Black Adam (2022)

Score: 4 / 5

I knew absolutely nothing about the character or premise of this DC superhero film before heading in, and that might have been for the best. For probably half the film, I was surprised that this felt like a major antihero story, something akin to the Suicide Squad or even Deadpool. In essence, Black Adam is a Middle Eastern god of sorts, dating back to the age of the pyramids, who returns to avenge his nation and seek personal revenge; he's willing to slaughter legions to get what he wants -- whatever that is -- or on a whim, because he can. He apparently can't be hurt. He barely speaks. He clearly wants to remove the occupiers from his homeland, though from 2600 BC to 2022, there are indeed a lot of foreigners to remove. And yet his return is hailed as a miracle by many who live there, hoping as they do that he'll deliver them from the organized mercenaries controlling their kingdom.

Without knowing much of the history, it seems Black Adam was the original Shazam hero, bestowed with the power of the gods by the Council of Wizards (and Djimon Hounsou). And he was fittingly angry back a few millennia when he was created; a young slave boy in the kingdom of Kahndaq is gifted with superhuman powers in order to kill the tyrannical king Sabbac and end his evil rule. Sabbac (Marwan Kenzari) has crafted a crown made with the powers of six demons, essentially the arch-nemesis or polar opposite of Shazam. I really liked and didn't expect this connection to Shazam!, which was also a delightful surprise for me when it was released.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is here doing a really fun job as the titular hero, leaning heavily into the "is he or isn't he" question about his moral code. He kills somewhat indiscriminately, and sometimes apparently for sport. He finds humor in tossing men a mile into the air and letting them splat. He's also the somewhat stereotypical macho man who occasionally needs to be taught humor and modern ideas and even the Geneva Conventions, which the film effectively doses out to us between major action sequences. By the time Sabbac returns to dominate Kahndaq, Adam has effectively been radicalized (or, perhaps, de-radicalized?) as a full-fledged hero, making their fight one for liberation and decolonization, a pretty fabulous and unique story from major studios and major IPs.

How does he make the switch from selfish revenger to righteous avenger? It helps that Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) calls in for some help, and the Justice Society teams up to monitor, potentially quell, and ultimately assist Black Adam. The team includes leader Hawkeye (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo); that so many new and exciting characters were brought in for this film was a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, they're given just enough individual screen time to make them all interesting and cool, though I couldn't tell you too much about any of them in depth. It's a bit of a shame that so many superhero movies these days have to include teams right off the bat, from Deadpool 2 to Eternals it seems all the heroes in our cultural awareness now are about teamwork. Not a bad lesson these days, but a lot to learn in every new film.

Even apart from all these heroes, we're given several crucial characters to get to know and love, including Adrianna (Sarah Shahi), a university professor who organizes and leads the resistance against Intergang, the organized crime, and her son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) and brother Amir (Mohammed Amer), who are cute and funny and sweet and heartwarming in every scene. I love the comparative lack of white people in this movie, not unlike Black Panther, and I also love the strong moral ambiguity they all have, again like that movie: nobody has entirely perfect motivations and perfect methods, and so their behaviors are always a bit edgy. Even with all that, it's firmly anti-imperialist and anti-royalist, and Kahndaq itself manages to be an effective stand-in for cultures under the yoke of outside invaders (who are mostly white), even when those invaders are actually there to help. That's complex and wonderful screenwriting, folks, even in one written by committee.

Even beyond the intangible moral gray elements, the film features a surprising amount of violence and blood; it's only PG-13, but then again The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and even Gremlins fit that bill. It helps that Jaume Collet-Serra directs this enterprise, given his penchant for violent films in which Liam Neeson kicks ass or Blake Lively survives against all odds. He and his writers handle a smorgasbord of characters deftly, especially Brosnan's new hero who is something between Doctor Strange and Vision in the MCU. Brosnan, who hasn't had a really juicy acting role in ages, shocked me with a couple emotional scenes I absolutely did not expect in a movie like this. Same with Johnson, honestly, who eschews the laugh-out-loud comedy of his latest hits like Jungle Cruise and Jumanji (the first and second so far) to hammer home some intense emotional beats. His character's purpose -- to champion autonomy, independence, and liberation -- also hits home a bit more closely these days, adding to a growing list of powerhouse movies for all ages that serve to clearly advance social justice concepts. That's good, even when a film is as chock-full of whirling, shiny, explosive CGI as this one.

