Black Adam

Well, it looks to be that the beginning of the holiday film season is now upon us and what a better way to start it off than with DC Comics' "Black Adam", what with all the adrenaline-ridden action, the grandiose feel and with a story that isn't tough to figure out. Yes, I know that this genre is typically reserved for the summer crowd, but since this is still the 'Indian Summer' time of year, it's still fitting. 

Kahndaq, 2,500 B.C. Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the mighty powers of the Egyptian ancient gods--and imprisoned just as quickly--Teth Adam (Dwayne Johnson) is freed inadvertently by Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) to save her own life, from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world. It turns out that Ismael (Marwan Kenzari), descendent of the evil king of Kahndaq 5,000 years ago, is bent on obtaining the king's crown made of a priceless gem known as eternium which he believes Adrianna and son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) possess. So as Black Adam (as he's later labeled) make the scene and protect the two, the global justice league which is comprised of Dr. Kent Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Carter/Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Cantineo), come to Kahndaq to arrest Adam for violating peace. Is there any way these people can unify their differences in order to combat the tyranny that is yet to come?

Others to round out the cast are Mohammed Amer as Karim, Adrianna's brother, James Cusati-Moyer as Samir, Jalon Christian as Hurut, Benjamin Patterson as skinny Teth Adam and Henry Winkler as Uncle Al, uncle to Atom Smasher. 

This was directed with that much needed one two punch by Jaume Collet-Serra ("House of Wax" '05, "Goal II: Living the Dream" '07, "Orphan" '09, "Unknown" '11, "Non-Stop" '14, "Run All Night" '15, "The Shallows" '16, "The Commuter" '18, "Jungle Cruise" '21) plus TV and videos. As one might expect, this definitely was adrenaline packed with more explosions and explosive moments one could count. Considering this filmmaker's resume, this probably wasn't much of a challenge for him since he was assuredly in his comfort zone. If you like his brand of directing, his "Carry On" is filming at this time for a 2023 release date. It was written with franchise all over it by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, based on characters created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck. As with so many other films, this is where the issues ensue. First of all, there are more than two writers on the project which is all too many hands in the pot. Secondly, with the exception of Sztykiel, the experience isn't what I would deem extensive. When a film is dealing with multiple worlds--in this case, two entirely different time periods, it is so easy for the script to become bogged down with a certain amount of choppiness and some issues of continuity--this being the case with this production. The connection with the time frame of today and that of 5,000 years ago wasn't even explained until about mid point into the film. Once the connection was established, the script actually started to find itself and it became the film it was looking for. And, of course, the visual effects predominantly designed by Weta Digital and Digital Domain were seamless. They were used a bit too much, however they were beautifully executed. 

Make sure you stay for, at least, the main end credits since there is a bit of a surprise, although maybe not, in store. Can you say--S-E-Q-U-E-L? I know, what a shock! The franchise must go on. If you like this type of fare, it's presented in an IMAX format to give you than up, close and personal feel. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                              Rated: PG-13                                           125mins.