Black Adam reviews

Dwayne Johnson's "Black Adam" isn't drawing the strongest reviews ahead of the DC film's release Friday.

Only worse.” [ScreenCrush](https://screencrush.com/black-adam-movie-review/) critic Matt Singer deemed the film “pretty middling” writing that it “plays like a committee-made product designed to zhoosh up the stagnant DC Extended Universe with a massive star and a batch of new heroes to spin off into future movies. [The Wrap,](https://www.thewrap.com/black-adam-movie-review-dwayne-johnson/) Alonso Duralde called the film “anti-entertaining” and deemed it “one of the most visually confounding of the major-studio superhero sagas, between CG that’s assaultively unappealing and rapid-fire editing that sucks the exhilaration right out of every fight scene.” [Indiewire ](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/10/black-adam-movie-review-1234773729/)critic David Ehrlich panned the film, opening his review with the question of “What happens when Hollywood’s most risk-averse movie star collides with Hollywood’s most risk-averse movie genre?” His answer? Under the new leadership of CEO David Zaslav under Warner Bros. Should the top critics number stand, it would mark the lowest such figure for a DC film since 2017’s “Justice League,” which netted a 23% approval rating from top critics and was so reviled among fans that a reworked version was eventually ordered by Warner Bros., arriving in the form of “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” in 2021. With reviews hitting for the Dwayne Johnson vehicle this afternoon, “Black Adam” currently stands at a 32% approval rating from top critics on the the review-aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Most others have been less receptive to the origin story, though many have highlighted Johnson’s performance as a key strength.

Black Adam has scant intention of wasting time with trifles such as character background, motivations or emotional attachments.

The Rock is always the center of attention of any scene he’s in, and there’s every reason to believe that he’ll soon push ahead to create a string of Black Adam films and make up for lost time. The characters are colorful and momentarily amusing to behold, but none of them are in Black Adam’s league. But massive resources and the sheer weight of its efforts aren’t necessarily enough to win you over, and even though a good bit of the action here is airborne, that doesn’t mean it ever really takes off. There’s little more than this in terms of exposition, which will be something of a handicap for the uninitiated but will be just fine with the fanboys who know all they need to know going in. But it doesn’t take long to realize that the script, by Adam Sztykiel (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Scoob!) and the team of Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani (the very good and dead serious The Mauritanian), has scant intention of wasting time with trifles such as character background, motivations or emotional attachments. No matter what one might think about this Black Adam movie as a whole, The Rock grabs your attention and keeps it no matter what he’s doing.

The bonafide movie star struts into the DC Universe, but his entry vehicle 'Black Adam' buckles beneath the A-lister's might.

In almost all regards, Black Adam is heavy-handed, and, in its humor at least, criminally unoriginal. Black Adam brings the subtext to the fore, anchoring Black Adam’s existence in the hypocrisy of superheroes. But as a story, Black Adam feels too disengaged to bring anything other than Johnsn’s stardom to the audience’s attention. This dichotomy propels Black Adam forward as much as it haunts it. That’s a daring concept to come out of one of the biggest superhero brands in the world. (Much of Black Adam is modeled after But like Marvel, Black Adam makes gestures at political and social ideas rather than actually saying something of consequence. The scene is a gleeful introduction to what Black Adam can do, but the sequence ultimately lacks rhythm. This comics-to-movies trivia is important to understand the philosophy driving Black Adam. Since 2021’s Jungle Cruise, Collet-Serra has been on the Dwayne Johnson train, and Black Adam feels like just the next stop in their collaboration than a statement piece by either artist. His hero shots have all the elaborate details but none of the significance or lethal power that Black Adam is meant to represent. Black Adam begins in 2600 B.C.E.

Is the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe about to change? Dwayne Johnson seems to think so. His long-awaited superhero film, Black Adam, is nearly here, ...

"Black Adam is decent when it comes to world-building--Collet-Serra's depiction of old Kahndaq is a standout, although he could have cut down on the many slow-motion action sequences throughout the film. Johnson is also a welcome part of this world, and while the DCEU has attempted to bring moral ambiguity to characters like Superman in ways that weren't entirely successful, Black Adam allows DC to play in this darkness with an antihero that doesn't betray their world or characters." As with Shane, sticking a kid in the middle of the story brings the entire project down to a middle-school-level intellect. "The movie is essentially Shane on steroids, set in the Middle East instead of the Old West, but still seen through the eyes of a young boy--Adrianna's comic book-obsessed son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui), in this case--who idolizes a figure of questionable morality. "Black Adam overindulges to the point where it's hard to enjoy the DC anti-hero's debut. We're going to guess that Black Adam talks to the camera less, but it's still noteworthy that Johnson fought so hard and for so long to make what even DC fans would consider a C-tier character in terms of popularity, and even lesser known than pre-Jason Momoa Aquaman.

Not long into “Black Adam,” a preteen boy looks up at the muscled hulk of Dwayne Johnson and begs for his help: “We could use a superhero right now.

