In a World…
Where two competing franchises battle it out to draw the most viewers to their movies, one of the greatest box-office-draws of his age throws in his lot with the underdog and stars in a tale of justice, vengeance, and a desperate need for freedom. But is this megastar the Rock upon which this franchise can build a solid foundation?
This month, Eve and I return to the superhero genre but cross the border from Marvel to D.C. as we review Dwayne Johnson’s new movie, Black Adam.
Black Adam tells the story of Teth-Adam, a super-powered being who has been asleep for 5,000 years. He has lived on in the memory of his country as a champion for the oppressed. However, when he awakens in modern-day Kahndaq, he finds a world that is very different and much the same as the one he left behind. The brutal existence of his past informs his brutality. His quick and deadly “justice,” appropriate for the past he was born into, is very inappropriate for the modern day. Yet, Black Adam asks us to consider the question: Is it necessary?
The score is an appropriate single-themed crossover between pop and symphonic by Lorne Balfe.
First Impressions
DC movies really do have a different take on flavor and presentation than Marvel movies, and Black Adam highlighted that fact. While it had a fair amount of funny moments, the characters carry an intensity that makes the DCU feel slightly darker than the MCU.
Black Adam has a wonderful cast. Not only does it star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but it also brings two of our personal favorites: Aldis Hodge, who we first loved in the role of the hacker on Leverage, and Pierce Brosnan, a man who should have his picture in the dictionary next to the entry for debonair.
This movie does highlight how much similarity there is between Marvel and D.C. heroes. Marvel has Doctor Strange, and D.C. has Dr. Fate; Marvel has Falcon, and D.C. has Hawkman. The resemblance tells of a deep and fascinating history between the two companies.
For me, Dwayne Johnson’s performance was the movie’s weakest link. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Johnson’s performances and his excellent comic timing. He brings both to Black Adam. But I think this movie could have benefited from a more authentic representation of the tortured character that the film portrayed. Aside from one line in the ancient Kahndaqi tongue, for the rest of the movie, he is simply The Rock in another movie. There was great potential for emotional depth and anachronistic confusion, but Johnson didn’t present any of it for whatever reason. Instead, his angst was limited to the phrase, “I am not a hero.” This could have been a growth role for the actor but ended up being an opportunity missed.
There was also a bit of comedy at the expense of believability. Physics and materials are even more loosely consistent than the average superhero movie. Teth-Adam’s strength and speed seem more affected by plot needs than by any ancient power. At one point, the comic relief plays with an ancient artifact that two of his compatriots died to retrieve. Have a crown that is destined to destroy the world? Why not wear it while watching spaghetti westerns? Still, none of this was bad enough to significantly take away from the movie’s enjoyability. They are just things that could have taken this movie from “good” to “exceptional.”
Finally, I like that Black Adam asks hard questions and doesn’t gloss over them. While I may disagree with the answers to which they arrive, they allow us to discuss them and come to our own conclusions. That is an excellent part about movies; they enable us to ask hard questions and let us ponder the answers within the confines of a fantasy space.
–Spoiler Warning–
What is Justice?
The legend to which the people of Kahndaq look is one of a champion that vanquishes oppressors and sets the nation free. The truth is darker, though. The recipient of the wizards’ power for truth and justice was originally Teth-Adam’s son, Hurut. This idealistic teen slave was convinced that a united people could throw off the yoke of their oppressors. Snatched away by the council of wizards as the execution axe swung, they imbued the boy with the powers of Shazam. When Hurut returned to his home, he found his mother dead and his father dying. In an effort to save his father, he transferred the power of Shazam to him. The transformation healed his wounds, but before the power could be transferred back, the king’s archers shot Hurut through the heart from where they hid.
Teth-Adam, in his rage, went to the palace and released all his power in a devastating explosion, killing hundreds of people. The people of Kahndaq don’t know the end of the story, but the Justice Society does. This potential for devastation is why they are sent to contain this threat.
When they arrive, though, their more civilized methods of dealing with criminals are met with boos and hisses from the people of Kahndaq. At the same time, Teth-Adam’s merciless slaughter of those who stand in his way is cheered.
The movie presents competing ideas of justice and how it should be dispensed. Teth-Adam believes he is vengeance and justice incarnate. The Justice Society believes justice is their job. Still, they are at the beck and call of the amoral director Waller.
It is possible that Teth-Adam, given his background as a terribly oppressed slave, would only understand a justice born out of overwhelming violence. This is the kind of justice that the people of Kahndaq crave. For years and years, they have been mercilessly oppressed by Intergang, and they want blood for blood.
