Story

Amon (Bodhi Sabongui) is a young boy who enjoys taunting the occupying forces of his country, Kahndaq. Amon’s mother, Adrianna (Sarah Shahi), is wanted by the forces as a rebel. She is looking into the ancient mythology of her country, which dates back to 2600B.C. Together with her brother, Karim (Mohammed Amer), and friend, Ishmael (Marwan Kanzari), they go in search of a mythical crown said to have mighty powers and which once belonged to the King. While searching for the crown, they awaken the sleeping Teth (Black) Adam (Dwayne Johnson) who has been lying dormant for 5000 years. Teth had died fighting the King but was given almighty powers by the gods in order to fight the evil rule of the king. However, he was then imprisoned when the gods realised he had misused these powers.

Amon and Adrianna believe Teth to be the champion of their country who has come back to save them from the tyranny of oppression. Teth Adam, however, is not the person they think he is. The Justice Society, consisting of Dr Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (Noah Centinio), arrive on the scene to prevent Teth Adam from destroying Kahndaq. They have to deal not only with Teth Adam and the occupying forces, but also with the local people who believe Teth to be their champion. Teth Adam must also decide what side of history he wants to be on.

Themes

Fantasy violence; super-heroes; anti-heroes.

Violence

Black Adam has a lot of stylised violence – for example fighting, characters being thrown, buildings, vehicles and people being destroyed, and explosions – but very little blood and gore. For example:

• Black Adam takes on many soldiers who fire weapons at him without any effect. Adam grabs one of the soldiers by the neck. The solider burns to a crisp in Adam’s hand and his head falls off. Adam destroys all the soldiers.
• The soldiers attack Amon, pushing him to the ground. Adrianna attacks the soldiers.
• Black Adam and Hawkman fight on several occasions.
• Ishmael shoots Karim in the stomach. Karim has a bloody wound.
• Black Adam recalls seeing his wife slaughtered by the King’s men, which is shown in shadows. He also remembers his son, Harut, being shot dead with an arrow.
• In the final battle scene, Ishmael is split in half by a weapon.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in Black Adam.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Black Adam has some use of substances. For example, magic and fantasy powers.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is no nudity and sexual activity in Black Adam.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in Black Adam: DC and Marvel characters.

Coarse language

Black Adam has some coarse language.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Black Adam is a super-hero adventure movie based on the title character. Since being cast as a villain in the original comics, Black Adam has been redefined and now appears as a corrupted anti-villain. The film is action packed and full of violence, although the violence is very stylised and not very realistic. The film is also full of scary scenes and characters. It is therefore not suitable for children under 13 years and we recommend parental guidance for children 13-14 years.

The main message from Black Adam is that no-one is all good or all bad.

Values in Black Adam that you could reinforce with your children include self-sacrifice, heroism, strong female characters, and bravery.

Black Adam could also give you the chance to talk with your children about attitudes and behaviours. For example:

• Why was Black Adam such a violent character?
• Is violence always the answer to problems or can they be solved in other ways?