Two and a half stars out of four. They nicely include pockets of humor that DC has not always done well — a recurring bit with “Baby Come Back” and teaching Black Adam satire are fun; a Clint Eastwood gag fails — and there may have been three natural endings piling up before the final, manipulative one. Black Adam replies: “Well, I do.” It is Shahiby’s character who notes that it’s easy to call someone a hero when you’re the one drawing the line. The Justice Society members are shocked to find that they aren’t seen as heroic to the residents of Kahndaq, living 27 years under oppression. Most intriguing — and the angle most fruitful to lean into — is the notion of hero itself. Comedian Mohammed Amer is a much-needed bolt of bright humor. At one point, with the audience exhausted by all the carnage, they introduce skeletons who rise up as a legion from hell, just what we wanted. that has wizards, a blood-thirsty king, a magical crown and Eternium, a rare metallic ore with energy-manipulating properties (Hello, Vibranium from “Black Panther”). They apparently left at home the superhero with the ability to open jars. Is he a force for good or bad? Do we need another superhero with another convoluted origin story that stretches back thousands of years and fulfills a whacko destiny? Why he hasn’t had a starring role in a DC or Marvel superhero flick until now is astonishing — c’mon, he’s built himself into a freaking superhero in street clothes already.

Our review for Black Adam details how the DC anti-hero's big screen debut suffers from far too many issues that other modern superhero movies have already ...

The Little Mermaid is the beloved story of Ariel, a beautiful and spirited young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. It bites off more than it can chew when it comes to squeezing the origin of its main character, four members of the Justice Society, a trio of relatable human characters, and a villain for them to fight all in one movie. Considering there’s a second Shazam movie in the works while Superman is pretty much MIA following 2017’s Justice League, that’s a heck of a choice. The series launches on Disney+ in Spring 2023.](/videos/marvels-secret-invasion-official-trailer) [The Little Mermaid - Official Teaser TrailerCheck out the teaser trailer for The Little Mermaid, the upcoming live-action reimagining of the animated musical classic. After about the fourth scene of him mowing down dozens of baddies who didn’t stand a chance, I started to wonder why a sort of “Black Adam Kryptonite'' was introduced in the first act but none of the bad guys thought to use it against him later on. While he gets top marks for making his Black Adam just as steely and imposing as in the comics, the character feels a bit too confident and powerful. Johnson plays Black Adam in the same vein as Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2: a stoic, seemingly soulless killing machine gains a glimmer of humanity and even a sense of humor. On the other hand, Doctor Fate’s abilities look a bit too similar to what we saw Marvel’s Doctor Strange do in Avengers: Infinity War, so it’s a shame they didn’t give Fate a more distinct visual identity. Thus, the topic of superhero morality is the crux of the story, and there’s a lot of talk about heroes and villains, good and evil, and killing versus mercy, but the debate devolves into a confusing garble of platitudes. With a bit too much going on, Black Adam feels both overstuffed and underdeveloped. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stars as a powerhouse from ancient times who explodes into the present day with a bad attitude and lots of flashy lightning effects, but unfortunately he’s not the only thing from the distant past. Everyone else spends most of their time explaining the MacGuffin or their backstory.

In this DC comics blockbuster, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is the bad guy. Sure, why not?

On top of that, a digital double of Johnson is glaringly subbed in for the action sequences. Teth-Adam spends a lot of time staring at a statue, which hints at some vulnerability as the character grapples with the weight of his own myth. The large cast oddly pushes Johnson into the sidelines of his own movie for a surprising amount of the film. A team of superheroes called The Justice Society is dispatched to take him down, plus an army of mercenaries with infinite ammo and a council of demons looking to unleash hell. Start to finish and through the inevitable post-credits scene, Black Adam is a guilty pleasure that isn't even the slightest bit guilty. So Black Adam is a ton of fun, if you like that sort of thing, headlined by a humorously homicidal antihero who puts an irreverent spin on the superhero formula.

Dwayne Johnson's overdue superhero epic, while bolstered by smart turns from Pierce Brosnan and Aldis Hodge, could have been called One Long Fight: The ...

Black Adam is a movie that would have you believe that the aforementioned country’s population would chant “champion” at the guy who helped demolish most of their homes and buildings. It is a movie where such in-world story logic concerns like that take up more of your investment than most of the characters and spectacle do. (The JSA are sadly dealt a crappy hand when, after spending most of the movie speechifying about the negative toll destruction can have on a potential savior’s soul, they essentially “peace out” of the movie after kick-punching holes through an entire country. While this relationship provides the movie with some of its few genuine heartfelt moments, it gets somewhat shortchanged by all the sulking and repetitive “murder is bad” arguments Adam finds himself in. With the crown in the wind, Black Adam struggles to adjust to a non-kill ethos when confronted by the Justice Society of America, who have been dispatched by Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller to contain him (and provide some clunky interconnectivity across DC’s disjointed live-action films). A movie full of under-cranked, slow-mo action (it’s really okay to let this aesthetic go, Warner Bros.) and over-plotted world-building that delivers more information than emotion because the movie struggles to ground this world on the backs of characters worth emotionally investing in.

