Black Adam is the origin story Of the anti-hero Teth Adam who becomes an unlikely protector of the land of Kahndaq. Now I haven’t read the DC comics for this character but the story on paper did seem like an interesting concept as it involved an anti-hero, a far cry from the regular superheroes doing the rounds. But the screenplay never rises above its writing material. Standing at a shade above 2 hours, it makes for a compelling viewing but it could have been better nevertheless.

The drama gets off to a flyer with an interesting story dated back to the first rulers on earth wherein a radioactive mineral sets off a thrilling chain of events. The proceedings did have a right mix of mythology and thrill that made for a compelling viewing. The stage was set perfectly for the introduction of the anti-hero who also makes a heroic entry in the same city that was plagued with outsiders who were controlling it. So far so good!

The issue starts to creep in soon after and it has little to do with the screenplay as a whole, as much as it is related with the characters. A reason why Marvel has fans worldwide is because it has setup origin stories of almost all the characters through its various films. To give you a perspective, Iron Man had almost 3 films of his own before Infinity War wherein his character finally dies. Now because the audience has been on a journey with him through his previous films, they are automatically connected to the character. But here, the introduction of the justice society does not stir a similar impact(even when one if them dies towards the end) with the makers relying on the audience to have read the comics for them to be invested in them here which would never result in the same kind of impact.

Another small flaw being that the drama here lacks layers. Almost the entire drama unfols superficially on the first layer which doesn’t result in the kind of impact which a film like this was expected to be. Having said that, the drama is consistently watchable primarily because there is something happening onscreen all along. This guarantees that it does not have many dull moments although the “high” in the screenplay is missing. Also the humour is subtle and definitely contributes well in the screenplay.

The events leading up to the final act are good but the final act in itself seemed one dimensional and underwhelming. This had got to do with the sketchy portrayal of the antagonist that never created that sense of fear. Having said that, the mid credits scene was one of the best that I have seen in a very long time and that has promised a bright future to this franchise and the DC universe, much to the delight if its fans(it was met with hooting and cheering by the capacity crowd). So overall, the screenplay is decently penned but it could have been a lot better.