The world of DC super heroes is in disarray – we’re pretty sure you’ve heard this countless times. You’ve probably even thought about it yourself. After a turbulent departure, the cinematic universe painted by Warner Bros seems to have found its right dimension, where ensemble films do not seem to be their forte, stand alone films with a single hero at center stage seem to be the best ones. Not by chance Aquaman And Man of Steel they were excellent products, well received by critics and audiences as well as it was Shazam! a much more recent film than the others mentioned. It is the turn of Black Adaminterpreted by Dwayne The Rock Johnson.
Shazam, in the dark
Before all the civilizations known today, even before the Sumerian tablets were engraved, there was a civilization: that of Kahndaq and it was a very advanced civilization: armies, mystics and kings dominated this strip of land between deserts and mountains. One day the local despot set out in search of a very rare mineral, which seems to have originated only in Kahndaq and to find him he enslaved all his people. The people after having indulged their King, found the strength to rebel thanks to a hero who saved the population. That hero was Teth Adama semi-divine being who defeated the despot but disappeared for over five thousand years after that event. Today the Kahndaq is gripped by the grip of super-equipped mercenaries who keep the population in checkas they were in the time of the King five thousand years ago: once again the people invoke their protector who although he will answer the call will not be exactly the shining example of good that the people expected, Black Adam is certainly not a positive hero as is the Azure in the red cape or the Princess of the Amazons. The film follows the metrics of a film from the 90s: presentation of the ante facts, arrival of the hero, awareness of the enemy, redemption of the hero and then climax but this time the development has something different, leaving room for different shadows under a dim light.
Brute power
Black Adam (The Rock) is cheeky: it’s like an avalanche that rains on you and which appears to be immune to any attack; goes his way, destroying and trampling everything in his path. There is no room for plans or strategies: Teth Adam (the original name of the protagonist) is like an Egyptian god from whom he takes the powers that are:
- S.: the resistence from Shu which makes it virtually invincible, capable of not needing to eat, breathe or sleep. It can live in space without any problems.
- H.: the speed from Heru which allows him to fly or hover a hypersonic speed (1226km / h or Mach 5) without time limits. He has equally quick reflexes.
- TO: his force is due to Amonmaking him one of the most powerful people on the planet, capable of bending steel, lifting immense objects with minimal effort. Even when he is tired or weak, its strength is such that it allows it to lift at least 100 tons.
- Z: his wisdom is taken from Zehuti which gives him in addition to an immense intelligenceaccess to different doctrines such as War Tactics of the best strategists who have trod the earth’s soil, an edetic memory able to remember anything he has seen, heard or read even once to perfection, high-profile math, last but not least Clairvoyance who gives him spontaneous advice when he observes a situation or an object.
- TO: The power from Aton allows him to unleash mafic lightning from all over the body, also allowing him to travel through other dimensions should he so wish. It can be transported to the Rock of Eternity (place where he received his powers) when he wishes.
- M.: the courage that he owns is given to him by Mehen, the great Egyptian serpent. Thanks to this power his lightning bolt can be used to heal himself or the people he desires. Virtually invulnerable to mind control, Mehen’s power makes our hero extremely determined and capable of giving his best just when all the odds are against him. A sort of Divine Grace pervades his life, this guides him in his choices. Last but not least: as long as Teth Adam remains in the form of Black Adam, he does not actually age and is therefore immortal.
To access all these powers, All Black Adam has to do is say the word Shazam, name of the magician who resides in the Rock of Eternity who also gave access to the powers to Captain Marvel, better known by the namesake of the magician. There is to face this immeasurable power Hawke Man (Adis Hodge), a man who owns a strange metal called NTH and has a brigade of characters or the Justice Society sent by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to form the Teth Adam threat. Our “hero” does not have much time to think, closed between two fires and between the sense of duty of having to save his people from the grip of mercenaries and having to manage Hawke Man and his companions.
Indomitable
Black Adam is truly an unstoppable power, difficult to manage in a film that, however, succeeds where it could have been an announced failure. In some ways it is more difficult to manage than Superman, having so many traits in common. Dwayne Johnson confirms himself as an actor out of the ordinaryable to assert himself for the muscles (which he has and are all his) and for his marked expressiveness that perhaps hits harder than his character, giving us humanity even where it shouldn’t be. The film is a beautiful photograph for a start, the start of a story that is added to the others already existing and mentioned at the beginning of the review. There are no zany jokes, the film manages to take itself seriously with a subtle lightness, it looks like a Black Adam comic if you’ve ever browsed one: in case it has never happened to you well, know that it is really printed paper in motion. Now the real question is this: will Warner be able to better manage such a delicate character? We will find out shortly.
Review
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Black Adam
7.5Final vote
It is the beginning of a new story for the general public, known by those who grew up on bread and DC Comics. Warner Bros packs a product that has the metric of the 90s but that changes everything thanks to the presence of an extraordinary The Rock and a magnificent Pierce Brosnan. It’s like seeing a comic in motion and it wasn’t easy to manage such a character on film: the result is good but nothing to cry out for a miracle. It remains to be seen how the DC cinematic universe will continue, otherwise enjoy this action movie without too much paranoia.
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