Is Black Adam safe for kids? Is Black Adam OK for children? Read the Black Adam Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, an honest parents guide to the Warner Bros. Pictures’ and New Line Cinema all-new original DC Super Hero film starring Dwayne Johnson. No spoilers! #BlackAdam May contain commissioned links.
Black Adam Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide
And longest super hero tease ever goes to…
Yup, Black Adam.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been teasing us with his Black Adam role for the past 15 years. After a brutally long wait for a new DC Extended Universe (aka DCEU) era, Warner Bros. promises that Black Adam will be the beginning of a new DC Super Hero chapter. But does Black Adam finally pay off for DC comic book fans?
In this Black Adam Movie Review | Safe for Kids?, I’m breaking down the visuals, the story, a full PG-13 age rating explanation for violence, adult themes and language, and what kids’ age recommendation is suggested to watch in this new Black Adam parents guide to the new Warner Bros. film. A no-spoiler parent review of Black Adam, does this DC Super Hero movie even compare to DC’s own Shazam or Marvel and the MCU?
Or is this another DC movie letdown that should go hide under “the Rock?”
The Visuals
Does Black Adam wow us in the visuals department? DCEU movies have definitely been all over the place as far as special effects and CGI. But beyond seeing The Rock in tight spandex all movie (get your minds out of the gutter, folks), visually, Black Adam is decent for a super hero film. With enough lightning effects, camera tricks and CGI technology to entertain the IMAX and 3D splurge, the Black Adam film is visually comparable to more recent DC super hero movies.
Photosensitivity warning. There are a lot of flashing lights and lightning effects in this film, as well as scenes in darkness to bright flashing lights. Those with hypersensitivity and/or triggering medical conditions should be aware.
The Story
From cartoon DC super pet to live action DC super hero, Dwayne Johnson (“Jumanji“) stars in the first ever 2022 Black Adam feature film for the DCEU. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (“Jungle Cruise“) and co-starring Aldis Hodge (“The Walking Dead“) as Hawkman, Pierce Brosnan (“Mamma Mia!”) as Dr. Fate, Noah Cintineo (“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before“) as Atom Smasher, and Quintessa Swindell (“Euphoria“) as Cyclone to form the Justice Society. The DC Super Hero movie also co-stars Sarah Shahi (“The Rookie“) as Adrianna, Marwan Kenzari (“Aladdin“) as Ishmael, and Bodhi Sabongui (“A Million Little Things“) as Amon.
In basic DC super hero lingo, “blah blah blah” Black Adam back story, this guy is Shazam’s equal. This DC (anti) super hero origin story shares how Black Adam got his powers, how he got unleashed into the modern world after 5,000 years, his adjustment into modern society, and battling other super heroes, villains and super villains.
DC doesn’t quite nail the story like the Marvel formula. Hokey at times with watered down moments, meh co-stars (does Hawkman remind you of someone else from Marvel?) and overstimulated, chaotic scenes, the audience quickly jumps from action sequence to action sequence without a whole lot of plot substance. However, along with a light history into the Justice Society (Pierce Brosnan was the best, in my opinion), connecting the dots within the DC universe, and a few surprising cameos, Dwayne Johnson embodies the world’s diverse anti super hero with passion, power, and even a few laugh out loud jokes for quite the movie screen spectacle this fall. Black Adam has one mid credit scene. It was impactful enough to have our whole theater erupting with applause.
Black Adam PG-13 Rating
Is Black Adam safe for kids? Holy anti super hero, Batman! As we all know, not every super hero release is the same. Remember that surprise curveball WandaVision episode? Or that intense The Falcon and the Winter Soldier scene? Or how about a whole Moon Knight horror thriller series? And that’s just Marvel. The DC Extended Universe has had it’s own share of problems (*cough, cough* – Wonder Woman 1984 – cough*).
It’s no secret that I am highly skeptical of all MPAA ratings (um hello, PG-13 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker not disclosing any language and The Jungle Cruise not disclosing suspense?? And yes, I see you, PG-13 rated Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). With film ratings unpredictable these days, even PG ratings oscillating between Turning Red intense to Christopher Robin calm, having fully disclosed parent guidelines can help determine if a movie is family friendly – and safe for the whole family to watch together.
