Black Adam - 10/21/2022 (Spoilers)

[Dolfan in NYC]

 Let's get this it's own thread as well, since it's a couple of weeks away. 

[Ligerbusa]

So, have they ignored Black Adam releasing the Seven Deadly Sins from Shazam?

[tbarrie]

17 minutes ago, Ligerbusa said:

So, have they ignored Black Adam releasing the Seven Deadly Sins from Shazam?

I don't remember that. Was it a post-credits scene?

[BrianS81177]

5 minutes ago, tbarrie said:

I don't remember that. Was it a post-credits scene?

IIRC it was referenced when Billy first meets the old wizard. 

[odessasteps]

Spoiler

 

The creators thanked in the credits. Contains a spoiler I think everyone already knew 

[TheVileOne]

My thoughts on Black Adam: The Rock is the most boring part of the movie. JSA, especially Doctor Fate, were the best. Other than the fact that Amanda Waller appears to be their boss, which was head-scratching. LIke yes, the idea of connective tissue between DC movies is a good idea...but she's Amanda Waller. 

At times I thought I was watching a Scorpion King sequel. Really rushed, choppy editing. Jaume Collet-Serra also seemed to think the visual style of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, and 300 were brilliant. At times, the action is kind of like that, just with more of a sepia tint, so that might really the movie work for some people. 

Adrianna Tomaz has a son in the movie who is Black Adam's biggest fanboy, and he's annoying as hell. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by TheVileOne

[Bustronaut]

The silence in this thread is deafening.

[BrianS81177]

I enjoyed it well enough but it definitely could have been better. How you have someone as charismatic as The Rock be so stone faced for the vast bulk of his screen time is a little baffling. I liked all the JSA members though. Would definitely like to see them again.

[odessasteps]

One of the guys at work says he doesn’t want to see it because he can’t divorce it being THE ROCK. What I would call Tom Cruise Syndrome. You can’t forget it’s Tom Cruise when you’re watching the movie. 

im leaning toward waiting for HBO Max, although I’m curious to see this version of Dr Fate.

Edited October 23, 2022 by odessasteps

[Eivion]

I watch movies in theater mostly with my older brother and father so I probably won't be seeing anything in a theater until hopefully sometime next year since our father can't really walk right right now.

[Ligerbusa]

Black Adam was a 5.5 out of 10 for me. I just wanted cool fights and characters. The JSA is cool but the fights don’t really stop for the whole damn movie. And they want you to know that what you’re seeing is supposed to be EPIC. The music is loud and dramatic. You sort of become numb to everything. A big CG character shows up and it’s bad and then a whole army of CG shows up and they are lame as fuck. There’s some cringy music cues from famous songs. One they probably wish they could remove now. I would watch a Hawkman, Dr. Fate or JSA movie. Hopefully not with the director of Jungle Cruise and the writers of Rampage. Nice use of the Diamond Cutter symbol though.

[BrianS81177]

I would be totally down for a JSA movie. Add in a new Dr. Fate (since Brosnan was killed off), Wildcat, Hourman and maybe The Spectre, then have them fight some combination of Psycho Pirate, Ultra Humanite, Solomon Grundy and/or Vandal Savage.

*edit to add*

Of course if you do Grundy and/or Savage, you really should have Alan Scott

Edited October 24, 2022 by BrianS81177

[J.T.]

9 hours ago, BrianS81177 said:

I would be totally down for a JSA movie. Add in a new Dr. Fate (since Brosnan was killed off), Wildcat, Hourman and maybe The Spectre, then have them fight some combination of Psycho Pirate, Ultra Humanite, Solomon Grundy and/or Vandal Savage.

This is something I would definitely watch from DC which means it will probably never get made.

[odessasteps]

My worry would be Johns would be part of it since it’s the JSA. 

[BrianS81177]

14 hours ago, J.T. said:

This is something I would definitely watch from DC which means it will probably never get made.

Or they'll do a shitty version of it on the CW with a bunch of teenag... oh wait that already happened

[Marcel]

I think it's very telling that it's been mentioned several times here already that people left the movie wanting more Doctor Fate, Hawkman, and JSA rather than more Black Adam.

The movie was entertaining.  Definitely a big spectacle with good SFX - I wish the DC area had a Drive-In theater, as this is the kind of movie that would be perfect for it.  Don't see many rewatches in the future, though.

[madl]

22 hours ago, odessasteps said:

My worry would be Johns would be part of it since it’s the JSA. 

Imo, getting Johns involved would only help.  Don’t really understand why he’s so unpopular.  Different strokes for different folks and all that, but I rarely dislike a Johns-scripted project (comics, tv, etc.).  Apparently, I’m supposed to dislike him, but he’s probably my favorite comics writer.  Doesn’t hurt that he almost always works with great artists.

