Black Adam review - a thrilling, action packed crusade

If I had to name an actor – any actor – who had not played a superhero or been in a superhero/comic-book movie and should, Dwayne Johnson would be amongst them. Well, he’s not amongst them anymore, since he is starring as the title character in this latest flick from DC and New Line Cinema. Jaume Collet-Serra directs this era-spanning epic from a script by Adam Szytkiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Nirshivani, which tells the story of Teth-Adam (Johnson), who lived in the Middle Eastern-inspired nation of Kahndaq during ancient times, and was imprisoned after killing the tyrannical king Ahk-Ton.

 Millennia later, Sarah Shahi’s archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz frees him and together with her son Amon (who I will call Skateboard Boy), brother Karim and the Justice Society of America (fronted by a Black Hawkman, played by Aldis Hodge), they set to protect a crown made of the substance eternium from the oppressive militant group Intergang. Note that this is the same crown that belonged to Akh-Ton – and it is no ordinary crown either. It has the ability to summon the power of the underworld, and our heroes (and anti-hero) have to ensure that it stays out of Intergang’s hands. But to do so, Teth-Adam will have to co-operate with the JSA as they discuss how best to deal with the soldiers they are fighting. What ensues is a combination of epic CGI-heavy battles, verbal combats and plenty of quips and gags abound. Skateboard Boy serves as the superhero fanboy who tries to encourage Adam to be a superhero, while Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) provides funny moments to break the tension and intensity. Add in some references to their rivals Marvel, and a cameo from a certain A-list hero, and you have a thrilling, action-packed adventure that provides various set-ups for future adventures from these characters. It seems as if DC is on track for more great movies like these.