Black Adam (4K UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Warner
Release Date: January 3. 2022
Rating: PG-13
Film: 2.75/5

Plot
Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the ancient gods—and imprisoned just as quickly—Black Adam (Johnson) is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

Barry’s Thoughts
Seriously, this was an old-fashioned B movie, wanting and pretending to be an A one. It is totally predictable and overly violent. I say Black and Blue Adam because this movie was originally given an “R” rating for the violence, so they cut out some scenes. It took four tries!
 
 Dwayne plays Black Adam, who, like in the comics, wants to be a protector, not a hero. In Jumanj,i Johnson showed how well he could develop a character. That does not happen here.  Therefore, by trying to be good, he kills a lot of people. He really tries to dominate the movie. The supporting characters of this movie include members of the Justice Society of America, including Hawkman and Dr. Fate, played by 007, Pierce Bronson.
 
 Comic book update: Remember I said that comics redo themselves all the time?  Well, in the 1940s DC had the Justice Society which evolved now into the Justice League. Although they came first, the Hawkman and Dr. Fate will remind you of The Falcon and a worn out Dr. Strange.
 
 Black Adam was created and imprisoned for five thousand years. At that time an evil crown was created, and of course, was exposed in modern times. Black Adam first fight the Justice Society (for reasons I really can’t fathom) and then, of course, predictably, he fights with them.  Yeah, parts of the movie make no sense and falling from a twenty-story building does no harm. It's really just one fight scene after another.  With a verythin plot. I was bored in many places.
 
 The special effects are not bad but are not terribly special and so much look like older movies with rear screen projection. Oh, and stay through the end credits, there is a final scene.
 
 We went on opening day and there were about thirty people in the theatre. It’s not a totally bad movie, I place it in between bad and sit throughable.  Don’t waste your time and money…Wait until David reviews it on 4K or on HBO PLUS.

My Thoughts
I would love to just write “Ditto,” because Barry and I completely agree on this one. While not a bad movie, it’s not very good. There’s absolutely zero character development and if you aren’t in tune with the comic books, you may be completely lost like my wife and I were. Honestly, we didn’t know if the team showing up in the plane were the good guys or some additional bad guys. What I find funny is that Barry refers to Hawkman and Dr. Fate and how they would remind you of Dr. Strange and The Falcon—that’s exactly what happened with my wife and I. Now I don’t know who came first in the comic books, but in our minds, these characters just seemed like rip-offs from the ones we already know in the Marvel Universe.

While the movie wasn’t great, at least the video quality is off the charts good. It’s razor sharp and in some cases looks almost too good because it highlights some of the mediocre CGI. Regardless, close-ups look fantastic and you can see every facial pore on the characters faces. The Dolby Atmos audio track is a missed opportunity. While there’s plenty of LFE, you do have to raise the volume a few clicks—it’s almost as if it received the mouse-house treatment. What’s disappointing is the overall lack of overhead effects. I did some comparisons to the core TrueHD track and some of the action scenes sounded exactly alike, which shouldn’t be the case. 

Video 10/10

Audio 7.5/10 (Dolby Atmos)

Special Features (Housed on Blu-ray):

• The History of Black Adam
• Who is The Justice Society?
• From Soul to Screen
• Black Adam: A Flawed Hero
• Black Adam: New Tech in an Old World
• Black Adam: Taking Flight
• Kahndaq: Designing a Nation
• The Rock of Eternity
• Costumes make the hero
• Black Adam: A new type of action
• UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Conclusion
Barry and I agree on this one—not a bad movie, but not very good either. They tried to cram ten pounds of crap into a five-pound box and the script needed a lot of fine tuning and a couple of ancillary characters should have been scrapped from the Justice Society. The extra scene Barry alluded to set things up for a sequel, but with the change in management at Warner Brothers who knows if we’ll ever see any of these characters again. This one is a rental, at best.



Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 88” 16x9 Fixed Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
JL Audio Dominion F110 Subwoofer x 2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling

PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[Barry]

Dave, I like how this works. That is I review the movie, when new, in the theatre.  And you let us know how good the disc is.