I’d like a JSA movie but only if it draws heavily from Johns run and brings Alan Scott and Jay Garrick into the DC Universe properly.  JSA without Jay and Alan isn’t JSA. I’m kind of concerned that Ezra Miller would find his way into a JSA movie.  No thanks.

I saw Black Adam over the weekend.  Lol, that’s my entire review.  Don’t really have  a strong opinion either way.  Thought it was uninspired.

Edited October 25, 2022 by madl

[TheVileOne]

His unpopularity stems from heading up DC films during the whole Justice League, Joss Whedon, Zack Snyder, and Ray Fisher debacle, plus allegations against him during that whole incident. 

This was also all this business about Krypton, but that show was garbage to begin with...so...

https://www.eonline.com/news/1256158/dc-films-exec-denies-ruling-out-rege-jean-page-for-krypton-role-because-of-his-race

My issues with Johns stem more from Blackest Night, bringing back Barry Allen, Brightest Day, Flashpoint, and New 52. 

[madl]

Fist enough.  I mostly meant I dunno why Johns’ comic work is unpopular.   I pay practically no attention to his involvement with DC films and series.  Johns’ DC books were getting bashed well before Krypton or the JL movie.  As a writer, I think Johns is great.  Not a universally-held opinion apparently.

 

[odessasteps]

My feelings on Johns largely soured due to an over reliance on hyperviolence and what to me are stupid retcons (largely the Rogues). And the Rainbow Lanterns. And Superboy Prime and most everything about that book.
 

I also think making your dead sister into a superhero is both cathartic for him and a little creepy. To be fair, I think the same thing with Loeb and Nova. But that’s definitely a YMMV issue . 

Edited November 2, 2022 by odessasteps

[madl]

1 hour ago, odessasteps said:

My feelings on Johns largely soured due to an over reliance on hyperviolence and what to me are stupid retcons (largely the Rogues). And the Rainbow Lanterns. And Superboy Prime and most everything about that book.
 

I also think making your dead sister into a superhero is both cathartic for him and a little creepy. To be fair, I think the same thing with Loeb and Nova. But that’s definitely a YMMV issue . 

Lol, I may have terrible taste in comics.  I enjoyed most all of the Johns books mentioned in the past few posts and really liked a lot of them.  Honestly, I really enjoyed Flashpoint and New 52.  New 52 is probably my favorite DC period.  Good mix of commercial books and experiential stuff.  New 52 produced a lot of runs I really enjoyed: Lemire’s Green Arrow run, Morrison’s Action run, Johns on Aquaman and Justice League, Grayson, Batwoman, etc.

I also enjoy most of Mark Millar’s output.  So, yeah, I realllyyyy suck.

[odessasteps]

Insert quote about some people liking vanilla and some liking chocolate. 
 

I largely gave up on DC when new 52 started. I don’t know if my (last?) column at the Beat explaining why I giving up on DC after 25 or 30 years, whatever it was, since they were rebooting everything and not just in Crisis/ZH style. 

i may not have read 10 series to completion that I enjoyed since then, apart from stuff done by people I know or things I needed to read for interviews or out of continuity things like Scooby Doo Team Up. 
 

but I love them releasing stuff digitally like Captain Carrot or SSOSV. 

[The Natural]

Unless Henry Cavill appears in The Flash and/or Aquaman and the List Kingdom, Black Adam will be his last appearance as Superman:

Leaving The Witcher, thinking he's back as Superman only for both to go away. Wasn't he the runner up to Daniel Craig getting cast as James Bond also? Bugger.

[TheVileOne]

This is partially The Rock's fault for giving Henry Cavill and the fans false hope. He spent so many years trying to get Black Adam off the ground, and it was a disappointment. It didn't do well enough to sell The Rock as a DC superhero or well enough to sell the promise of Cavill returning to the role.

In hindsight, bringing Cavill back does feel like a desperation move by The Rock.

[Casey]

The Rock wasn't a terrible Black Adam or anything, but I think his lane is something like Fast & Furious/Hobbs & Shaw. If he's playing a character people already know, you're more likely to get that whole "all I can see is the Rock playing ______". You'll likely still get that when he's playing someone like Hobbs, but it's less jarring. Pitfalls of being one of the most known celebrities in the world, I guess. I'm sure he wipes his tears with a wad of $100 bills at night.

Anyway, it's whatever, I didn't pay money to watch this (not my HBO Max sub) so the most I lost was two hours of my life. This movie was a lot better when it was Black Adam vs Hawkman w/ Cyclone (Atom Smasher being an idiot in the distance, and Dr. Fate just being a sarcastic know-it-all). Then they introduced the villain in the last, what, 25 minutes, and it just sucked after that.

Black Adam teaming up or facing Superman does nothing for me. Black Adam versus Shazam does, because I think Zachary Levi and The Rock would have fun chemistry. It's too bad we probably won't get that. But whatever, DC isn't really my thing.

I was surprised that Emilia Harcourt made an appearance.

TLDR: Give me more Dr. Fate. The rest is whatever.