Why is Black Adam rated PG-13? In this Black Adam Movie Review | Safe for Kids, the newest DC Super Hero film has been rated PG-13 for “some language, sequences of strong violence, intense action.” But is the Rock going to wow our kids or make them cry in this new DC super hero movie? Is Black Adam comparable to Shazam? Let’s breakdown that MPAA PG-13 age rating in this Black Adam parents guide.
Adult Themes. Thankfully super light for a super hero film, on par with most Marvel movies. Only a few scenes of shirtless men, men in tight spandex-like clothing, and a few hugs.
Violence/Suspense. Insert strong violence and intense action here. Unlike Marvel films, Black Adam is very “in your face” with bloody action sequences. I’m talking blood spurting through the air, open wounds, up close fist fighting, human dismemberment, pain/torture, and intense weapons usage (guns to swords) – including kill shots, people exploding, on fire, badly wounded and thrown to their deaths. Yes, multiple deaths.
One mild jump scare suspense moment. Monsters, zombies, demons, and villains galore too. Black Adam is MORE intense than your usual Marvel super hero films – more on par with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or Moon Knight or more recently Werewolf By Night.
Language. Some language is a nice way of saying it (pun intended). The amount of swear words and bad language in Black Adam is numerous. I counted 8 uses of “sh!t” alone. 5 “@ss” phrases, 4 “d@mn” or “d@mmit” words, 1 “b@stards,” 8 “h-e-double-hockey sticks.”
Lighter language includes 2 uses of “p!ss off” or “p!ssed off,” 1 “bloody,” and a couple of “oh g-d” phrases. That’s easily over 20 bad language phrases for just the really bad swear words, which is more than the usual Marvel swear word count.
Black Adam Age Rating for Kids
At a runtime of 2 hours 4 minutes, Black Adam is on the lengthy side for a super hero movie, but not quite as long as Shazam. However, with constant action, with fighting sequences, explosions, chases, CGI and super heroics throughout the film, this is certainly not a “boring” super hero movie as far as kids are concerned.
Parents should keep in mind that Black Adam has a more serious tonality than compared to 2019 Shazam. Some of the sarcasm, humor could possibly go over the heads of kids. There’s quite a bit of back story explanation and dialogue to consider as well. But overall, Black Adam certainly has the DC super hero movie appeal that kids would really engage with.
No, Black Adam does not have any post credits scenes. But there is one mid-credit sequence. No need to stay through the end of the credits.
Black Adam, the 2022 DC Super Hero film, has been rated PG-13 for “some language, sequences of strong violence, intense action.”
Based on my full Black Adam parents guide and mom review above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend Black Adam to kids younger than the age of 10-11 years old.
Based on my full Black Adam parents guide and mom review above, I strongly suggest that parents gauge your child’s temperament to violent scenes (next level to Marvel violence – more like Moon Knight or Doctor Strange 2), and exposure to heavy swear words and bad language.
Considering the full PG-13 rating breakdown above, this parent movie reviewer would not recommend Black Adam to kids younger than the age of 10-11 years old.
I recommend parents to prescreen the new Black Adam film for the intense violence (including gore, human dismemberment, kill shots, etc.) and for the heavy language content. If your younger child has seen movies such as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, than Black Adam may be for them. While Black Adam is suitable for my 13-year old son’s movie taste, Black Adam is definitely too violent and gory for my 9-year old daughter to enjoy.
The Overall
Dwayne Johnson has waited 15 years for “his baby” multicultural DC super hero film to come to life. I wish I could say that it was well worth the wait. Black Adam is full of lightning smoke and mirrors – with so much CGI and special effects to look at, one could easily overlook the fact that the story is not quite as captivating as I had hoped.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice for DC, but the action-packed lightning show is still entertaining and worth a watch. I was really pulling for Black Adam’s magic to wow audiences with story over special effects. But for me, Black Adam is still second best to Shazam. Despite the critics’ shaming of this DC film (what’s up with the hate, Rotten Tomatoes?), Black Adam still could have been a smashing summer flick. The Rock’s passion project doesn’t quite live up to the diverse super hero potential we both were hoping for. But hey, it’s at least lightning years better than Wonder Woman 1984.
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Black Adam, the all-new DC Super Hero movie from Warner Bros. Pictures, unleashes his justice into theaters on Friday October 21, 2022. Will your family be watching?
I was invited to screen the new Black Adam film in exchange for this Black Adam Movie Review | Safe for Kids? Parents Guide. All photos courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more movie updates, celebrity interviews, entertainment and behind-the-scenes info!
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