The Justice society, however, has a more western, civilized view of justice, including arrest, trial, and conviction. But who will play the role of the government when it is the government that oppresses?
The most incongruent element of the movie is how the Justice Society, seemingly without cause, assumes that Teth-Adam is a supervillain. So they attack first and demand subjugation later.
Biblical justice vs human justice
When it comes to a biblical idea of justice, it is both simple and complicated. We know that God’s justice is perfect and inescapable. Therefore, we don’t need to worry that He will not get it right.
Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay. In time their foot will slip, for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.” (Deuteronomy 32:35)
But humanity’s justice is very, very complicated. We live in a fallen age, and true justice in a fallen world is unachievable.
One of the core tenants of the Black Adam movie philosophy is that justice often requires violence to be complete. It points to heroes who save the bad guys in order to see them prosecuted and imprisoned and calls them “wusses!” It argues that a corrupt and fallen government cannot be trusted to implement true justice. The entire argument can be boiled down to the idea, “We know better.” Justice is a concept on two levels: governmental and personal.
Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It ever has been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit. (“The Federalist,” No. 51)
Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. (Romans 13:1-3)
Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)
We have to accept that, in this world, we can only ever pursue imperfect justice. Not only should we be trying to, but we are commanded to crave justice in the Law:
“Do not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly. Do not go about spreading slander among your people; do not jeopardize your neighbor’s life; I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:15)
Justice executed is a joy to the righteous but a terror to evildoers. (Proverbs 21:15)
Like so many places, the New Testament expands our understanding of the purpose of the law:
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. (Romans 12:19–20)
The Thin Line Between Hero and Villain
Throughout the movie, Teth-Adam never claims the mantle of “hero.” Instead, he emphatically corrects people who call him one. In reality, even our definitions of a hero are tainted by original sin. In fantasy, just as in reality, we have people who seek to do “good,” but even their motives are tainted. In the end, we have to remember that, without Christ, we cannot be good—no matter how hard we try.
The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
No matter how determined someone may be to DO good, the first judge they have is their heart, and that cannot be trusted.
Hawkman’s Black-and-White Worldview
Aldis Hodge’s character of Hawkman has a fanatic worldview on good and evil. Once he has determined which side of the equation a person falls on, he acts accordingly. But his action is unmoderated by any gray areas. If he believes you are good, he will support you wholeheartedly. He will fight you with all his remarkable strength if he thinks you are evil.
This worldview assumes absolute knowledge and understanding that we cannot have. It is among the reasons that we are warned against judging others.
“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. (Matthew 7:1-2)
The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24)
Innocence
Teth-Adam’s son, Hurut, was an idealist who seemed to have great potential to lead the men and women of Kahndaq to freedom. He sought to oppose those who enslaved him and his father even as a child.
Later on in the timeline of the movie, we meet Amon, son of Adrianna, who yearns for a return to the age of heroes. He dreams of a super-powered hero, like Teth-Adam, to come and free the people of modern-day Kahndaq.
There is a scene in the movie where Teth-Adam asks Adrianna, “Who do you want to teach [your son] violence?” The line is funny in context. After all, Teth-Adam has practically been violence-incarnate since he was woken. But in 3,000 B.C., violence might well have been synonymous with strength. In effect, Teth-Adam was just as likely asking, “Who do you want to teach [your son how to be a strong protector]?”
That seems a much more reasonable question. Adrianna is a single parent, and it is clear that Amon’s uncle is no role model in this area. Teth-Adam’s question was as parental as they come. In fact, he advised his own son, Hurut, to avoid violence. On top of that, Amon had latched on to Teth-Adam as both a savior and a father figure. That seemed to trigger his parental instinct.
Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)
Start a youth out on his way; even when he grows old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)
The boys, Hurut and Amon, show innocence and naivete, mainly unique to children. Hurut inspires the enslaved masses of ancient Kahndaq while Amon steers a rage-filled Teth-Adam to the Hero’s journey. Both show the same type of simple expectation and love that we see in the Gospel of Mark:
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” After taking them in his arms, he laid his hands on them and blessed them. (Mark 10:13-16)
Children eventually grow into adults, often with a cynical undertone, but the innocent acceptance of children of the triumph of good is something that we should never discourage. It is, in fact, very true. It may not happen in our lifetimes or that of our children or grandchildren, but someday our Savior will return. When He does, he will triumph over evil once and for all, freeing all humankind from being slaves to sin.
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