Hawkman (flash Comics #1, 1940and Dr. Fate More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940) for DC. The Falcon first appeared in Captain America #117 (Sep. 1969) and Dr Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963). 

[David Vaughn]

Dave, I like how this works. That is I review the movie, when new, in the theatre.  And you let us know how good the disc is.

Hawkman (flash Comics #1, 1940and Dr. Fate More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940) for DC. The Falcon first appeared in Captain America #117 (Sep. 1969) and Dr Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963).

Then DC should have been faster at releasing movies with these characters!

[bmoney]

I feel DC is way behind marvel in the movie department in quality 

[David Vaughn]

I feel DC is way behind marvel in the movie department in quality

Totally agree.

One thing I forgot to mention in my review is I agreed with Adam's reasons for "killing the bad guys." There's one scene where he's being lectured to by Hawkman about how the bad guys need to be spared and Adam replies "so they can then go on to harm more people?" He's 100% correct in this regard and we are seeing it play out today in our "cashless bail society." It's shocking to discover that crime is approaching all-time highs when we have let a lot of bad guys out of prison and jail--who would have thought?

[Barry]

They always let bad guys out of jail, they just needed to have money.  Only poor people, who can't afford bail, are left for years in jail with no trial. Often they don't get health care. Our constitution requires a quick trial, but they can spend years in prison for a minor offense that they may not have committed.

What often occurs to those imprisoned and without a lawyer, the prosecutor goes to them and says "Plead Guilty and we will give you time served." So the Prosecutor and the police officer get a good rating and the prisoner gets a criminal record.  So he has trouble getting a job, credit and housing.  And he did not do anything wrong!  Many are left there for years, yes, years, and die in prison.  But if you have the cash they let you out.

And please don't say they get a public defender, because they only get those when they get to trial. And they are overburden, underpaid lawyers who are not so good. In NY starting salary for  lawyer is around $150,000. For a public defender it is about $85,000.  So where do the good lawyers go?

[AVSCraig]

Dave, I like how this works. That is I review the movie, when new, in the theatre.  And you let us know how good the disc is.

Hawkman (flash Comics #1, 1940and Dr. Fate More Fun Comics #55 (May 1940) for DC. The Falcon first appeared in Captain America #117 (Sep. 1969) and Dr Strange first appeared in Strange Tales #110 (July 1963).

You two are like our very own Siskel and Ebert! 

[David Vaughn]

They always let bad guys out of jail, they just needed to have money.  Only poor people, who can't afford bail, are left for years in jail with no trial. Often they don't get health care. Our constitution requires a quick trial, but they can spend years in prison for a minor offense that they may not have committed.

What often occurs to those imprisoned and without a lawyer, the prosecutor goes to them and says "Plead Guilty and we will give you time served." So the Prosecutor and the police officer get a good rating and the prisoner gets a criminal record.  So he has trouble getting a job, credit and housing.  And he did not do anything wrong!  Many are left there for years, yes, years, and die in prison.  But if you have the cash they let you out.

And please don't say they get a public defender, because they only get those when they get to trial. And they are overburden, underpaid lawyers who are not so good. In NY starting salary for  lawyer is around $150,000. For a public defender it is about $85,000.  So where do the good lawyers go?

Barry,

While that happens, it's not the "norm" by any stretch. I have a criminology degree and we shifted from punishment to "reform" in the early 20th Century and it has been a abject failure. In the 19th Century, if you were convicted of murder, you were usually executed within 30 days. Swift punishment and you never have any chance of one of those convicts committing another crime. 

I personally find it hilarious that the people pushing for no cash bail are rich white elites who don't live anywhere near the crime. Go talk to inner city mothers and ask them what they'd like to happen to drug dealers--they want them to have the death penalty because they are murdering people every day peddling the drugs. 

[Barry]

Go talk to inner city mothers and ask them what they'd like to happen to drug dealers--they want them to have the death penalty because they are murdering people every day peddling the drugs. 

 This has nothing to do with bail. I certainly wanna see drug dealers put away. But I certainly believe people are deserving of a trial. I have seen police act with great courage, and I have seen them lie through their teeth to get a conviction. 

