“Black Adam” packs a punch

Eric Lockwood, Staff Columnist

Action scenes, if executed well, can be the best part of a superhero movie.

“Black Adam,” the newest movie based on DC Comics, doubles down on the action.

The movie almost feels like one long action scene from start to finish.

I enjoy action scenes, but, in some movies, they can make me zone out.

In “Black Adam,” most of the action kept my attention because the fights were exciting and on a massive scale throughout.

This is mostly thanks to the Justice Society of America, a group of superheroes that Black Adam must battle.

Some of their powers are reminiscent of heroes from Marvel. For example, Dr. Fate has magical powers similar to Doctor Strange, and Atom Smasher can turn into a giant like Ant-Man does.

However, the way the characters and their abilities interact with each other makes the fighting interesting.

Unfortunately, the worst action scene is the finale, which should be the biggest and most thrilling of them all.

Even great superhero movies, like 2017’s “Wonder Woman,” are guilty of having incredibly lazy third act fight scenes.

Just like in “Wonder Woman,” “Black Adam” features a towering CGI villain that doesn’t even fully appear until the last third of the movie.

I don’t want to spoil the ending or who the villain is, but I’ll say this: This type of ending always feels tacked on, and it feels like filmmakers use it as an easy excuse to have a character access or unlock their full potential.

But, as they say, it’s about the journey and not the destination, and everything before the third act of “Black Adam” is extremely entertaining.

For this reason, I would recommend “Black Adam.

Also, if you see it, make sure to stay through the credits.