Black Adam: A Bad Script is Better Than No Script At All


 Black Adam could have been really good. It had some good actors. I like Dewayne Johnson a lot, and in my opinion (take it or leave it), there was no better James Bond than Pierce Brosnan. The other supporting actors weren't bad, for the most part. The origin story wasn't awesome, but it wasn't terrible. A little convoluted, and the flashbacks that told it were not super clear. The special effects were good for the most part, though there seemed to be some "cheating" where things would explode and fill up the screen seemingly to keep us from seeing clearly what was happening behind it. 

So how could it have been a good movie? If it had had a good script. The writing is awful. Like, groan out loud awful. Here's an example: One of the supporting characters shares that she lost someone close to her. Her "friend" says, "Oh, I'm sorry." And she says, "No, you're good." This made me want to pull my hair out. I will bypass the fact that I HATE that expression (You're good.) It makes ZERO SENSE here. He's not apologizing for something he's done wrong. He's expressing his sympathy and commiseration at her loss. "You're good" makes no sense in response to that. 

Anyway, the rest of the writing is flat and silly and predictable. They have a couple running jokes that almost work, with the "catchphrase" that Black Adam is supposed to say before he kills people, and the "a bad plan is better than no plan" which my title above is based on. 

The one other thing I'll point out is that Dewayne Johnson is GREAT at playing lovable, funny characters. He's NOT playing someone lovable or funny in this one, and I think that really hurt the movie's likability.

It was clean. Very little bad language, even. The violence is mostly bloodless. No nudity or sex. 

I suggest that you see this if you really like Dewayne Johnson, or you really like superhero movies that aren't terrific. I would say this is about as good as Ryan Reynolds's Green Lantern. Not horrible (like Eternals), but definitely not great.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

the Banshees of Inisherin

Image
I just started watching this. I'm about five minutes into it. it already grabbed me. this is gonna be good.  UPDATE: So I finished this one and it's a masterpiece. The SUBJECT of the story is twisted and interesting. One character, pictured on the right above, decides one day that he doesn't like another character (played by Colin Farrell, pictured on the right). He tells him to stop talking to him. The Colin Farrell character refuses to stop, so the other guys says every time he talks to him, he's going to cut off one of his own fingers. That's the kind of twisted I mean. I'm not going to give you any more spoilers. But the tone and setting and mood of the movie is the real reason to watch it. You get TOTALLY drawn into the life of these simple people living on an island off the coast of Ireland. It's a beautiful and tragic movie that explores human relationships and their importance and limitations.  I highly recommend it, though it's not for the faint...
Read more

lost in translation

Image
 I had a funny experience when I watched Lost in Translation the first time. I watched it with some friends who were not the brightest lights in the harbor. And they did NOT get it. They kept complaining about little things throughout the movie that they were clearly not understanding. I thought that it was extremely apropos and hilarious that they were misunderstanding a movie called Lost in Translation. This is a wonderful movie. It's slow and warm and deep. It's about a friendship between two unlikely people, played by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. There is sexual tension between them, and I'm not going to give away the movie by telling you what happens, but I found it delightful. It's directed by Sofia Coppola, and it was the reason I fell in love with her as a director. It's rated R for language.  I highly recommend it if you like slow, warm movies about unlikely friendships - and great acting and writing.
Read more

puss in boots

Image
 I went in with high expectations. It surpassed them. Puss in Boots (2022) is the best movie I've seen recently. It's laugh out loud funny throughout the whole movie. The writing is witty and snappy and really fun. Antonio Banderas is perfect reprising the role of Puss in Boots. Salma Hayek is fantastic as Kitty Softpaws. I don't know the actor playing Perrito, but he's very funny in this role. John Mulaney is great and nasty as the evil Jack Horner. And Florence Pugh is fun as Goldilocks with her adopted family of three bears.  All of the characters are searching for a map that will lead them to a wishing star, and that star will grant the person one wish. I won't give spoilers by telling you what they are all wishing for or what happens. But the end is VERY satisfying. The movie begins with a song that is EXTREMELY catchy and gives us one of the best movie openings I've seen since Capt Jack Sparrow stepped off the sinking ship in Pirates of the Caribbean.  I H...
Read more