The Old Guard (2020)

 Score: 4 / 5

A rare superhero movie that feels more like a drama, The Old Guard hit Netflix last year without much pomp or circumstance. It's been on my watch list for a while now, and I finally got to it this week. I had absolutely no idea where it was going or what it was doing, and it took me by surprise more than once. This is partly, simply, because of its surprising central conceit: there is a small band of trained fighters and mercenaries who are immortal. If not for that little detail, this could just as easily be a spinoff of any number of spy thrillers or international crime-action flicks. But because of this conceit, and remarkably intelligent direction by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Old Guard ends up being a really cool viewing experience. Even if it's not particularly groundbreaking.

Charlize Theron leads as Andy, the oldest member of the team from ancient Scythia, and she relies on her relatively unique standing as both an amazing actress and physical performer to carry the movie. The director seems as fascinated by her moments of quiet introspection as she does by her kicking ass; often, the camera sits tight on her face as she remembers a loss. After so many years of fighting, one can only imagine what's going on in her mind. But the camera is equally interested in her violent prowess, much as she gave us in Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde; it's not the frenetic nonsense typical of the genre, but a polished and elegant approach that is increasingly, shockingly violent. The mercenaries get cut and shot ad nauseam, sometimes falling unconscious before coming to, spitting out bullets or watching a slit throat stitch itself back together.

The rest of the cast is almost as loved by the camera; it's certainly as well loved by Greg Rucka's screenplay. They might be exclusive by design, but their casting is remarkably inclusive without feeling forced. The team consists of Napoleonic Frenchman Matthias Schoenaerts, Luca Marinelli as an Italian knight from the Crusades, Marwan Kenzari as an Arab Muslim who fought the Crusaders, and a new recruit, a U.S. Marine played by KiKi Layne. There are flashback memories to Andy's first immortal friend, played by Van Veronica Ngo, whose dark fate is thrown into doubt late in the film. And beyond the racial and cultural makeup of the team, Kenzari and Marinelli play gay lovers in a surprisingly sensitive series of sequences. At one point, as the two are being interrogated/tortured by the villains (led by a big pharma exec played wonderfully by Harry Melling) they take implied homophobia in their stride, triumphantly declaring their love in a weirdly grandiose way that pays off magnificently due to the earnest need for this kind of representation in the genre. Until the Avengers films do something like this, Disney can shove their "inclusivity" up its assets.

The Old Guard arguably focuses more on drama than direct action, but that's what I really liked about it. Its plot isn't what makes this movie special; you can see almost each development coming well before it hits, and there aren't any real surprises thematically either. This is standard fare, even if it does mash up superhero tropes with typical crime/action fun. But the profound humanity with which it treats its superhuman characters is what matters most; even its mortal characters, such as the dubious employer of the merc team (played by a deliciously conflicted Chiwetel Ejiofor) are revealed slowly to us, in gradations through lengthy dialogue and quiet, private moments of reflection. We are made to care about these people through the skill of a stellar cast and its mindful, emotionally intelligent director.

And now we know we're getting a sequel!

Aladdin (2019)

Score: 3.5 / 5

Shining, shimmering, but not quite as splendid as promised, Aladdin is the latest Disney remake attempting to take us to a whole new world. And it mostly succeeds.

Of course it's hard to deny the power of childhood fantasies brought to vivid, gorgeous live action on the silver screen, and few of the golden-age Disney films are as exotic and evocative as Aladdin. While this adaptation does not attempt to remake the original in the same way Beauty and the Beast did, only adding a couple things and changing almost nothing -- frankly, I wish it had followed suit -- it also doesn't scrap the original in favor of novelty, as Dumbo and Pete's Dragon did (again, much to their credit, as the original of each offered so little).

Aladdin more or less follows a safe middle line down these approaches, crafting a new adventure that keeps a lot of the diamond-in-the-rough, polishing it to an endearing glow. Gorgeous costumes, astounding design detail, and some lovely performances from Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott make this movie one to remember. Even Will Smith delivers one of his better performances here (which isn't really saying much), and his Genie works well on its own terms until he all but vanishes from the final act. And while the CGI effects and awkward action sequences never quite jive with the romance, music, or comedy, at least the film keeps things brisk and energetic until it's all over.

We could go on and on about the differences, but a few I found especially noteworthy, even if I haven't much of an opinion on them. I liked that the animal characters are more or less realistic and less anthropomorphized, though the genius psychosis of Iago is thus sacrificed. The Easter eggs flood this movie, from the Cave of Wonders changing from a cartoon tiger to a CGI lion (reminding us that The Lion King approaches?) to a map of Agrabah including other Disney locations. My favorite element of this remake is the extra music and screen time it affords Jasmine. My least favorite element is the crime of making Jafar into a sort of un-villain; he's hot, he's moody and broody, and the fabulous range of his cartoon character is limited to a specific motivation: he wants the throne. More than once I got the distinct impression the film was turning Jafar into a Trump-like monomaniac and it just takes all the fun out of things.

