Black Adam (2021)

[The Dark Knight]

The old comics and our own memories are the last resting place for the character now. Because we simply cannot trust what comes next. Case in point this image from the new animated series.



A sissy soyboy cowering as the masculine Lois stands tall, with racebended Jimmy looking on. Modern culture has smeared the construct of Superman and made him even more of a left wing fantasy for my liking. An illegal alien who works for a fake news publication with the American Way tagline officially scrapped. Superman is seen as a mascot for America, which explains the way he's depicted now. It's all about Globalization not patriotism and diversity bingo. It all feels too much like a lesson in reeducation rather than entertainment.

[thecolorsblend]

jfc

[The Laughing Fish]

Aside from the inspiring casting of Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, I feel Black Adam is going to be generic. One trailer borrows the flat humour you'd normally see in MCU movies (no big surprise seeing as this is the last movie produced by Hamada), the other borrows a lot of imagery from MOS and X-Men.

The Rock has been promoting this movie as "the hierarchy of the DC Universe is about to change". If he truly thinks Black Adam is going to replace Superman in terms of popularity then he is sorely mistaken. Massive ego he has going there.

The hype surrounding this film is pretty low, from what I can tell. If Henry Cavill were to return as Superman for one scene then maybe it could salvage its box office?

If I ever see Black Adam, it will likely be when it streams online. Otherwise, I don't have any plans to go see it at the cinema.

[The Laughing Fish]

So, the Henry Cavill Superman cameo rumours have resurfaced again. Word going around is he appears in the blue and red suit, with the John Williams theme playing in the background as he confronts Black Adam during a post-credits scene.

If that's true then that's lazy nostalgia bait. Reverting back to the traditional costume colours is one thing, but going back to the Williams theme is tiresome and doesn't fit. Yes, the Williams theme is be a beloved classic, but it's frustrating how Superman is stuck with the same theme all the time. Love or hate it, Batman is allowed to have multiple and distinctive musical themes for each interpretation. But Superman music isn't allowed to change. Why?

If the Cavill rumour is true then surely this means he has a future again and his own Superman sequel is not too far from becoming reality. The question is, what sort of Superman should we expect? If it's not a return to the Snyderverse version, are we looking at a soft reboot?

You know, the prospects for Black Adam sound pretty dire if the hype surrounding the film is all focused on whether or not Cavill makes a five-second cameo. But if it turns out false like how his expected appearance at SDCC didn't turn out then I will laugh out loud.

[The Laughing Fish]

So, the Henry Cavill Superman cameo rumours have resurfaced again. Word going around is he appears in the blue and red suit, with the John Williams theme playing in the background as he confronts Black Adam during a post-credits scene.

If that's true then that's lazy nostalgia bait. Reverting back to the traditional costume colours is one thing, but going back to the Williams theme is tiresome and doesn't fit. Yes, the Williams theme is be a beloved classic, but it's frustrating how Superman is stuck with the same theme all the time. Love or hate it, Batman is allowed to have multiple and distinctive musical themes for each interpretation. But Superman music isn't allowed to change. Why?

If the Cavill rumour is true then surely this means he has a future again and his own Superman sequel is not too far from becoming reality. The question is, what sort of Superman should we expect? If it's not a return to the Snyderverse version, are we looking at a soft reboot?

You know, the prospects for Black Adam sound pretty dire if the hype surrounding the film is all focused on whether or not Cavill makes a five-second cameo. But if it turns out false like how his expected appearance at SDCC didn't turn out then I will laugh out loud.

Oh...

[The Dark Knight]

WB string fans along with Cavill-less cameos that won't lead anywhere for him because they have already moved on with Supergirl and a black Superman movie. That's why Cavill isn't featuring in these cameos. They washed their hands of the guy long ago and just need the iconography of the suit before The Flash movie rips things apart.

As Batman said in Returns, "things change." And in this instance dramatically so.

