Black Adam: Our Spoiler Review

The champion we as fans deserve.

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS.

It is hard to believe this movie was greenlit back in 2007. This film was fifteen years in the making, and I would dare to say it was meant to be released when we needed it the most.

Black Adam is a great comic book movie, and it is a powerful film in itself. The story takes us to the Middle Eastern region of Kahndaq, where the Intergang has been oppressing the population without any International interference for 25 years, but when an ancient champion awakens from within its mountains, high-ranking government officer Amanda Waller will send the Justice Society of America to stop him, without realizing said mythical champion may be only one who can save Kahndaq and the entire human race from a powerful demonic force.

There are certain roles that are meant to be played by certain actors, and Dwayne Johnson was meant to be Black Adam, from the moment he steps into the scene you can feel he is a powerful character, and he means business. I also loved that they made him a reluctant anti-hero, someone that was traumatized from his past, and in someway he thinks he deserves to be imprisoned for letting his family die, I also love the twist that he wasn’t the original champion that the wizards bestowed with the ancient power of the Gods, but that it was given to him by his son, and the story more than proved he earned that power and the rightful title of champion.

I also really like Sarah Shahi and Bodhi Sabongui as rebel fighters Adrianna and her son, Amon. They provided the perfect background for the story, and they emphasized the conflict in Khandaq, and the fact that no one on the west cared about them being oppressed until something or someone threatened their own political interests.

The filmmaker were able to make a political jab at the United States’ foreign policy without being preachy, and of course they chose the perfect person to show indifference, Amanda Waller, played excellently once again by Viola Davis.

I also really liked this version of the Justice Society of America.

I think and everyone of the JSA members were well-cast, specially Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate. We haven’t had many live-action portrayals of the powerful hero, and I think that this is now the definite portrayal, and I hope we get to see him again. Brosnan has always been an amazing actor, and he brings a powerful rescene to every character he plays, which serves this character justice (no pun intended).

I think Aldis Hodge was very unlikable as Hawkman, but that is only because the character was designed as an overtly moral and uncompromising imbecile, one who couldn’t see beyond the beak of his helmet, but he was portrayed very well as such.

While this version of the JSA is not the most heroic I have ever seen, I think they were pretty good supporting characters.

But I think someone who deserves all the praise he can get is Marwan Kenzari as Ishmael Gregor/Sabbac.

A comic book movie is only as great as its villain (for reference see Josstice League), and I really felt the movie conveyed more than many in the genre who was the villain, what were his intentions, and what was at stake.

A villain motivation doesn’t always have to be something the audience could relate to, while I highly doubt anyone on the audience would root for a demon who wanted to enslave an entire country and bring fiery torment upon humanity, we are presented with the reasons why Ishmael wants this power, and his acting is nothing short of outstanding.

At the end, Jaume Collet-Serra directed a fantastic film. I have certain criticisms when it comes to the story such as the whereabouts of the JSA when General Zod tried to Terraform the Earth, on when Steppenwolf wanted to bring Darkseid to Earth, but that is neither here nor there.

I cannot conclude the film without publicly thanking Dwayne Johnson for being the driving force who brought Henry Cavill back into the DCEU, because as per The Hollywood Reporter, it was Johnson who ensured Cavill’s cameo, and that in itself brought life back into the DCEU, as we all wanted him to be our Superman.

For that reason alone, Dwayne Johnson is the champion we needed, and the one we as fans deserve, and Black Adam is an amazing film, and now it is up to us to do our part and support those who care about our fandom, and this movie deserves multiple watches at the cinema, it is just the type of film that demands our support.