflection in its two-hour running time. The many tonal shifts are exacerbated by a soundtrack that pings about from the Smashing Pumpkins through The Rolling Stones, Ennio Morricone, Kanye West and Player’s ‘Baby Come Back’ (used twice!) Lorne Balfe’s score is competent, but has no strong motifs to distinguish it. Mind you, none of this means that it isn’t also crazy fun at times.
In a crowded market of action movies, the screenplay (from Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani) has an each way bet: we get to see The Rock tearing through henchmen with violent indifference, while there’s a hero squad who seem to be there purely for fanservice. (Mind you, it’s the Rock, so we know that he isn’t going to finish the movie as a completely bad guy). After small screen appearances in the Arrowverse/The CWverse, I have to admit to getting a little bit thrilled seeing a stacked Dr. Fate and Hawkman mixing it up on the big screen.
The characters are a bit of a mixed bag though, often feeling like they’ve stepped in from another movie entirely. Brosnan is refined and cool as hell as Fate, even if his powers and motivations are ill-defined. Hodge’s Carter Hall comes off as a dick more often than not, combining several of the many incarnations of Hawkman over the years. Cyclone (who first appeared in the Elseworlds graphic novel Kingdom Come) and Atom Smasher were total missed opportunities though, mostly wasted as filler characters or set-ups for future stories. The Rock abides.
BLACK ADAM may not reach the dizzying heights of DC’s most epic stories, or the sheer fun of its sibling Shazam, but it is still entertaining for the duration. As for where the DCEU heads next, much of that will probably depend on the box office results of this and the next few films. If you stay until the mid-credits teaser, you will get a pretty strong indication on who that might involve. (Hint: it’s very exciting). For now, Warner is taking a swing at a new direction, and maybe only Dr. Fate knows where it will land.
2022 | USA | DIRECTOR: Jaume Collet-Serra | WRITERS: Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, Sohrab Noshirvani | CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Bodhi Sabongui, Pierce Brosnan | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS), Warner Bros. Pictures (USA) | RUNNING TIME: 124 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 20 October 2022 (AUS), 21 October 2022 (USA)