On one hand, I can't help but see The Rock's demeanor as egotistical despite his assertion of looking out purely for the fans. I've never been much of a fan, nor did I ever see his appeal as 'the next Arnold Schwarzenegger' type leading man. But if he has fought to bring back Cavill's Superman long term, an incarnation I long believed to be dead in the water, I have to acknowledge that. If Cavill's only entry point back onto the big screen has to be via a Rock vehicle, so be it. Even better if the black Superman projects have been put on ice, and any possible future DCEU Superman stories avoid that level of brazen politically correct statements and instead aim for crowd pleasing entertainment.

[Gotham Knight]

Black Adam, unsurprisingly, has been classified officially as a flop, and inside talk asserts that there will not be a sequel.

[The Dark Knight]

'The world needed a hero. It got Flop Adam'. 

Flop Adam is another black eye, particularly to Johnson. He was front and centre pushing this thing and the box office response can be seen as a rejection of not just the DCEU but him too. He's not as popular as he thinks he is.

Johnson spoke a lot of trash in the lead up to the film's release, and afterwards he's been meek and making excuses. After a lot of teasing about future plans, a sequel is dead on arrival and one wasn't deserved anyway. In the aftermath you can see a lot of his strategy was built on pressuring the studio with public comments and hoping for the best, with nothing concrete set in stone. The flop didn't help his cause at all, and Johnson is trying to claim merchandising makes the film profitable. Sir, you are grasping at straws and know it's all about the box office take.

Johnson was more eager to talk about the ten second Superman cameo than the preceding two hours of content, as if he knew that was the only hook he had to generate any form of excitement. But Cavil's future now seemingly in rigor mortis (along with everyone else in the Snyder continuity) makes the cameo pointless now. Besides, people saw it on YouTube without even having to enter a cinema.

Cavill never had a contract in place when he put the video out. What a farcical way to bow out of the franchise - being guillotined after saying he's back. Johnson may have had a degree of influence before, but with Gunn in place he's pulling the strings. A hard reboot looks certain.

[Gotham Knight]

'The world needed a hero. It got Flop Adam'. 

Flop Adam is another black eye, particularly to Johnson. He was front and centre pushing this thing and the box office response can be seen as a rejection of not just the DCEU but him too. He's not as popular as he thinks he is.

Johnson spoke a lot of trash in the lead up to the film's release, and afterwards he's been meek and making excuses. After a lot of teasing about future plans, a sequel is dead on arrival and one wasn't deserved anyway. In the aftermath you can see a lot of his strategy was built on pressuring the studio with public comments and hoping for the best, with nothing concrete set in stone. The flop didn't help his cause at all, and Johnson is trying to claim merchandising makes the film profitable. Sir, you are grasping at straws and know it's all about the box office take.

Johnson was more eager to talk about the ten second Superman cameo than the preceding two hours of content, as if he knew that was the only hook he had to generate any form of excitement. But Cavil's future now seemingly in rigor mortis (along with everyone else in the Snyder continuity) makes the cameo pointless now. Besides, people saw it on YouTube without even having to enter a cinema.

Cavill never had a contract in place when he put the video out. What a farcical way to bow out of the franchise - being guillotined after saying he's back. Johnson may have had a degree of influence before, but with Gunn in place he's pulling the strings. A hard reboot looks certain.

It felt like a movie from 1996, too much action, not enough story, and even then the moral of the story is that Adam has nothing to learn, actually, the heroes are wrong, and Dr Fate has to give Adam a b***job at the end just to make sure that you understand that. Adrianna Tomaz is on the one hand concerned what her son learns from Adam and on the other can't stop being his cheerleader. Even at the end when Hawkeye tries to inject some spark of rebuttal, she's there to stomp on it again "No, we will not learn anything from this. Thank you."

[The Laughing Fish]

Black Adam, unsurprisingly, has been classified officially as a flop.

This article by Deadline argues otherwise.

https://deadline.com/2022/12/dwayne-johnson-black-adam-box-office-profit-1235191135/

I haven't seen this film, so I have no personal investment in its success or failure. But I really doubt the Rock is THAT stupid to boast Black Adam's franchise potential if the revenue wasn't forthcoming.