A Movie Review By Anthony Ritter
Teth Adam (Dwayne Johnson) was given the powers of the Gods and used them to stop the tyrannical ruler of Kahndaq. 5,000 years later, he is released from his imprisonment to help modern-day Kahndaq get out from under its current military rule. Teth Adam is not your normal superhero and will use his power to stop his enemies with deadly force. This draws the attention of the Justice Society, who must stop him before his destruction spreads too far.
What follows is The Good, The Bad, and The Spoilers of “Black Adam”.
The Good
From the moment Dwayne Johnson makes his on-screen appearance as Black Adam until the end of the movie, the audiences are given non-stop action and violence. This is exactly what everyone loves to see in a superhero movie. What takes it a step further, is that Black Adam does not attempt to control himself and spare his enemies. He will disintegrate them with lightning, throw them thousands of feet into the distance, or use their own weapons against them. This is something that is different from previous DC super hero movies, aside from the previous Suicide Squad, where we see heroes pull their punches to not risk hurting the henchmen.
The Justice Society was a great addition to the film, specifically Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate. In my opinion, Brosnan was my favorite part of this film. His character offered some of the best comedic relief to otherwise very serious situations. Such as having to explain sarcasm to a 5,000-year-old superhero. DC fans will love seeing other comic heroes like Hawkman, Cyclone, Atom Smasher, and maybe a couple of other surprises. Be sure to stay for the Mid-credit bonus scene, the audience went crazy in my theater.
The Bad
The story for Black Adam felt incredibly rushed. The movie seems to have 2 separate plots that are both covered separately and quickly. We have the Justice Society coming to stop Black Adam, and we have the villain trying to get the magical crown. Both of these could have been their own story, but the movie instead rushed through both.
The film’s beginning dumps a lot of information to build a temporary backstory for Teth Adam, which doesn’t seem entirely needed. At the same time, we receive little to no back story for the justice society characters who play moderately important roles throughout the majority of the film. How did Fate and Hawkman become such close allies? Sure, Cyclone is smart, but what is this about being kidnapped and having nanobots in her blood? Big time DC fans will probably already know these answers, but for the rest of the audience, the speed of the movie may leave them wanting more information.
My Overall Opinion
Despite its issues regarding the story, “Black Adam” is an enjoyable movie. I like to refer to this type of move as “brain candy”. Candy may not be good for you, but it is sure enjoyable to eat. I would recommend seeing this one on a big screen that will help you truly appreciate the amazing CGI that goes into all the destruction.
On his blog “GoodBadSpoilers.com”,, Anthony Ritter critiques and writes a review on selected movies. Once you see a movie that Ritter has reviewed, visit his blog and share your point of view.
