Black Adam review, Warner Bros and DC Comics place a beautiful film, between an interesting ensemble cast and a compelling plot
ORIGINAL TITLE: Black Adam. GENDER Action, science fiction: COUNTRY: United States of America REGIA: Jaume Collet-Serra. CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Maran Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Pierce Brosnan. DURATION: 124 minutes. DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. CINEMA EXIT: 20/10/2022.
Black Adam, long-time DC Comics anti-hero, whose story began with Fawcett Comics before moving to the Burbank label, makes his debut on the big screen. The superhero has the face of Dwayne Johnson and its superpowers originate from the ancient council of wizards. Endowed with sensational powers, Black Adam is one of the most powerful heroes in the DC universe and his introduction into the cinematic context represents a very important step for the DC Extended Universe, grappling with its own reorganization after assigning full powers to James. Gunn.
The film was directed by the Spaniard Jaume Collet-Serra, author of successful thrillers such as The Man on the Train and Paradise Beach and working with Dwayne Johnson in Jungle Cruise. The result, all in all, is a lot positivedespite some defections.
Black Adam: the plot of the film
In 2600 BC, the king of Kandaq, an ancient kingdom in which until then civilization and peace flourished, establishes a harsh repressive regime with the aim of finding the eternal and forging the Crown of Sabbac, an instrument imbued with the power of seven demons. To stop him, the ancient council of wizards elects their own sample, which ends King Ahk-Ton’s reign of terror. After 5,000 years, Kahndaq is still under a repressive regime, this time at the hands of the intergang, and archaeologist Adrianna is in search of the famous Crown. The discovery of her, however, triggers a series of events, including the awakening of the ancient champion of Kahndaq, whose practically divine powers will alarm the whole world.
Black Adam: the trailer of the film
A great plot, albeit overcrowded
Black Adam is a film that undoubtedly has more positives than negatives. The curiosity was skyrocketing to understand how the new course of the DC Extended Universe signed James Gunn and, although the making of the film predates the change of structure, this is certainly an encouraging starting point. Let’s talk about the positives first. The context is well reconstructed, we are able to immerse ourselves deeply in the fascinating Kahndaq, both in ancient and modern times. The strength of the film is one plot that works well, full of twists and turns. In the end there are some small slips, but all in all the narrative construction rests on solid foundations and entertains from the first to the last minute.
The ensemble cast is a bit of a controversial element. Many characters are introduced, because in addition to Black Adam on the screen we also see the Justice Societybut the only one who leaves his mark is Doctor Fate, played by a master Pierce Brosnan. A little packed Hawkman, Smasher convinces more than Cyclone. The presence of all these heroes certainly increases the quality of the plot, but it also creates a little bit of confusionrelegating among other things to an almost secondary role the villain on duty, Sabbac, who in the few minutes in which he appears instead leaves a very convincing mark.
The fights and special effects are visually very well done, even if the excessive use of it weighs a little slow motion, abused mostly to make the most of Black Adam’s speed and strength, but a bit heavy in the long run. For the rest there are no particular critical issues, Black Adam works and introduces a very interesting character, destined to play a leading role in the DC cinematic universe.
A good starting point
In conclusion, Black Adam seems like a really good starting point for Warner Bros and DC, but as other films have been in the past. The big gripe of the DC Extended Universe, at least so far, has been that of never being able to find continuity, also net of valuable films released. The hope is that now with James Gunn the music can change and the DC storytelling can get on the right track.
Being part of a collective universe, Black Adam must be judged not only as a film in its own right, but also in relation to the context. By itself, the film is good, it is a good entertainment film with several interesting points. On the horizon, however, there is the most difficult test, that of getting stuck in a narrative universe that has so far struggled to take off. Black Adam did his by laying the foundations, only the future will be able to tell if the good conditions will be maintained.
Points in favor
- Interesting and compelling storyline
- The context is immersive and well presented to the public
- Visually very good fights and special effects
Points against
- The inclusion of so many characters creates a bit of overcrowding
- Excessive use of slow motion
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