“Black Adam” has finally arrived in theaters and exceeds expectations to deliver an action-packed thrill ride that truly does change the hierarchy of power in the DC universe. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been working tirelessly for years to get “Black Adam” off the ground and it was well worth the wait. This film showed off how powerful Teth Adam truly is and the lengths he will go to for his own vengeance. He is a force to be reckoned with and an intimidating presence onscreen. While he is the unstoppable force, he doesn’t have much to say. He appears more stoic and a visual threat. He has a few good liners that are even comical but his true nature of character is to wreak havoc on who he wishes.
Joining Black Adam (as well as facing off) is the Justice Society of America (JSA) including Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone. Pierce Brosnan as Kent Nelson/Doctor Fate was the standout of the film. He stole every scene he was in and made you want a Doctor Fate solo movie or series desperately because of how interesting his performance was. Aldis Hodge as Hawkman was an absolute bad-ass on screen and displayed such a commanding presence. He really had some great action sequences that showed off how strong he is, however you start to notice he gets his ass kicked a lot in the film. Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher and Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone were slightly smaller roles where Centineo served more as comedic relief and Swindell as visual spectacle. All members of the JSA had fantastic costumes that really stood out.
There were also plenty of easter eggs that comic fans will pick up on as well as some great cameos. The side characters that guided Black Adam were not as interesting but served their purpose in the story. The cinematography, visual effects and CGI were tremendous and easily better than anything Marvel has put out in the recent Phase Four.
One main dislike from the film was the use of the villain as they felt unnecessary and as if there was no care or worries about how they would affect the story. The whole angle framed in the trailers of Black Adam vs the JSA was interesting enough on screen to almost not need a final villain.
The majority of the movie is nonstop action which works but you wish there would be some more slow scenes to really understand Teth Adam better and the use of the anti-hero angle, however it was able to do it much better than “Venom” and “Morbius”.
This superhero outing did have some overused tropes that have been seen before but in the end it all worked out and made the movie worth the watch. “Black Adam” was a fantastic thrill ride that makes you want more from this side of DC even though it has a few flaws that need ironing out.
“Black Adam” is 8/10.