After more than 15 years of development, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s superhero debut is finally here. Black Adam, the latest DC Comics-based DC Entertainment Universe (DCEU) entry, follows the titular character’s return from centuries-long seclusion to execute his style of justice and discovers a group of modern-day heroes who challenge his methods.
Wonder Woman: 1984 notwithstanding, the DCEU has enjoyed a nice run solid to excellent films over the last four years. Still, the Marvel Cinematic Universal (MCU) remains light years ahead of the DCEU in public opinion and box office receipts, so the folks at Warner Bros could use another hit.
Does Black Adam give the DCEU some headway in its competition with MCU for our movie dollars and attention? It does a lot of wrong, but by what has to be divine intervention, it gets just enough right to do what's needed.
The first hour of Black Adam reminds you of why the movie side of DCEU has struggled to gain traction on its Marvel-Disney equivalent. It’s a frantic mess. If you ever wondered what the results of Ezra Miller having Olivia Wilde’s salad dressing would be, that roughly 60 minutes would give you a clear picture of the chaos likely to ensue.
The culprit in this blunder is director Jaume Collet-Serra’s pacing. After a dragging open that sets up the fictional country, Kahndaq, Collet-Serra races through the rest of the early acts to Black Adam’s detriment. That choice is fine for an adrenaline rush but not for an origin story intended to set up a pillar of a cinematic universe.
It left out too much vital information, specifically what’s driving the internal conflict that makes Black Adam an antihero, while giving us plenty of useless plot points along the way. Amid all the fighting and sidetracks to supporting characters, you don’t understand what he’s fighting for besides the fact that it’s a comic book movie. You only know he’s an angry, angry man.
Typically, you could count on Johnson’s charisma to save the film from such a flaw. In this case? He can’t because charm isn’t his forte as a guy who’s been in total isolation for 5000 years, so you’re stuck, but all is not lost. There’s better news on the other side.
Black Adam’s second half becomes a film that resembles something much closer to the promise Johnson spoke of when discussing it over the years. The shift comes from a more meticulous use of special effects, more informative scenes and dialogue, and a more familiar Johnson.
The special effects borrow heavily from former DCEU helmer Zach Snyder’s manipulation of footage speeds using a variety of sped-up and slowed-down shots. It’s combined with as much CGI as the human brain can handle, but it has a massive payoff in showing Black Adam as a dominant force. It also gives the supporting Justice Society characters a pop that the script doesn’t, especially the Cyclone and Dr. Fate characters.
The scenes in this portion of Black Adam are much more cohesive and enlightening. They make sense of the confusion caused by the first half’s ridiculous pace and neglected storytelling. If Collet-Serra had placed certain ones during or close to the previously mentioned opening, Black Adam would be a more affecting character. Still, they manage to take the film to another level despite being out of sequence.
The later acts are also where the Johnson we’re used to comes to life. Again, he’s stoic for half the film because his character returns to civilization after 5000 years of solitude and giving Mr. Congeniality vibes fresh off that would be absurd. Johnson is decent here, but going “dark” isn’t his comfort zone. Yet, when allowed to show some emotion or not take himself seriously, Johnson knocks it out of the park, especially with the running joke about sarcasm.
Black Adam is a good but far from great watch. If you give it your patience, Black Adam rewards you big time. An awful start, some unfocused storytelling for a good chunk of its 124-minute runtime, and the complete muzzling of the star we come to see put the movie behind the eight ball early.
And then, the film takes an almost miraculous turn and becomes the superhero movie desperately needed to keep the DCEU going. The CGI-loaded but great special effects, much-needed details and plot points (even if they would have fit better in the first act), and prime Johnson unleashed saves Black Adam from the trap set by its earlier missteps.
Ultimately, Black Adam does not save DCEU or even register anywhere close to being its best entry. However, it does provide the franchise with a promising path forward if they continue building on what Black Adam got right.
It wasn’t filmed in IMAX so there’s no need to pay extra for the premium formats. I screened Black Adam on a standard screen, which was enough to enjoy the film.
Comments