Black Adam

[Wor-Gar]

No one wants to be Black Adam.

 

[spindrift]

Watched the first twenty minutes. ..so HAPPY i did not pay to see this in the theater. Reminded me of the DC tv show Legends of Tomorrow or whatever it was called. Really bad. Looks like a tv show. JSA of America just came on and that was it- how are we supposed to even care where they came from or what they mean in this BA universe? I will watch the rest but yeah BA trying to look so bad a** in every shot- sort of funny in a way. What a misfire.

 

[Wor-Gar]

so HAPPY i did not pay to see this in the theater.

Seems like the consistent opinion here.

Is this one of those failed movies with a high RT score?


EDIT:

Ouch! And what's wrong with the "Audience"...?

39%
TOMATOMETER288 Reviews
88%
AUDIENCE SCORE

 

[e30ernest]

Seems like the consistent opinion here.

Is this one of those failed movies with a high RT score?


EDIT:

Ouch! And what's wrong with the "Audience"...?

39%
TOMATOMETER288 Reviews
88%
AUDIENCE SCORE

I think the Audience Score represents the feedback here accurately too. Early on the movie's theatrical release, the feedback here was positive too.

 

[Wor-Gar]

I think the Audience Score represents the feedback here accurately too. Early on the movie's theatrical release, the feedback here was positive too.

Was it?

I have to admit, when a new movie opens, this is definitely the worst place to come to get an honest opinion of a movie.

 

[e30ernest]

Was it?

I have to admit, when a new movie opens, this is definitely the worst place to come to get an honest opinion of a movie.

Yeah. Reactions from the Freaks start at page 7 of this thread.

Jye apparently enjoyed it.

It was fun!

 

[jye4ever]

Yeah. Reactions from the Freaks start at page 7 of this thread.

Jye apparently enjoyed it.

I still think it was fun not bad considering the screen writer just turned 9 years old.

 

[Khev]

Holy crap

 

[KitbashOfficer]

Watched the first twenty minutes. ..so HAPPY i did not pay to see this in the theater. Reminded me of the DC tv show Legends of Tomorrow or whatever it was called. Really bad. Looks like a tv show. JSA of America just came on and that was it- how are we supposed to even care where they came from or what they mean in this BA universe? I will watch the rest but yeah BA trying to look so bad a** in every shot- sort of funny in a way. What a misfire.

I thought the first third/act was bad but each one gets better after that for a satisfying finish, but still: these Superhero writers glaringly miss by a wide margin. Movies are almost as bad as music these days.

 

[JMT1979]

I liked the movie just fine. It's not a masterpiece, but it kept me entertained for two hours, and was better than a lot of other superhero movies (not hard), the Star Wars ST, TPM and AOTC.

 

[T8OO]

Was it?

I have to admit, when a new movie opens, this is definitely the worst place to come to get an honest opinion of a movie.

I suppose in the very beginning you have a mix of people that are big fans and people who don't want to admit they wasted their time. Even subconsciously.

 

[Dave_W]

RT Critic/Audience Scores

GOTG - 92/92

GOTG2 - 85/87

TSS - 90/82

GOTG Holiday Special - 93/80

Peacemaker - 94/89

So (audience wise) he peaked with GOTG and he's been getting worse ever since with PM being the anomaly?

 

[Khev]

Just an FYI that BA is out on 4K disc today for any who wanted to give up some of their finances in order to permanently own a physical copy of this movie.

 

[JMT1979]

Just an FYI that BA is out on 4K disc today for any who wanted to give up some of their finances in order to permanently own a physical copy of this movie.

Thanks - ultra super duper special limited deluxe steelbook edition in 4k purchased.

 

[snoop101]

If we were getting the Black Adam Vs Superman showdown we were promised, I’d gladly buy the physical copy.

 

[Victοr]

No one wants to be Black Adam.

DC and Marvel both had two classic anti-heroes/villains with similar designs make their debut in movies this year. Both got redesigned. One became The Rock™ and the other was changed on such a level that beyond some superficial similarities, he's an entirely different character. One was billed as a "cool new anti-hero who doesn't play by the rules" and was ultimately just a milquetoast goody-two-shoes with some PG edge. The other was literally ready to commit genocide to protect his land. KuKulKan/Manletmor takes this, hands down.

