What does being a hero mean? In many superhero stories, the answer is binary. The reality is more complex, because someone’s protector can be another’s oppressor. Black Adam is a story that explores the morality of being a hero.
Black Adam is a film that has a central theme from the beginning. An expository voiceover explains the history of Teth Adam (Dwayne Johnston) and Kahndaq, his hometown. Kahndaq was a wealthy and powerful city nearly 5,000 years before the present thanks to Eternium, a mineral. Kahndaq was a wealthy and powerful nation until it was invaded by a foreign army, its people were enslaved, then the deposits of Eternium were mined in order to make a crown that could summon a great evil.
The Council of Wizards (last viewed in 2019’s Shazam!), declares a boy worthy of its power and transforms him into a heroic figure capable of saving his world. Teth Adam succeeds in stopping the evil. However, the chaos that follows brings down the Kahndaq Palace and everyone inside. This includes Teth.
Kahndaq is still under the oppression of one oppressor or another. Intergang is the latest to rule the city as they hunt for the ancient crown. Kahndaq residents, including Adrianna (Sarah Shahi), Karim (Mohammed “Mo” Amer), Amon (Bodhi Sabongui), and Ishmael’s (Marwan Kenzari), are in a race to find the ancient crown before Intergang.
As the two parties get closer, Adrianna conjures Teth. His rage attracts the attention of Justice Society of America members Carter Hall/Hawkman, (Aldissa Swindell), Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate, (Pierce Brosnan), and new recruits Maxine Hunke/Cyclone, (Quintessa Swindell), and Al Rothstein/Atom Smasher, (Noah Centineo), who are The JSA and Teth will have to join forces to stop a greater threat before long.
The plot of Black Adam is very familiar. The script, credited to Adam Sztykiel Rory Haines and Sohrab Norshirvani, rarely moves beyond the tried-and-true story of what it is to be a superhero, good versus bad, and other antihero tropes that audiences have probably seen before. These plot choices, combined with the directorial decisions of Jaume Colllet-Serra create tonal whiplashes which are sometimes hard to understand. Is the “Paint it Black’ needle dropping over an action scene where Teth brutally murders Intergang goons, too self-aware? Johnson’s jokes are meant to be a bit stale as he tries to adapt to the modern world. Clint Eastwood’s The Man With No Name scene is meant to be a reference to how Westerns are now modern superhero movies.
You’ll likely feel differently about the movie based on your answer. But for me, these decisions combined with Marvel moments of unfunny humor worked against Black Adam rather than in its favor. It’s a shame that the movie’s breakneck pace doesn’t allow you to get to know some Justice Society members. Hodge, for example, and Brosnan are supposed to be old friends, but the script does not give them enough depth to establish this connection, despite their best efforts.
A few elements, however, do better. These include the film’s explorations of rage, oppression, and violence. After facing waves of invaders and a bloody Teth, the people of Kahndaq are desperate for freedom. This is a bold idea for a superhero film and it makes Teth an interesting and believable character. Johnson gives a strong performance, using the physicality of Teth’s anger to create a character that is a refreshing departure from his smirking comedian roles in the past decade. The best moments in Black Adam come when Johnson is able to filter these themes through his performance. Collet-Serra creates some great action scenes. A mid-movie fight between Teth (the main character) and the Justice Society is full of clever staging, fun beats and stands out for its quality. The dynamic between Hodge, Brosnan, and Centineo is not as strong as it could be. However, the youthful optimism of Swindell, and Centineo, plays better.
Black Adam excels when it uses the anti-hero nature of its protagonist to explore more serious topics, which aren’t usually at the heart of blockbuster superhero movies. The movie doesn’t stray from its genre formula outside of these ideas. The real-world morality Black Adam tries to explore in the film is complex, but the movie’s overall message isn’t. It’s another standard entry in the superhero canon.