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KAHNDAQ — Whether you love them or hate them, it doesn't appear that superhero movies are going anywhere any time soon. The latest testament to that is the release of DC's "Black Adam."
This film starring Dwayne Johnson is set in the same universe as "Man of Steel," "Justice League," "Wonder Woman, "Shazam!" and "Aquaman." For me, superhero movies have highs and lows. I would say "Black Adam" is not at the bottom of the heap, but it's not standing on top. If we had a halfway point, I would place it just under that.
Here are some reasons I enjoyed "Black Adam" and some reasons I felt I could have better used those two hours.
The good
It's entertaining
I try not to be too pretentious heading into movies. I like a wide variety of films, and I try to appreciate a movie for what it is and not what it is not. I mean that if a comedy made me laugh, it did its job. In the case of "Black Adam," it needed to be entertaining, and it delivered on that, for the most part.
There was a moment or two when I was bored with the slow pace, but I was at least somewhat engaged for most of the two-hour and four-minute run time. I can't say I was invested in what was happening, but lots of things were blowing up, which was cool.
It has its moments
I tend to be more interested in a superhero flick when there is some humor. I like it when the characters embrace the absurdity of the situation. "Black Adam" doesn't do this often, but it does have moments.
Two characters offer some needed comic relief; Noah Centineo and Mohammed Amer. There aren't enough of these characters, but they gave me a few laughs, which the movie required. The usually charming Johnson is quite serious in this movie. His fish-out-of-water tropes sometimes landed, but don't expect to see the joking and jovial "Rock" in this one.
The bad
It feels incomplete
While there is plenty of action, explosions, fighting and mayhem in "Black Adam," the film feels incomplete. It unravels in what seems a jumbled mash-up of multiple fight scenes. The narrative is shaky at best, and we jump across the globe only to end up right back where we were.
It's a thing you have to see to understand, but the filmmakers were clearly more interested in how they could kill a henchman or blow up another ancient relic than worry about the story and script. It's more of a collection of moments than an intriguing narrative.
It doesn't earn the big moments
The audience is supposed to care about all these characters, but I have to say, I didn't. There was no chemistry between the cast, and we are introduced to so many people that it's hard to care when someone is in peril or if they succeed.
A character would die, and I found myself saying, "That's a bummer. What was his name? How did he know them?"
I had no connection to any of these characters, and I guess I'm heartless, but I didn't really care what happened to them.
Conclusion
If you'd like to see some things blow up and an invincible anti-hero toss some bad guys around, then "Black Adam" is for you. Suppose any semblance of character development and a cohesive story is still important to you? In that case, I'm not sure you need to spend money on this movie.
The movie feels like a rushed attempt at introducing Black Adam into this universe so he can move on to interact with more interesting characters.
"Black Adam" is officially rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language.
