There is an interesting idea lurking at the margins of Black Adam, a noisy new DC Comics superhero movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson: What if superheroes—the self-styled good guys with strange powers and moral codes—are actually defenders of an ugly, imperialist status quo? Sadly, this muddled, thoroughly mediocre movie whiffs on its most intriguing question, resolving in a shrug and an onslaught of perfunctory computer-generated punching.
The story is set in the fictional middle eastern locale of Kahndaq, which in the past was the site of a brutal slave regime and in the present is ruled by Intergang, a group of stateless, militaristic oppressors. After a shootout and some magical shenanigans involving a mystical MacGuffin known as the Crown of Sabbac, a superpowered being who initially calls himself "Teth-Adam" (Johnson) arises at the word "Shazam." Comic book fans will understand the connection to another superhero who bears that name, but given the clear similarities between the two characters—both wear suits adorned with lightning bolts—more casual viewers may find themselves Googling for background and context.
