The potential is in the dark – a review of the movie “Black Adam”

Black Adam – the beginning

We like stories about characters who resemble us, because none of us are perfect. Each of us has at least a few moments in life that are closer to antiheroes than ideal icons such as superheroes. Teth-Adam is a great example of this, and his inner darkness is nothing more than an experience forged in pain that leads him deep into his personality to bounce off the bottom in the rest (a bit like Batman). Don’t expect to get a deep character analysis when you go to the movies to see Jaume Collet-Serra’s latest film. Nothing could be more wrong. We get a story about the liberation of the land of Kahndaq from many years of captivity through the actions of several characters with supernatural abilities, where some of them consider themselves superheroes, and the title character avoids this term like fire.

A twisted, but highly comic-book script

Does this movie have a story? Yes, it does. Is it well thought out? Well, here you have to answer that the main goal of this work is to show the great devastation, and any plot elements have been pushed to the background. Hence the fact that we got a total of a dozen new characters on the screen, and none of them were given the right amount of time. Of course, we will find attempts to present to us topics such as: what is family, cooperation, heroism and sacrifice, but in the face of special effects, they may be virtually unnoticed by the viewer.

For me, in such a narrative rush resembling a roller coaster ride, the actors did a really good job of presenting their characters. Of course, the lead actor and Pierce Brosnan deserve special attention. You can see that The Rock subordinated everything to its acting, which in places is based on one and the same facial expressions, although when we deal with Johnson’s antics inscribed in the seriousness of the DC world, it comes out really interesting. The short situational jokes of The Rock or Noah Centineo in some places relieve the tension of this film. In turn, Brosnan as Doctor Fate works perfectly. An outstanding actor, who for years I associated with agent 007, here, according to his age, he created a character distinguished in comics with great calmness, but also elegance. It was a pleasure to watch my favorite character from the DC world for the first time on the big screen and I hope that this is not an episodic appearance, because I have not seen such a perfect transfer from comic frames. I only have one comment regarding the power of the Nabu helmet, however this little thing will only disturb the biggest fans.

I am also pleased that Warner is once again pioneering during this “knock-off renaissance”. He was the first to make the appearance of the water hero, he was the first to decide on a team of evil and he was the first to focus on exploring the abyss of hell. Of course, all this is really short, but it pleases the eye. In some places, however, you can see some imperfections in the scenery generated by CGI. Fortunately, the Polish viewer can forgive the producers, because in Khandaqu we can find a little flavor straight from the People’s Republic of Poland.

Most importantly, the pathos that always accompanies DC films will not be taken away from us even for a moment. The soundtrack creator Lorne Balfe took care of that. Subsequent sounds produced during the screening introduce a mood so serious that we will feel like on a really lofty spectacle. On the occasion of music, I would like to refer to the dialogues. The issue of the original words spoken by the characters is acceptable, while Polish subtitles sometimes confused me, especially when we were dealing with youth interjections. Who says that in the country on the Vistula River, dear translators?

Another point – maybe it would be better if this movie was more brutal? I guess that was the original intention. In principle, antiheroes can show their potential only in adult productions, where they do not have to hold back against obscene vocabulary or creating a carpet of corpses.

Heavy judgment

The new movie with “The Rock” is really hard to judge. And it’s not because it’s bad and I love DC’s hero world, it’s because this movie is really uneven and needs to be judged from different perspectives. A fan of comics, a lover of good blockbuster entertainment or a cinema lover. In each of these fields, the film has ups and downs. However, if you believe the words of Dwayne Johnson, we got the first video from the first phase of DCEU, because so far it was kind of an introduction (i.e. Snyderverse is a long preparation for starting the brand). Therefore, for an “official” opening, this picture is really good, introduces many characters, sets pace, uses what is most important for DC, i.e. darkness, and does not let the viewer get bored even for a moment. And most importantly, it shows that following the Discovery merger, Warner’s policymakers began to listen to fan feedback, which they prove with a scene during the credits. I sincerely invite you to the cinemas, especially since this movie is suitable for watching on the big screen!

We invite you to the movie Black Adam to the Cinema City cinema network !