'Black Adam' - Movie Review

This is a superhero movie exactly like all the others, except that it's more generic. It's glossy, it's not actively bad. It's just that there's been so very many of them. And the big standout here is supposed to be that Black Adam (played by Dwayne Johnson) is an "anti-hero." Apparently that means he's willing to kill people, while the "good guys" are unwilling to do so under any circumstances. Despite which, this is another remarkably bloodless (in both the literal and metaphorical sense) superhero movie ...

Our story starts nearly 5000 years ago, with "the council of wizards" making another Shazam-alike to battle an evil king in the country of Kahndaq. In the modern day, he (Black Adam) is awoken from his long sleep in a Kahndaq still ruled by oppressors. Sassy Boy and Archaeologist Mom become his guides. The Justice Society (in the form of Hawkman, Doctor Fate, Cyclone, and Atom Smasher) come to try to stop Black Adam - who has powers in excess of Shazam and approaching that of Superman.

I'm not sure if this is as bad as I'm suggesting or if I've just broken after watching too many superhero movies. The acting is pretty poor, the special effects are adequate, the secondary characters have exaggerated behaviours to try to project character as a replacement for screen time, and the plot is silly. Johnson shows little of his usual charisma.