The problems begin and end, however, with director Guy Ritchie, an odd choice for a musical fantasy as anyone would tell you. And while his talents do help the film feel more detailed, grounded, and, yes, adult than we might have expected -- I'm thinking of the action sequences and that particular little torture scene -- his characteristic isms mostly detract from the magic on screen. His funky little fast-slow-motion bits and swooping CGI landscape shots do little more than to yank you off his magic carpet ride of a movie and slump you squarely in your auditorium seat.

And while its beauty is undeniable, one can't quite help but feel dissatisfied by the end. The only cure: go watch the original.

The Mummy (2017)

Score: 2.5 / 5

Not much can be said in favor of Universal's newest reboot of a classic. The Mummy looks and feels nothing like any mummy movie we've ever seen. Gone is the aching romance and mysticism of the 1932 original; skipped over are the kinetic energy and joyous good humor of the 1999 Stephen Sommers remake and its sequels. We are left, instead, with a bizarre mishmash of half-baked ideas, flagrant borrowing from other (better) horror films, and a spectacle that is anything but spectacular.

We start with an older, supposedly more mature Tom Cruise and his partner (played by Jake Johnson) slaughtering "Iraqi insurgents" in an attempt to hunt a mysterious hidden treasure. Whether the sequence is meant to be an ironic statement on American horrors in the Middle East or if it's just using the tragic and unnecessary war plaguing millions of people as a "relevant" plot device, the whole thing is undeniably tasteless. The duo eventually, of course, discover a hidden tomb and desecrate it by removing the sarcophagus via helicopter. Never mind the enormous camel spiders or the pool of seething mercury, everything will be just fine.

Enter the ladies, who certainly don't seem to mind being cast in archetypal roles. Annabelle Wallis (The Tudors, Annabelle) plays a young archaeologist whose one-night stand with Cruise informs their relationship, in which he repeatedly saves her. She has almost no other purpose, except to introduce Cruise to a secret society of anti-evil fighters, but more of that later. Sofia Boutella then enters as the mummy herself, Princess Ahmanet, who is revived and quickly becomes the incarnation of evil or something. There's a minor plot point or two about her past, using men to gain power and selling her soul to the god Set (god of storms, violence, and the desert, which seems appropriate), but basically she's a two-eyed, four-pupilled, tattooed megalomaniac who wants to destroy London by turning glass back into sand. Work it, sweetie.

Cruise's character Nick Morton, however, has a psychic connection to the mummy. His friend and partner-in-crime was possessed (via a bug entering his ear) by Ahmanet's power and attacked the plane ferrying the sarcophagus before being killed by Morton. Having miraculously survived the plane crash, Morton (oh, wow, I totally didn't get the "mort" thing in a movie about the undead, imagine that) is haunted by the wisecracking phantasm of his buddy while navigating this new violent world of gods and monsters. Speaking of which, his not-quite-girlfriend is a secret member of the secret society with some secret silly name (Prodigity? Prodigium? Problematic?) that not-so-secretly hunts and eliminates secret threats. In their secret headquarters are secretly housed secret artifacts and mementos of their secret successes, including what looks like a claw/flipper/hand of one Gillman from a (no doubt secret) black lagoon.

The prodigious (pragmatic? prognostic? presbyterian?) secret society is headed by one Dr. Henry Jekyll (yes, that Dr. Jekyll), played by Russell Crowe. Why, exactly, Jekyll/Hyde is a character here is a debate best held elsewhere, but there is little that works about his presence. We're not quite sure if his methods are moral, we're not quite sure why he wants what he wants or does what he does, and we don't really care about all that because we're just waiting for his transformation scene. The character's presence does not mesh at all with the themes of a mummy movie, and it doesn't pair well with this mummy movie, but it does effectively feed my curiosity about where Universal's Dark Universe might go. Namely because Jekyll/Hyde was not one of the classic Universal monsters. But since the character is in the public domain, and since Abbott and Costello met him (played by Boris Karloff, who was also the original Mummy) in 1953, Universal obviously seems to think it'll work.

Unfortunately, Universal also thought this movie was going to work. Granted, I'd agree that this was a better starting place for their Dark Universe than Dracula Untold, though I'm not sure why they're casting that fun little flick aside now. It's just a shame that the writers (and producers, apparently desperate for a studio franchise) couldn't be more original. They stole and borrowed and adapted so much from so many sources that the film boasts nothing substantial to recommend itself. And while this movie is fun and exciting for a lazy summer afternoon -- I enjoyed it, but then I'm down with most monster movies -- it's a sad excuse for what has come before, and for what might have been.

IMDb: The Mummy