And I see that the death penalty was often  used on poor people who were not white. These are issues of guilty or not guilty at trial. Those are not issues regarding bail. 

[SRW1000]

I don't want to pick on this movie, but I'm going to pick on it anyway.

3.75/10 for sound?  How is it possible and how does it happen on a movie like this?  This is a big-budget film, and has great video quality, so why do they skimp on sound?  It's not just this movie, but so many A-list films where the sound is handled like a red-headed stepchild.  There's just no excuse for this, when there should be enough budget in the movie to cover the time and talent needed for a top-notch treatment.

Do the filmmakers just really not care?  Is the current thought process that the average American may have a high-quality TV picture, but since they're probably just using those speakers or a soundbar the audio isn't important?  Are the theater versions good, but the home ones just dumbed down?

This is just the latest example, but it seems like more and more reviews have very little critical things to say about the video side of things, but it's becoming increasingly rare to find titles where the audio quality is a match (especially for the top channels).

And what does it mean for us enthusiasts who have very likely spent as much, if not more, on audio in our theaters?  Are we just saps and suckers, waiting for occasional gems from Hollywood when a high-quality title somehow slips through?

As for the movie, I've really grown extremely tired of superhero movies that are simply staged action sequences.  They've become little more than big-budget WWE wrestling matches with better sets, costumes, and special effects, so I'll be skipping this one. Appreciate the fact that both of you agree on this one, and it saves me from being bored and disappointed by it.

Scott

[David Vaughn]

I don't want to pick on this movie, but I'm going to pick on it anyway.

3.75/10 for sound?  How is it possible and how does it happen on a movie like this?  This is a big-budget film, and has great video quality, so why do they skimp on sound?  It's not just this movie, but so many A-list films where the sound is handled like a red-headed stepchild.  There's just no excuse for this, when there should be enough budget in the movie to cover the time and talent needed for a top-notch treatment.

Do the filmmakers just really not care?  Is the current thought process that the average American may have a high-quality TV picture, but since they're probably just using those speakers or a soundbar the audio isn't important?  Are the theater versions good, but the home ones just dumbed down?

This is just the latest example, but it seems like more and more reviews have very little critical things to say about the video side of things, but it's becoming increasingly rare to find titles where the audio quality is a match (especially for the top channels).

And what does it mean for us enthusiasts who have very likely spent as much, if not more, on audio in our theaters?  Are we just saps and suckers, waiting for occasional gems from Hollywood when a high-quality title somehow slips through?

As for the movie, I've really grown extremely tired of superhero movies that are simply staged action sequences.  They've become little more than big-budget WWE wrestling matches with better sets, costumes, and special effects, so I'll be skipping this one. Appreciate the fact that both of you agree on this one, and it saves me from being bored and disappointed by it.

Scott

That's a mistake by me...it's supposed to be 7.5...I was thinking of a 5 point scale...review fixed!

[Barry]

This is why I look forward to David’s review. Too many movies go to video without great sound. I find the Disney movies, in general, don’t give the best audio. Discs are still expensive and they need to do better.

[SRW1000]

That's a mistake by me...it's supposed to be 7.5...I was thinking of a 5 point scale...review fixed!

OK, I will tone down my frustration, but only a tad.  There's no reason this home release shouldn't have been at least a 9, if not a 10.

[SRW1000]

This is why I look forward to David’s review. Too many movies go to video without great sound. I find the Disney movies, in general, don’t give the best audio. Discs are still expensive and they need to do better.

Agreed.  And I've felt Disney is a lost cause for a while now.  For whatever reason, they just don't care about sound.

[AVSCraig]

Go talk to inner city mothers and ask them what they'd like to happen to drug dealers--they want them to have the death penalty because they are murdering people every day peddling the drugs.

 This has nothing to do with bail. I certainly wanna see drug dealers put away. But I certainly believe people are deserving of a trial. I have seen police act with great courage, and I have seen them lie through their teeth to get a conviction.

And I see that the death penalty was often  used on poor people who were not white. These are issues of guilty or not guilty at trial. Those are not issues regarding bail.

Come to California, where you get released " no bail " after being arrested if it's a non violent crime. That includes felons in possession of firearms!