October 26, 2022 – D.C. Comics, the creators of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Shazam and many others, has struggled, in recent years, to keep up with the success of Marvel Studios when it comes to superhero blockbuster movies. “Black Adam” is the latest D.C. attempt to expand its own cinematic universe.

Black Adam has been around since 1945 in D.C. Comics. Originally, a villain, the character later evolved into an anti-hero, a bit like a cross between Batman the the Black Panther. One of the world's biggest stars, Dwayne Johnson, plays the title character in the movie as a being with godlike powers and a tragic past. His powers were bestowed upon him by the same wizard who empowered Shazam (this movie is a spinoff of the superior 2019 film “Shazam!”).

Black Adam is considered a national hero from the distant past by many in the ill-defined nation of Kahndaq, now tyrannized by and ill-defined army of mercenaries. On a quest to recover a hidden source of great power, the long lost Crown of Sabbac, archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz (played by Sarah Shahi of “Old School”) uses an incantation to summon Black Adam from his tomb to protect her and her brother, Karim (Mohammed Amer) from mercenaries trying to steal the crown.

Although Black Adam does protect Adrianna and her son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) he proves to be a loose cannon, causing widespread death and destruction. The Justice Society of America (JSA) is summoned to contain Black Adam, resulting in more destruction. The JSA is led by Hawkman (Aldis Hodge of “One Night in Miami”) assisted by Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell of “Voyagers”) Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo of “To All the Boys I've Loved Before”) and the enigmatic Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan of “Die Another Day”).

The JSA, and others, reveal that Black Adam was not entombed, but imprisoned long ago because he had gone crazy seeking vengeance for the murder of his family. Black Adam proves too powerful for the JSA to contain, but it turns out he is needed after all. A new threat arises with Adrianna's associate Ishmael (Marwan Kenzari of “Aladdin”) who manages to steal the Crown of Sabbac and thereby obtain great power. Only Black Adam, with the aid of the JSA, can stop him.

The plot of the movie is actually a lot more complex than the brief summary above, but suffice it to say that despite all that, this movie consists largely of visual effects extravaganzas and lots of superhero battles. This is a movie about brute force, supernatural powers, posturing, and good and evil. It is not about science, intelligence, logic or problem solving abilities. There is humanity, morality and family values, which underlie much of the story.

Black Adam is, in a way, a hero for modern times in America, at least for those who want to take the law into their own hands, tear down this country and remake it into something more like Russia or China. This is a man of unlimited power who lacks the moral restraint of a hero like Superman. He does not stand for “truth, justice and the American Way.” It is not clear just what he does stand for, but it probably isn't white supremacy.

There is an old saying (from Lord Acton in 1887) that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That kind of corruption is a danger which can be glimpsed in this movie, and is on full display in Russia and the Ukraine. What does Black Adam really want and where is he going with this? We'll have to wait for the next movie to find out. This film rates a C+.

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