Antonio Jackson
Staff Writer
*SPOILER ALERT*
The much anticipated “Black Adam” premiered on Oct. 21, 2022.
According to Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro, the film earned over $67 million domestically and over $75 million internationally, grossing a total of $156 million worldwide.
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the film is a perfect example of a hero who followed his own rules for the sake of the greater good.
“Black Adam” has the possibility of changing the views of superheroes to the world. When the term superhero is brought up people think of some person with superpowers fighting for peace and justice.
Black Adam, played by Dwayne Johnson, followed the story of Teth-Adam, a slave whose family was killed by the selfish king of Kahndaq. Blessed with the strength and power of the seven wizards, Teth-Adam becomes Black Adam.
In a vengeful rage kills the king and his palace, freeing Kahndaq. However, the seven wizards disapproved of this action and punished him for his crime. Black Adam killed six wizards but was sealed away by the last one that survived.
Thousands of years later, Black Adam was released by rebels of the new oppressors of Kahndaq, Intergang. With the help of others, he destroys Intergang and becomes the new leader and protector of his people.
The film’s plot did an impressive job displaying the evolution of the Black Adam’s character. At the beginning, he is shown to be a cold hearted, grieving, lone wolf who was clearly out of touch with the modern world.
Black Adam had trouble following the “code of conduct” that modern superheroes followed.
However, as the film progressed, Black Adam found a way to feel compassion for others and adapted to this new way of life. Making amends with the heroes who saw him as a loose cannon.
Although, Black Adam showed an over use of CGI and computer-generated images, the film made up for it with its incredible action scenes.
Collet-Serra did an excellent job at making sure that each action sequence was fresh and different from the last.
Despite the great action scenes, the actors did fall short with delivering some of their lines. Johnson overall did a decent job portraying the personality of Black Adam, however some of his lines came off bland.
Also, the romance between Cyclone, played by Quintessa Swindell, and Atom Smasher, played by Noah Centineo, did not offer much to the plot. It was great to see lesser-known heroes like Cyclone and Atom Smasher.
It was cool to see these characters are not forgotten and are included in big stories. However, it did not do the characters justice. It successfully succeeded at showing them as lackluster side characters with a “love” story.
Overall, “Black Adam” was a phenomenal film that did well at catering to DC comic veterans while also attracting newcomers to the brand.