Reviews are rolling from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson's highly anticipated film “Black Adam.” Johnson's entry into the DC Universe has been met with a lukewarm ...

The reviews for Black Adam are in and while the critics enjoyed Dwayne Johnson's take on the DC antihero, everything else disappointed.

[Black Adam's Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.cbr.com/black-adam-rotten-tomatoes-score-dceu/) score is an indication of many other reviewers' thoughts. [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/black-adam-movie-review-dwayne-johnson-dceu-superheroes-1234608737/), David Fear similarly praised Johnson's performance but lamented the movie's underdeveloped supporting characters, clashing tone, and at times, incoherent writing. These sentiments were shared by [IndieWire](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/10/black-adam-movie-review-1234773729/)'s David Ehrlich who describes Black Adam as a safe, predictable superhero story that doesn't do enough with its edgy protagonist. [CBR's own Gregg Katzman](https://www.cbr.com/black-adam-movie-review/) notes that while he expects the movie to satisfy fans, he was also aware that critics would likely be unimpressed. [CBR](https://www.cbr.com/black-adam-movie-review/), [THR](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/black-adam-dwayne-johnson-pierce-brosnan-dc-jaume-collet-serra-1235241643/), [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/black-adam-movie-review-dwayne-johnson-dceu-superheroes-1234608737/), [IndieWire](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/10/black-adam-movie-review-1234773729/) Despite these points, he also praises Johnson in the leading role, noting that he brings "just enough motion and empathy into the character" and works well alongside Justice Society of America standouts Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan).

Black Adam is Warner Bros.' latest entry in their DCEU saga. Starring Dwayne Johnson, the studio seems to have placed all its eggs in this basket, ...

[ Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice performed terribly](https://gamerant.com/batman-v-superman-ultimate-edition-fixes-movie/) with critics, it made off with a good box office haul. The film has received a great deal of promotion and hype from its star and the studio, both of whom have gone so far as to suggest a potential [film about a Superman fight with Black Adam](https://gamerant.com/dwayne-johnson-superman-cameo-black-adam-tease/) may be on the way. Since the studio made these movies, it has lost tens of billions in valuation, and it appeared to be hoping that Black Adam would help their situation in some capacity. Critics’ opinions are one thing, but if the audience hates it, it might not be able to make a profit, which Warner Bros. At the time of this writing, the site (which compiles reviews and assigns them “fresh” or “rotten” before assigning a percentage point for how many of the reviews were “fresh”) has assigned the film a 52% rating among critics. Starring Dwayne Johnson, the studio seems to have placed all its eggs in this basket, hoping for a second chance with their DC film saga, which has been struggling of late.

Critics say the film suffers from a villain problem and a lackluster script, but a scene-stealing Pierce Brosnan, lots of action, and the hint of something ...

– It’s an interesting setup: American “heroes” coming to a foreign country to stop the local hero from protecting the citizens. When we say that, we mean it is pretty much non-stop action for the entire movie. Brosnan is a natural in the role of Fate and it’s a wonder how no one tapped on his talents sooner for a superhero role. — the problem is that he doesn’t want to. The problem isn’t that Johnson can’t act — he definitely can! No matter what one might think about this Black Adam movie as a whole, The Rock grabs your attention and keeps it no matter what he’s doing. This is perfect casting from more than a physical standpoint. Johnson is grandiose as Black Adam, leaving his charismatic movie star stamp in every scene. He put his heart and soul into this role. The Rock delivers one of his best performances. His love for the DC Universe shines through the film and his passion pays off well throughout.

With reviews hitting for the Dwayne Johnson vehicle this afternoon, “Black Adam” currently stands at a 32% approval rating from top critics on the the review- ...

[a potential “advisor” ](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/black-adam-dwayne-johnson-dc-marvel-1235401840/)for DC Films. Only worse.” [ScreenCrush](https://screencrush.com/black-adam-movie-review/) critic Matt Singer deemed the film “pretty middling” writing that it “plays like a committee-made product designed to zhoosh up the stagnant DC Extended Universe with a massive star and a batch of new heroes to spin off into future movies. For more articles like this please visit [variety.com](http://variety.com) [Variety](http://variety.com) provided this article. [The Wrap,](https://www.thewrap.com/black-adam-movie-review-dwayne-johnson/) Alonso Duralde called the film “anti-entertaining” and deemed it “one of the most visually confounding of the major-studio superhero sagas, between CG that’s assaultively unappealing and rapid-fire editing that sucks the exhilaration right out of every fight scene.” [Indiewire ](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/10/black-adam-movie-review-1234773729/)critic David Ehrlich panned the film, opening his review with the question of “What happens when Hollywood’s most risk-averse movie star collides with Hollywood’s most risk-averse movie genre?” His answer? With reviews hitting for the Dwayne Johnson vehicle this afternoon, “Black Adam” currently stands at a 32% approval rating from top critics on the the review-aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.