Movie reviews: 'Black Adam' is a joyless superhero flick that lacks depth

BLACK ADAM: 2 ½ STARS

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Dwayne Johnson in a scene from "Black Adam." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Black Adam, the titular character of the new Dwayne Johnson movie, walks like a superhero, but doesn’t talk like one. He has super speed, incredible physical strength, extraordinary stamina, unflinching courage and a skin-tight suit like goody-two-shoes Superman, but he’s also got an attitude. “My powers are not a gift,” the DC Comics character says, “but a curse. Born out of rage.”

The character’s origin story dates back thousands of years to ancient Kahndaq, a tyrannical kingdom where a power-hungry, despotic king has enslaved his people to mine a rare substance called Eternium that will help him attain God-like powers.

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD)

When one young worker fights back, his bravery is rewarded by the Council of Wizards, and before you can say the word “Shazam,” the child is imbued with mystical powers. When the youngster’s family is targeted for death, he makes the ultimate sacrifice and transfers his powers to his father Teth-Adam (Johnson). Stripped of his mystical energy, the boy is now human again, and is soon killed.

Filled with rage, Teth-Adam uses his powers to unleash demons, a crime that sees him imprisoned for 5000 years of dreamless sleep. “The world needed a hero,” he says. “Instead, it got me.”

(END OF SPOILER ZONE)

Awoken in modern day by university professor and resistance fighter Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi), he emerges as a vengeful entity with a twisted sense of integrity. “I was a slave until I died,” he says. “Then I was reborn a god. My son sacrificed his life to save me. Now, I kneel before no one.”

His old home of Kahndaq is now under military occupation by an organization called Intergang who set their sights on finding the ancient Eternium Crown of Sabbac at any cost. But with Teth-Adam back on the scene, that cost come with a huge, bloody price tag.

A larger-than-life justice machine, his violent curbing of Intergang soldiers brings him on a collision course with the Justice Society of America, Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and the winged Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), a group of superheroes who enforce global stability.

“Heroes don’t kill people,” says Hawkman. “Well,” says Teth-Adam, now renamed Black Adam, “I do.”

It’s about time Dwayne Johnson played a superhero, or mystical anti-hero, or whatever the heck Black Adam is supposed to be, right? A real-life, larger-than-life character, he physically fits the bill—no padding required in his tight spandex suit—and his heroic bona fides are well defined. He’s a natural, but here he’s saddled with a reluctant hero’s journey. His morose character works against the very traits that have made The Rock beloved. He’s all pumped up, that is for sure, but the charisma that usually flows so effortlessly out of him has narrowed to a trickle. Even though he is omni-powerful, Black Adam, the character, is about as interesting as a glass of tepid water. It’ll quench your thirst, but isn’t all that fun.

It doesn’t help that Johnson is surrounded by Dollar Store versions of more established superheroes. The Justice Society of America are generic brand world-savers, but do add a bit of zip to the proceedings, even if they put you in the mind of Dr. Strange, Storm, Ant-Man and Falcon while doing so.

“Black Adam” is one big kaboom. The plentiful action scenes are CGI orgies, large-scale land and air battles meant to distract from the clunky, exposition heavy story. As an origin story there are lots of moving parts as we get to know Teth-Adam and Justice Society members. Layer in historical perspective and a theme of freedom over tyranny and you have a movie that feels, simultaneously, over-stuffed and yet, because nothing is explored in any depth, undercooked.

I’m sure “Black Adam” will be the beginning of a new franchise for Johnson, and it should fill the hole felt by DC fans aching for more Zach Snyder-esque slo-mo (even though the film was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra) but I found the cluttered, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” story more forgettable than fun.

TICKET TO PARADISE: 3 ½ STARS

George Clooney (left) and Julia Roberts are pictured here in "Ticket to Paradise."

Nuptial disruption has played a major role in Julia Roberts’s career. From “The Runaway Bride” to “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” making a walk down the aisle for Roberts is no walk in the park and should be its own sub-genre on her IMDB page.

After a layoff of almost twenty-five years, she’s back at it, attempting fresh matrimonial mayhem in “Ticket to Paradise,” a new rom com co-starring George Clooney, and now playing in theatres.

Roberts and Clooney are Georgia and David, college sweethearts whose short-lived marriage dissolved into acrimony two decades ago. “When it started out,” David says, “it was unreal, then it got real.”

On the odd time they see one another they make the Bickersons look like a happy, loving couple.

The only good thing that came out of their time together is daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever), a twenty-something who abandons her promising law career in Chicago to marry Balinese seaweed farmer Gede (Maxime Bouttier). “It’s like I looked up for thew first time and realized everything I ever wanted was right in front of me,” Lily says.

Despite their differences, the only thing Georgia and David agree on is that Lily is making a mistake. “I won’t let her throw her life away,” says Georgia on the flight to Bali. “We need to trick her into dumping him.”

You don’t need a degree in advanced scriptology to know where “Ticket to Paradise” is headed. Firstly, it’s a rom, com, which always guarantee a happy ending. Secondly, it’s called “Ticket to Paradise,” not “Ticket to Misery.” But, no matter. Good rom coms should offer an interesting journey on the way to the predetermined ending, and that’s exactly what Clooney and Company do.

