Dwayne Johnson is – in more than one meaning of the phrase – one of the world’s biggest celebrities. The DC Extended Universe is one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. Thus, BLACK ADAM – which sees the wrestler-turned-actor make his DCEU debut as the titular anti-hero – is easily one of the biggest movies of 2022 and deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
Luckily, when the highly-anticipated comic book movie from director Jaume Collet-Serra is released in AMC Theatres on Friday, October 21, it will be available for DC fans and fans of The Rock alike to see in IMAX. However, if its A-list leading man or the iconic character he plays alone are not enough to convince you that BLACK ADAM is worth seeing in IMAX, allow us to show you why we think you would be missing out on something visually stunning with these three essential reasons below.
The Arrival Of Teth-Adam
The basic set-up for BLACK ADAM is as follows – many, many years ago in the oppressed nation of Kahndaq, an enslaved peasant was chosen by a council of powerful beings to be bestowed upon with an arsenal of extraordinary abilities and become their champion to bring much-needed justice to the world. It would be another 5,000 years before this being – known as Teth-Adam – would be awakened from his tomb to reignite hope in the people of Kahndaq, but also inspire fear for the rest of the world in others. For the audience, however, the moment in the movie when the title character’s slumber is interrupted is surely one to inspire another emotion: excitement.
Given his history as a professional wrestler, Dwayne Johnson certainly knows how to make a good entrance, and he puts this skill to good use – with help from some visual effects magic – when he makes his first official appearance as Teth-Adam. The champion wastes no time proving that he is not your average superhero in the way he absolutely lays waste to the group of ruthless mercenaries without hesitation and with a brutal use of his magical powers. Imagine if, instead of charging people’s phones in his 2019 solo film, Black Adam’s arch rival Shazam used his ability to manifest lightning for deadlier purposes, and this rousing sequence is kind of like that.
Superpowered Gunslinger
There is scene in BLACK ADAM when Teth-Adam wakes up in the apartment of the humans who found him – Sarah Shahi as Adrianna and Bodhi Sabongui as her young, comic books-obsessed son – and sees a television in the living room playing the climactic final standoff from Sergio Leone’s THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. Sometime later, while defending his new friends and other natives from oppressive military forces, the anti-hero appears to take inspiration from that iconic spaghetti western moment when facing off against two soldiers.
Imagine the hero of this three-way stand-off is equipped with a pair of lightning-emitting index fingers instead of six-shooters, and you, basically, have this memorably funny and explosive sequence. With how dark and brooding a character like Teth-Adam is, it is nice to see him break up the tension a bit with a tribute to a silver age classic that shines especially bright in IMAX.
Dr. Fate’s Majestic Fighting Style
Speaking of climactic moments, comic book movies often tend to live or die by their final act and the wall-to-wall action leading up to the conclusion of BLACK ADAM is certainly a winner. However, Teth-Adam is not hogging all the fun and is accompanied by the Justice Society of America – including Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone. Yet, the JSA member who really steals the show here is Doctor Fate, played by Pierce Brosnan.
In a pivotal moment in the film, the helmeted, clairvoyant sorcerer is forced to use the full strength of his magical abilities. It truly is a wonder to watch the former James Bond actor casting spells, creating eye-popping effects and going as far as multiplying himself into countless duplicates to increase his chances of success. Doctor Fate is practically a “society of justice” all on his own.
We really do mean it when we say that the action is non-stop and blissfully over-the-top from the very beginning all the way until the end of BLACK ADAM. Dwayne Johnson and co. will absolutely leave DC Comics fans and fans of special effects-driven action spectacles like this absolutely breathless. However, the best way to get the full benefit of this experience is from an IMAX screen at AMC Theatres. Hope to see you there!
BLACK ADAM