For my money comic Black Adam was cool (and has a pretty decent comic by Christopher Priest out right now, though you should wait for it to finish before giving it a read if you want to do so), but DCEU Adam was just Johnson. And the costume is dreadful. Even worse pleather than the MCU stuff. I'm always game for Ancient Aliens/Sci-Fi takes on real cultures, but BA completely dropped the ball. Everything looked cheap. I brought up Manletmot earlier because the comparison was inevitable. Adam was always Magical MENA Namor in design and demeanor. Comparing Adam's cheap tacticool costume with KuKulKan's attire is a landslide win for the latter. I've voiced my thoughts on Manletmor multiple times, but as I've said before, divorced from the source, MCU's The Virgin was a cool character with a cool look. Rooted in a real world culture, with some fantastical elements and topped off by an interesting performance and character. DCEU Adam was as generic as they come. Maybe Gunn's restructure will bring forth another Adam...

In the end, all capes have to be cool to appeal to kids. Adam was cool enough, but in a very generic way. Fate was just suave Brosnan. Hawkman was... as boring as watching paint dry. Dreamworks Kang was less annoying and more lively (God, I can't believe I wrote that). Compare that with KuKulKan, his ****-eating grin, his DBZ flight and genuine threat. Were I a kid watching these movies now, and had to pick between the two Vegetas of Marvel and DC, I'd have easily chosen Namor.

Look at all that swa- No, wait, the kids these days say "drip". Although that was some years ago. I don't know, the headdress and cape are cool, whatever, you get my point.

Underwater Aztec isn't Namor, and the actor is flabby, but he's cooler than The Rock playing the Scorpion King after 20+ years but this time he's got magic lasers and roid veins.

Oh yeah, the movie itself. I, uh...

The hierarchy of power in DC sure changed. BA killed it all so now there's no hierarchy at all.

 

[Khev]

Victor are you sure you're allowed to post a gif of such large and soft bare breasts, lol.

 

[Victοr]

Victor are you sure you're allowed to post a gif of such large and soft bare breasts, lol.

Good point. I should've followed The Hannibal Protocol; "Free The Gore, Blur The Nipple".

Spoiler

Ban Hammer, descent at will. I accept my sentence.

 

[jedibear]

Tried streaming this last night. Made it in about 20 minutes or so (Pierce Brosnan showed up School for the gifted or whatever the heck that was...could have sworn I heard him ask the driver "Did the check clear?"). I'll try and get back to it later.

It's not bad, it's just...there.
The cast seems game, for what they're given. The Tomb Raider girl is the best of the lot. The main problem is every character reminds you of someone else from another superhero movie...it's distracting. The effects are well-rendered but very video-gamey looking. The director is trying for a Snyder vibe by way of Roland Emmerich and the results evaporate as you watch. The music is very anonymous sounding.

The strangest and most disengaging part (so far) is...Johnson. He comes across as just another special effect. Swooping, zipping, throwing. No character, nothing. For a movie called Black Adam where he plays BLACK ADAM, he barely registers.

I'll give the rest of it a go next time I've channel-surfed myself into boredom and see if it gets any more interesting, but my hopes are low.

 

[MeatHookGekko]

DC and Marvel both had two classic anti-heroes/villains with similar designs make their debut in movies this year. Both got redesigned. One became The Rock™ and the other was changed on such a level that beyond some superficial similarities, he's an entirely different character. One was billed as a "cool new anti-hero who doesn't play by the rules" and was ultimately just a milquetoast goody-two-shoes with some PG edge. The other was literally ready to commit genocide to protect his land. KuKulKan/Manletmor takes this, hands down.

You know, upon second glance, Namor kind of looks like Serpentor there.

I mean if there was a live action version of GI Joe RAH on Telemundo, it would totally fit.

I think the situation with Black Adam and Wakanda Forever was both more simple and more complex at the same time. They were movies that lots of people just didn't really want. That might the problem with the era of superhero movies and the inevitable saturation point - We've seen just about all of it before, and there's not too much new road left.

I remember the first time I saw Blade in the late 90's. I was completely entranced the entire time. Even Stephen Dorff's goofy/crappy/gutless performance didn't ruin it for me. There was nothing like it at the time. Now, we are at a point where Avengers Endgame was the big money shot, and lots of these other films are basically cycling through the motions.

If The Rock wants to be taken seriously as an actor, he has to consider things like The Boys or Invincible, but to him, that would be a step down, to do TV. But the real open ground for complex superhero stories will inevitably end up in long form formats like prestige TV series. If you get a relatively unknown character, and mostly middling actor in the lead, there's just not much you can do in 2 and a half hours.

I wonder how long it will take The Rock to figure it out. A lot of people like The Rock, they don't like the the most "marketable persona" he keeps trying to sell to people. He turned his back on all the interesting parts of himself that got him famous in the first place.

So when I get to a superhero movie that probably isn't going to be a really good film, I just fast forward to the action sequences. Black Adam I watched all the way through, but in retrospect, like many other films, I should have just skipped to the fighting. If a movie doesn't grip me in the first 10-15 minutes, I usually fast forward to the spectacle.