Black Adam Restores Faith In The DCEU

Black Adam is packed to the brim with action. It isn’t without it’s issues but The Rock was born to play this role, which helps it deliver.

Black Adam Movie Review

Black Adam will help DC fans restore their faith in the DCEU. With more misses than hits lately, it is nice to have a movie that really packs a punch join the ranks. The Rock was absolutely born to play the role of this anti-hero, which helps make this movie work as well as it does. There are certainly some issues, but overall this is an action packed superhero movie that sets up for some very cool things to happen in the future.

Black Adam deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible, so head to your local theater (IMAX if possible) for this one. 

What Works With Black Adam

The best thing about Black Adam is The Rock. It is widely known that he has wanted to play this character for a very long time, and because of his love for Black Adam, this movie really delivers. He puts his heart and soul into the role. Not only does he do an incredible job with the stunts, which is to be expected, he gives Black Adam heart, and that is why he becomes so likeable as the movie goes on. Without that connection from the audience, the climax would mean absolutely nothing.

And speaking of the climax, this movie is packed with action. When we say that, we mean it is pretty much non-stop action for the entire movie. Sure, there are some conversation scenes here and there, but for the most part Black Adam is all about massive, gigantic, and monumental fights. It is just one battle after the other, but we aren’t complaining.

As with any good fight scene, we also get a pretty fire soundtrack. Each song choice elevates the moment, and that, coupled with a hair-raising score, making the biggest scenes in Black Adam the best, even with their faults (more on that later).

Fans were thrilled when the Justice Society was announced as a part of Black Adam, and this excitement has not been in vain, because they are a great addition to the story. They compliment the main plot, which is the issues that Black Adam is dealing with, and a couple of DCEU cameos come along with them.

These four actors do a wonderful job bringing the characters to life, Pierce Brosnan (Dr. Fate) and Aldis Hodge (Hawkman) are the standouts. Dwayne Johnson and Aldis Hodge has phenomenal on screen chemistry, and are an absolute blast to watch together. Their relationship, coupled with Brosnan’s Dr. Fate, brings something truly special to the film. Adding in the Justice Society was a brilliant choice and really elevates the movie. Without them, we aren’t too sure the movie would have worked as well as it does.

The two younger heroes, Cyclone (played by Quintessa Swindell) and Atom Smasher (played by Noah Centineo) are an exciting addition to the cast. Hopefully we see them in the future because they have a lot of chemistry together and fans will be wanting to see where they go from here.

Something that needs to be done well in any superhero movie is the costumes, and boy was the wardrobe team on point with them for Black Adam. They resemble the comic book versions, but still bring something unique to the screen, which is always appreciated.

We can’t talk about the positive aspects of Black Adam without mentioning that mid-credit scene. Even though it is all over the internet, we refuse to address spoilers, but this is one that will have fans literally jumping out of their seats and screaming — or even just tearing up with excitement like we did. 

What Doesn’t Work With Black Adam 

With the good, however, comes the bad. Black Adam is all perfection, even though it has some great key moments. One of the biggest issues is something that the DCEU has unfortunately struggled with for some time, and that is the CGI and VFX, particularly during the action sequences. Because there is so much action in Black Adam, there are more of these flubs, and if seen on a giant screen as it should be seen, they are easier to point out. That isn’t to say it is all bad, because it isn’t, but there are some instances where you can see problems. 

Another things that happens during the action is a whole lot of slow motion. It is cool at first, and then again during certain important moments, but it is way too overused — to the point where it almost slows the pacing down. If it hadn’t been done to this extent, it would have worked much better. 

Black Adam is an anti-hero, and the Justice Society is in the movie, so there is no need for a villain, right? Yeah, that is what we thought too but there is one, and he is weak at best. The villain doesn’t do much of anything except provide us with a pretty cool battle, so we will take it — reluctantly. However he is a weak villain overall, and almost feels like an afterthought. There really was no point to him. We would have been fine with Black Adam being the “villain” of the story.

When it comes to the story, there is a twist towards the end. However, if you are paying attention at the beginning of the movie, you are going to pick up on it. This causes that big reveal to be a bit of a meh reveal when the time comes. A few other plot twist elements are predictable as well, but Black Adam is clearly here for the action and to set this character up for more appearances, so we can forgive that.

This movie is not a comedy, and unlike Marvel, it doesn’t try to squeeze a bunch of laughs in. That being said, Atom Smasher feels a bit too Ant-Man at times, complete with witty quips that unfortunately miss the mark. There are a couple that hit, and a few laugh out loud lines (mostly delivered by The Rock, though), however this is more of a dark story and luckily, there isn’t a whole lot of comedy packed in.

Overall Thoughts

Black Adam isn’t perfect, but it is an absolute blast. It is packed with some truly incredible action sequences, and The Rock delivers one of his best performances. He put his heart and soul in to this role and that is extremely obvious — and that is why this movie is so good. 

The performances besides his all bring something to the table, and not one feels over or under acted. It is impossible not to fall in love with Bodhi Sabongui who plays Amon, and is the main standout of the entire film besides The Rock. 

If it wasn’t for the overused slow motion, the weak villain, and the predictability, this could have been the best DCEU film to date. Still, it is leaps and bounds above a lot of the more recent ones. Black Adam restores hope that the DCEU is on a decent path and we cannot wait to see what comes next — especially after that mid-credit scene. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

NEXT: 5 Biggest Unanswered Questions Lingering After The Batman

About Black Adam

THE WORLD NEEDED A HERO… IT GOT BLACK ADAM.

In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed and Black Adam has gone from man, to myth, to legend.

Now released, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone.

Black Adam hits theaters everywhere on October 21st.