Ann reviews BLACK ADAM:
Black Adam
I think Black Adam is one of the best superhero films.
It's on HBO MAX now, by the way, if you haven't seen it.
Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) stars as Black Adam who is imprisoned until a woman utters the phrase "Shazam!"
The film picks up threads first dropped in Batman Vs Superman -- there are people being harmed. The cameras ate there for the hero knocking some bad person through a building but not there for all the people in that building who suffer.
The character I hate most in Black Adam is not the villain Ishmael (played by Marwan Kenzari). The character I hated the most was Aldis Hodge's Hawkman.
He's the buttinski.
That's what it's about, what the film is about.
Kandar is taken over by mercenaries and militaries -- Australian to smooth feelings, but, yeah, it should be US forces.
Hawkeye brings Dr. Fate, Cyclone and Atom Smasher to Kandar after Black Adam re-emerges there after 5,000 years.
As Sarah Shahi's Adrianna repeatedly tells Hawkeye and company, Kandar's been occupied and terrorized for years now and the Justice Society never showed up to help. Now that Black Adam is helping, the JS of America shows up to stop Black Adam.
It really can be seen for what it is: A commentary on justice, on who gets protection and on what empires label 'peace.'
Hawkeye and the JSA are all wrong. The butt in. They ignore reality for over a decade and then show up to butt in.
It really makes some important points and does so with plenty of action and lots of humor.
I strongly recommend Black Adam. There aren't a lot of films I loved this year. I loved Bros and I love Black Adam.
This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"