By Venessa Anthony
The movie Black Adam, the latest in the DC franchise, opening with $ 67 million in the US and $ 140 million worldwide, recently premiered in Sri Lanka. The movie, set in the fictional city of Kahndaq, follows the story of Teth Adam (played by Dwayne Johnson), who was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods.
After using these powers for vengeance, he is imprisoned, becoming “Black Adam”. Nearly 5,000 years pass, and he goes from man to myth to legend. Now free, his unique form of justice, born of rage, is challenged by modern-day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman (played by Aldis Hodge), Dr. Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell).
We personally found Black Adam to be one of the best DC movies in a while. Dwayne Johnson at his best carried the entire movie on his shoulders. The background music was notably amazing, and has a slight resemblance to the Moon Knight theme. We would definitely say it was worth watching in the theatre and you won’t be tempted to check your watch or mobile phone in between; it’s intense from beginning to end with some fun-loving conversations between the characters.
Audiences are having fun with this movie, with a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, the highest for a DC movie in a decade, besting such films as Joker (88%) and The Batman (87%).
Plot
For its first third, it presents its title character – a champion who challenged a despotic king thousands of years earlier – as a frightening and unknowable force with a bottomless appetite for destruction. Known by his ancient moniker Teth Adam, his re-emergence from a desert tomb proves both a miracle and a curse for people who prayed for someone to defend them against corporate mercenary thugs who have oppressed them for decades and strip-mined their land.
Throughout the rest of its running time, Black Adam makes the predictable shift of its title character’s evolution into a hero, but it keeps the edge that sets him apart from his counterparts in the film, creating a somewhat different tone.
We found it refreshing that the movie does not insist, despite evidence to the contrary, that Adam and the superheroes brought in to confront him are wonderful people with pure motives who always mean well. When they discuss their motivations and tactics, none of the characters seem entirely right or wrong, which adds some edge to the movie by seating it firmly in a moral grey area.
All in all, Black Adam gives the audience everything they could want with this movie, with hints of the unexpected.