This is a good-natured romantic comedy that exists to showcase the considerable charisma of its leads. Roberts and Clooney have great chemistry and use every trick in their collective book to sell their snappy banter and screwball comedy.

“Ticket to Paradise” isn’t destined to become a classic, but it is a diverting watch, kind of like a cinematic equivalent to a beach read.

TILL: 4 ½ STARS

This image released by Orion Pictures shows Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till, left, and Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till-Mobley in "Till." (Lynsey Weatherspoon/Orion Pictures via AP)

Despite its explosive historical topic, “Till,” now playing in theatres, is a quiet movie, an understated look at how a mother’s grief can change the world.

Set in 1955, the true story (Jalyn Hall) begins in Chicago with 14-year-old Emmett Till (Jalyn Hall) preparing to visit his uncle and cousins in Mississippi. He’s a little kid with a big personality who likes to sing along with Louis Prima records, wear a fedora and act out scenes from horror movies.

His loving mother Mamie Till-Mobley (Danielle Deadwyler) urges him to be careful in the South. “Be small down there,” she says as he boards the train. She has a sense of foreboding that reads in flashes on her face. “He just doesn’t know how different things are down there.”

On August 24 Emmett, called Bo by his family and friends, hangs out with his cousins at Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, the local general store. Inside, he buys candy from white shopkeeper Carolyn Bryant (Haley Bennett). Making conversation he says, “You look like a movie star.” Later, outside the store, Emmett playfully wolf-whistles her. As she scrambles for her gun, Emmett and cousins flee, hoping that is the end of Bryant’s racist rage.

The historical record shows what happened next. Young Emmett was kidnapped in the middle of the night from his uncle’s home by Roy Bryant, Carolyn’s 24-year-old husband, and his half-brother J.W. Milam. Taken to another location, the teenager was beaten, shot and hanged before being dumped, unceremoniously in a river, where his bloated body was discovered days later.

In Chicago, when the tragic news arrives, Mamie is thrust into a national conversation on civil rights as Emmett’s killers are placed on trial.

“Till” is a historical period piece that resonates with ripped-from-the-headlines urgency. While true to the timeframe, the story contains all too familiar and current themes. This is the story of Emmett Till and his mother, but it reverberates with the names of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others.

Director Chinonye Chukwu’s movie walks the line between historical record and urgent cry for action, but does so in an elegant film anchored by a remarkable performance. As Mamie, Deadwyler is a mix of love, grief and fury in a performance that vibrates with authenticity.

On her way to becoming a civil rights icon, Mamie withstood not only the loss of her son but also a biased judge who calls Mrs. Bryant “dear” as she prepares to fabricate the story of her interaction with Emmett on the stand, and a Mississippi sheriff who accuses her and the NAACP of staging the entire event. “That boy is still alive somewhere,” he says. In the face of each of these scenarios, and others, Deadwyler is vulnerable and steely but never sentimental in her work.

Stuck between her duty as a mother and the opportunity to use Emmett’s death as a catalyst for change, Mamie uses her grief as a powerful tool and Deadwyler’s resolve is self-evident in every frame of the film.

“Till” is a thoughtful film that showcases Mamie’s humanity and push for change over the inhumane action of Emmett’s murderers. It is a tragedy, but it doesn’t sensationalize events. It mines the real feelings left in the aftermath of the Emmett’s death by way of beautiful, quiet scenes. The solace Mamie feels, for instance, while reading an unfinished letter from her late son, is unforgettable, as is the film.

RAYMOND & RAY: 4 STARS

Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke in “Raymond & Ray,” premiering October 21, 2022 on Apple TV+. (Apple TV+)

The main characters of “Raymond & Ray,” played by Ewan McGregor and Ethan Hawke, pack a great deal of emotional baggage on the trip to their father’s funeral.

The leads play estranged half-brothers reunited after five years, on the occasion of their abusive father’s death.

Ray is a clean-and-sober widower and former trumpet player with a temper. His life has been coloured by his father’s abuse, and that fractious relationship has been a burden to him for decades.

Raymond, equally scarred by his upbringing, is outwardly more successful, but the cracks are beginning to show. He’s not allowed to drive because of a recent DUI and his marriage is in tatters.

They are not close, but are bonded by the bad treatment suffered at the hand of their father.

The funeral is the next day, hours away in Richmond, Virginia, and Ray is reluctant. “Are you really going to go, after the things he did to you?” he asks Raymond. “We don’t have to go,” says Ray. “He’s dead. He’ll never know.”

On the subsequent trip they rehash the sins of their father, and later confront the many surprises that await in Richmond. There are more half-siblings, an ex-lover Lucía (Maribel Verdú) and, most surprising of all, everyone speaks warmly of the man they feared.

This tragicomic story of suppressed rage, of confronting the past, healing and facing the future, is wonderfully brought to life by the leads.

The easy-going pacing allows McGregor and Hawke to bite down hard and make a meal of the characters of Raymond and Ray. McGregor hides a simmering rage under Raymond’s button-down façade, while Hawke gives Ray a world-weary roughness to the free-spirited former musician and addict. They bring a winning combo of frustration and humor to the movie, while Verdú provides real warmth in this existential look at life.

“Raymond & Ray,” now streaming on Apple TV+, is a low-key dramedy with a high-level ensemble cast that elevates the story of family trauma.