Bullet Points: Black Adam

There was a point in time where it felt like Black Adam was going to join The Fall Guy (a movie based on the classic 80s series) and the rumored reboot/sequel of Big Trouble in Little China as movies with Dwayne Johnson attached as the star that never got off the ground.

Johnson reminded the world via Instagram this past week that the news about a Black Adam movie first broke back in 2007. Johnson also touched on what the character meant to him personally as a kid and why he fought so hard to make this movie a reality. Now after a 15 year wait, Black Adam flies into theaters this Friday or as The Rock would say, FINALLY…

• The Lore: If you are anything like me, you have little to no idea about who the Black Adam character is. The opening minutes of the movie does a great job giving a macro view of Teth Adam’s origin story that started thousands of years before the events of the movie unfold. Throw in some history of Adam’s country of Kahndaq and more of his backstory being filled in as the movie progresses and even a Black Adam novice like myself did not feel lost for long.
• The More Things Change: In the days of Teth Adam the people of Kahndaq were enslaved and forced to mine for a precious mineral by an evil king. In modern day Kahndaq, a terrorist army known as Intergang has taken control of the company and terrorized the inhabitants as terrorists are wont to do. Intergang has a much more sophisticated mining operation than the king had centuries earlier, so they don’t need slaves but there is still big trouble ahead for the people of Kahndaq. It is believed Intergang is close to recovering a powerful and demonic crown that belonged to the evil king. A group of Kahndaq rebels led by Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) and make it their mission to stop that from happening.

• The Return: Adrianna and her friends manage to get to the crown before Intergang, but the victory is short lived. Moments later Intergang soldiers shows up with a gun pointed at the head of Adrianna’s brother Karim (. That’s when Adrianna uses her knowledge of the story of Teth Adam and awakens him after 5000 years! Teth Adam saves Adrianna and Karim (Mohammed Amer) and then wastes no time showing off his unbelievable power decimating the well armed squad of Intergang soldiers! Some epic moments here as they put the big budget to work.
• The Justice Society: When an all-powerful god is awoken after 5000 years, it gets the attention of one very powerful person, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis reprising her role from The Suicide Squad). Waller calls upon Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and his team that consists of newcomers Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and another Justice Society veteran Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan, GoldenEye). They set course for Kahndaq to capture Teth Adam… something that will prove to be easier said than done.

• The Super Clash: The way Teth Adam does business doesn’t line up with the values of The Justice Society and that means we get plenty of heroes vs. anti-hero action… before Adrianna is able to bring them together after her son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) is kidnapped by Intergang and used as bait to get the crown that Adrianna recovered earlier. At this point it seemed like a simple rescue mission to wrap things up, but Black Adam has a few twists and turns up its sleeve which makes for a wild ride.

Introducing a bunch of lesser known comic book characters in a single movie was a gamble that paid off for Black Adam as it felt like a breath of fresh air in the crowded superhero movie market. And even though Dwayne Johnson is the undisputed headliner of the movie, all the heroic characters had a chance to shine, even those who aren’t blessed with superpowers.

This review is about to be blessed by some Bonus Bullet Points…

• Soundtraxx: “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” by Smashing Pumpkins and Karim’s favorite song “Baby Come Back” by Player were among the songs featured in Black Adam.
• Familiar Faces: I couldn’t help but recognize Uli Latukefu, who plays the college aged Dwayne Johnson on Young Rock, as Teth Adam’s son during one of the flashback scenes…. There’s also a TV legend who makes a cameo appearance as Al Rothstein’s (aka Atom Smasher) grandfather.
• Mid-Credits Scene: There is a mid-credits scene that got a reaction like nothing else I have ever heard in a movie theater… the pop was huge! So if you go this weekend, make sure you stick around and don’t make a run for it as soon as the end credits start to roll.
• Exploding Helicopter: Our friends over at Exploding Helicopter will have another movie to add to their list after they see this one!