STARRING: DWAYNE JOHNSON, ALDIS HODGE, NOAH CENTINEO, SARAH SHAHI, QUINTESSA SWINDELL, AND PIERCE BROSNAN
DIRECTED BY: JAUME COLLET-SERRA
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 21, 2022
Director Jaume Collet-Serra, well-known in Hollywood for his action-filled movies such as Orphan, Non-Stop, and The Shallows does it again with the new DC film, Black Adam. This 124-minute film was written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani and it was released on October 21st. New Line Cinema, DC Films, Seven Bucks Productions, and FlynnPictureCo. are all of the production companies that brought this movie from the comics to the big screen while WarnerBros Pictures distributed it. So far, the film has grossed $142.9 million dollars in only a short number of days with a budget of around $195 to $200 million dollars.
The setting of this film dates to 2600 BC in the country of Kahndaq, located on the Sinai Peninsula in the Middle East regions of Africa. This place only exists in the DC Universe. During this time period, Teth Adam, also named Black Adam and played by Dwayne Johnson, was granted powers from the ancient gods and used his abilities to take revenge on Ahk-Ton, the oppressive king of Kahndaq. After being imprisoned for almost 5,000 years, he is awakened and free. While the Justice Society: Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) disagree with Black Adam’s eccentric form of justice, they must defeat a descendant of the once ruthless king.
I might be somewhat biased in reviewing this film because I am more of a Marvel fan, but for a DC movie, it was very entertaining, especially the fight scenes. Aside from what the movie critics are saying and the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, most viewers enjoyed the film because of how fun it was to watch. It was action-packed and described by reviews as “fun with good action.” The CGI was outstanding.
As for substance, dialogue, and plot, it was generic. The dialogue can be described as cheesy and tasteless while the plot is a bit cliché. I find a lot of Dwayne Johnson’s discourse cringy, like most of his action movies. The film focused heavily on spectacle rather than substance and it is quite obvious. The best way to describe this experience is eating at a restaurant, being pleased with the food, but never returning to that restaurant again.
