Black Adam: A Review (Spoilers Ahead)

One of the benefits of having recently purchased a large-screen television is that we’ve opened up the floodgates for a number of movies we’ve wanted to see. Although I’ve been quite happy with the 14” television we were lent about three years ago, there’s just something about having access to a larger, better television that brings something to the table in terms of the movie-watching experience. And since the lack of an available babysitter makes it difficult for my wife and I to hit the theatres, the next reasonable step is to bring the theatre to us. And here we are…

One of the first movies we purchased was Black Adam, which we watched a couple of nights ago. Let me paint you a picture; we have the 52” flat screen. We have a digital sound at with a wireless subwoofer, basically causing our chest to vibrate, every time there’s an explosion. I have a drink in my hands and chips in my lap. The movie logos kick in and the walls are reverberating with the deep rumble of bass. The evening has begun.

One of the fascinating things I’ve noticed with Hollywood and society in general, is that we’ve reached a point where remakes and reboots are often seen as something “new” by the public. But in truth, Black Adam is a comic book character who’s been around since the mid-20th century. Having first appeared in the comic books during the mid-40’s, he became a mainstream character in the DC universe in the 1970’s. He’s been one of Captain Marvel’s (or “Shazam’s,” if you wanna be a dick about it… Thanks, Marvel!) main antagonists since then.

I’ve seen some of his appearances in the comics over the years and was reasonably familiar with the character and the background, making me somewhat curious as to how he would be portrayed on the big screen. I’m a big fan of Dwayne Johnson and although he has his particular niche when it comes to roles, I feel he was well-suited to fill the black and golden yellow shoes of Black Adam. And unlike having Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill done the “S” shield, there were no predecessors for him to work off of.

The movie starts the way any film of the genre would; with Teth Adam as a slave, along with his family, in a city called Kahndaq. The movie suggests that Teth Adam steals something of value from Kahndaq’s king and is sentenced to death. He’s rescued and bestowed the powers of Black Adam by the old gods and becomes Kahndaq”s champion. He defeats the king and in doing so, disappears for 5,000 years. This is somewhat different from his original origin, which sees him defeat and kill an Egyptian pharaoh and take his throne.

Teth Adam is re-awoken 5,000 years later as a violent and unrelenting antihero. Unlike Superman, Black Adam seems pretty m,ugh unstoppable, with the exception of exposure to an element called Eternium, which appears capable of injuring Black Adam and even cancelling out his powers. He’s exposed very little to it in the film despite it’s appearance all over the bloody place, making it even less effective against Black Adam than kryptonite is against Superman.

Ultimately, Black Adam sees the more positive side of things and takes on the role of a hero by defeating the bad guys, restoring order to Kahndaq and saving the day. All in all, the movie rated pretty well for me and even my wife, who usually sits through DCU and MCU movies with me but isn’t usually taken by the genre. Would I watch it again? Absolutely. Was the experience pretty bad-ass thanks to the television and sound bar? You’d better believe it. I would recommend this movie as something to watch on an evening where you have the whole family and want something to keep them all engaged with the action and fight sequences. ☯️