3.0 out of 5 star rating<\/span> <\/span> <\/div> <\/div> The fact that action-movie juggernaut Dwayne Johnson is making his cinematic superhero debut as Black Adam \u2013 a role he\u2019s coveted for years \u2013 has certainly whetted the appetite for this latest offering from the DC Extended Universe.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fair to say there\u2019s a lot riding on it, what with Warner Bros controversially canning the already completed Batgirl film earlier this year and dark clouds hovering over the production of the solo Flash film \u2013 due for release in 2023 \u2013 that will see Ezra Miller\u2019s scarlet speedster encounter Michael Keaton\u2019s version of Batman while hurtling through DC\u2019s version of the Multiverse.<\/p>\n
The original holder of the power of the wizard Shazam (bestowed upon young Billy Batson in the 2019 hit film of the same name), Teth-Adam lived some 5,000 years ago in the Middle Eastern nation of Kahndaq until a catastrophic confrontation with a tyrant king resulted in his disappearance.<\/p>\n
Cue Kahndaq in the present day and curious archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) who accidentally releases Johnson\u2019s incredible bulk from his millennia of entombment while trying to avoid the brutal mercenaries oppressing her country.<\/p>
But is this spandex-clad man mountain a saviour or a sinner? Well, first impressions indicate the latter as he lethally lays waste to Adrianna\u2019s pursuers and pretty much anything else that gets in his way, a super-charged rampage that soon attracts the attention of Suicide Squad head honcho Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) and the Justice Society of America, DC Comics\u2019 first super-team, here making its live-action bow.<\/p>\n
The Society \u2013 a predecessor to the Justice League \u2013 first appeared in the DC comics of the 1940s and included the wartime versions of the Flash, Atom and Green Lantern along with lesser-known \u201cmystery men\u201d such as Hawkman and Dr Fate.<\/p>\n
In the film, enigmatic sorcerer Dr Fate (played with dry aplomb by former 007 Pierce Brosnan, swapping his Walther PPK for a cape and a glistening gold helmet) and Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) act as mentors to size-changing Atom-Smasher (a charmingly klutzy Noah Centineo) and Quintessa Swindell\u2019s Cyclone, whose psychedelic wind powers only add to the team\u2019s visually imposing presence.<\/p>\n