Black Adam

 Welp, Shazam's not coming for Christmas. He'll have to face the Fury of the Gods in March. Before that, meaning now, his archnemesis Black Adam headlines his own movie with Dwayne Johnson as the now-antihero. Let's see how this works. 

Teth-Adam was a slave in the Middle Eastern nation of Kahndaq. The Council of Wizards gives him the power of Shazam, which he uses to go on a vengeful rampage. They seal him away after that. He's released in modern times to battle the evil Intergang, who occupy Kahndaq as they search for the Macguffin, the Crown of Sabbac. The people of Kahndaq are grateful for his return. The Justice Society doesn't take kindly to his killing bad guys. He doesn't consider himself a hero, but he'll gladly kill anyone who opposes him. We'll see how he becomes a nobler anti-hero over the course of 124 minutes.

Johnson's Jungle Cruise director, Jaumet Collet-Saura, visualizes a script by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani. This is a visual movie full of shocking villain deaths and spectacular superpowers. The former is epitomized by Black Adam's rampage once he's set free. The latter is epitomized by the Justice Society, which consist of Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), Atom-Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan). Their dazzling superpowers are complimented by their attire designed by the duo of Kurt and Bart. Now that I think about it, the overall tone is somewhat uneven. But it's still a great looking film. It's also a great sounding film when you factor in Lorne Balfe's grand score.

The actual script is pretty decent. A lot of its heavy exposition is in the prologue, though it's not that heavy. Once that's done, the plot moves pretty quickly. I'd say it's a half-hour by the time the Justice Society gets involved. There's an interesting twist about Adam's history that I didn't allude to. His protestations that he's no hero take a legitimately tragic turn once the twist hits. Sure, it raises some questions about when Shazam alluded to him, but I get their intentions. The film heavily favors heroes willing to kill, though it gives the no kill heroes a fair shake. One might find the basic plot too familiar, but I found it anything but boring.

It helps that Johnson is compelling as Adam. He's much kinder than he thinks he is. His time with Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Sihi), the resistance fighter who released him, and her family, gives him that much needed humanization. It pays off when he relinquishes his power at one point. It's satisfying once he commits to using his destructive power on those that truly deserve it. The Justice Society, meanwhile, have great chemistry with each other and Adam. Marwan Kenzari is fine as Ishmael, the duplicitous leader of Intergang and the later host of the demon Sabbac. Perhaps the biggest standout is the guest star in the mid-credits scene. My screening erupted in applause once he showed up.

Black Adam was introduced in the comics as Shazam's opposite. But this film makes him a compelling independent antihero. That's enough to make me anticipate his cinematic future. Let's hope he'll meet Shazam, even for a chat. For now, let's hope that Shazam: Fury of the Gods sticks to its current date. This film makes me anticipate that one more than ever.