‘Black Adam’ Continues DC Films’ Post-‘Justice League’ Winning Streak

Black Adam is, above all, a rollicking good time at the movies. It is a showcase for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson playing to type as an invincible action-man while surrounding himself with interesting supporting characters and entertaining B-list DC superheroes. I generally prefer Johnson when he’s a relative underdog in films like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle or Rampage, but the “biggest and best thing onscreen” act works since the core conflict is whether the title character is the main hero or the main villain. The over/under $190 million-budgeted movie looks spectacular, offering a larger-than-life spectacle while keeping the scale and stakes comparatively small. It is generally an unapologetically silly and gleefully violent (in a kid-friendly PG-13 fashion) superpowered smash fest. It also flirts with being one of the more self-critical superhero flicks this side of Batman v Superman or Avengers: Age of Ultron.

First, after a relative stumble with Disney’s Jungle Cruise, Black Adam offers hope that director Jaume Collet-Serra (The Commuter, Non-Stop, Unknown, Run All Night) may not yet require Liam Neeson to rescue him from The Rock’s blockbuster clutches. Second, with all the discourse about how Johnson wants a full movie pitting Black Adam against Henry Cavill’s Superman, as if Zachary Levi’s Shazam didn’t headline the absolute best DC Films flick thus far, Black Adam works entirely on its own terms. It is yet another example of what Walter Hamada was doing right, loosely connected films that varied in tone, scale and sub-genre and weren’t overly reliant on Batman and Superman, until Covid and a series of conflicting new corporate owners kneecapped a post-Justice League winning streak. If this is Hamada’s last ride in the DC Universe, at least he’s going out on a winner.

The prologue plunges you headfirst into past-tense exposition, and frankly, the narrative structure conflicts so much with the marketing that it may initially confuse folks who memorized the trailer beats. The Prince of Egypt-by-way-of-Scorpion King backstory eventually shifts to the present-day peril in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Kahndaq. A university professor (Sarah Shahi) is trying to unearth a mighty ancient crown before villains from Intergang find it first. A brush with death leads Adrianna Tomaz to shout “Shazam!” which brings about not Billy Batson’s heroic alter-ego but a black-suited murder machine calling himself Teth-Adam (Johnson). He saves the day while killing the hell out of the bad guys, which attracts the attention of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who asks Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan) to put together a Justice Society rooster (Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Cyclone) to bring this new guy down.

The screenplay, penned by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, eventually settles into a loose variation of an X-Men versus Magneto action fantasy, where the idealistic do-gooder (to a fault) superheroes try to talk down the genocidal strongman who just wants to protect his people from outside oppression. The film offers the director of Orphan and House of Wax ample opportunity to push the limits of the PG-13 in comically violent ways. The tone remains breezy since 99% of the people being wiped out in varied and creative methods are unquestionably bad guys, and kids will cackle at the cheerfully absurd violence. Johnson isn’t MENA, but almost everyone else onscreen (Bodhi Sabongui, Marwan Kenzari, Mohammed Amer, etc.) outside the JSA members are. I’m curious as to whether those who trumpeted Marvel’s Moon Knight as a representational triumph will give equal credit to this DCEU flick.

Without being naval-gazy about it, Black Adam does give time to the notion that superheroes (even ones played by Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell) are more concerned with maintaining the status quo and unequal power structure than with making the world better for the disenfranchised. The early portions also imply that a world filled with superheroes and saviors who refuse to get their hands bloody when righting injustice will only reinforce the existing structural inequities. Sure, there are dozens of “Who watches the Watchmen?” counterarguments, but it’s surprisingly upfront about puncturing at least some of the fantasy embedded within modern superhero culture. However, perhaps by default, the picture eventually loses most of its moral ambiguity and, like Johnson’s Mummy Returns prequel The Scorpion King, only hints (at best) at Black Adam’s eventual (so says the comics) heel turn.

Centineo and Swindell have charming puppy love chemistry (I wanted these beautiful youngsters to hook up, but I digress), while Brosnan and Hodges bring an edge to their long-time friendship and differing philosophies. The film is peppered with low-key wit and dry humor, none of which comes at the expense of the onscreen drama and character conflict. The production values are top-notch, you’ll be glad the film got a few months of extra post-production time, and Collet-Serra rarely turns down an opportunity to have fun with the camera. I’m partial to an expository sequence (which doubles as character development between Black Adam and the professor’s young son) which takes place as Black Adam is slowly floating down as the kid keeps up with him via a winding staircase. It’s great to see a superhero action movie helmed by a guy with ample action film experience.

Considering the constant online chatter about DC Films being in disarray, it’s amusing how Black Adam plunges audiences into the more niche portions of DC Comics without a study guide. You’re expected to be loosely aware of the Shazam mythology. We are presented, sans explanation, with interstellar cops who look like hawkmen, older men who can see multiple futures and dress like stoned magicians, young men who grow to an incredible size and young women who make tornadoes. Little of this is explained beyond the initial roll call, and most of the character interaction is more about specific character development than broader exposition. None of it is remotely confusing because audiences showing up for a Black Adam movie are familiar enough with general superhero tropes to go on faith. We’re a long way from “Would you prefer yellow spandex?”

Deeper meanings and place within the broader DC Films universe aside, and remember that the movie isn’t always represented by its SEO-driven media coverage, Black Adam is a joyfully over-the-top action fantasy tentpole. It has the pulpy and no-pressure pleasures of a New Line flick, even as it comes armed with a WB-level budget. Like Doctor Strange 2, it reminded me of the early MCU movies (Iron Man, Thor, etc.) from before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was anything other than a single ambitious Hollywood franchise amid other Hollywood franchises and non-IP blockbusters. Outside melodrama aside, it’s refreshingly unassuming and unpretentious, existing as a 95% stand-alone Black Adam actioner that, even in the world of DC Films was initially intended as a ‘monster of the week’ episode. In a sane world, Black Adam would be yet another rock-solid superhero flick amid a years-long DC Films winning streak.