The reviews for Black Adam are now in. Audiences have been waiting for more than a decade to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson dress up as DC antihero Black Adam. So, has patience paid off and was it all worth the wait? Well, you’re the judge.
We’ll start with the positives, and Ben Rolph from Discussing Film topped it off Black Adam an impressive 4/5.
“[Black Adam] has passion and an eye for spectacle, everything feels exciting and grand.”
The praise continues with our own Julian Roman, who, while he found issues with the script and “predictable plot,” found much to enjoy in the blatant blockbuster spectacle.
Genre haters may criticize the film as a bloated CGI spectacle with no substantive plot. It is never explained how he speaks English. Don’t walk into Black Adam and expect the depth or plot virtues of The Batman. It works like a blockbuster action movie with dazzling effects. Fandom will foam at the mouth for the suggested sequel. Black Adam is perhaps the toughest man on earth…”
The somewhat mediocre response continues courtesy of John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter, who says of: Black Adam“This passion project serves the character well, preparing him for adventures that you hope are less predictable than this one.” Evan Valentine of ComicBook.com added, “Black Adam is a fun, outrageous and flawed film that answers the prayers of many while also offering viewers an action-packed thrilling ride with plenty of charisma from the protagonists.”
Unfortunately, while Black Adam has clearly been a serious passion project for Johnson, that passion did not shine through with everyone. IGN’s Joshua Yehl Finally Gives Black Adam a disappointing 5/10, with the action scenes being called ‘excessive’ and the themes ‘half-baked’.
“It’s packed with undeveloped characters and an inordinate amount of repetitive action sequences, to the point where the half-baked debate about what it means to be a hero is lost in all the noise.”
Eric Eisenberg of CinemaBlend, meanwhile, also found a lot of criticism and concluded that: Black Adam is a DC disappointment.
“Given the number of years this project was in development and how it was promoted to shift the balance of power in the DC universe, it’s disappointing that the end result is so unremarkable.”
The poor response continues with IndieWire’s David Ehrlich giving Black Adam a D+ and says, “There isn’t a single character here that doesn’t feel like a cheap photocopy of one of Gotham or the MCU, not a beat that doesn’t feel like it hasn’t been publicly tested within an inch of its life.” Matt Singer from ScreenCrush really didn’t like it Black Adamgave the DC outing a 4/10, saying, “Black Adam was a long wait. And it wasn’t really worth the wait.”
There is praise for Dwayne Johnson’s lead performance
Despite this, there is praise for Dwayne Johnson’s central performance as the titular Black Adam. ScreenRant’s Rachel LaBonte applauded the actor… but sadly found flaws in everything going on around him.
“While Black Adam suffers from repetitive plot beats and thin characters, Black Adam is powered by Johnson’s performance and his promise of an exciting future.”
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw felt the same way, stating that “Johnson is well placed to realize the superhero film’s potential as a surreal action comedy.”
Finally, it’s Empire’s Helen O’Hara who is most likely to sum up how most will feel after seeing Johnson take to the silver screen as Black Adam.
“Dwayne Johnson and director Jaume Collet-Serra try to offer a grand unified theory of DC, mixing family movie tropes with a protagonist who kills people outright. The result is sometimes a mess, but it’s generally entertaining.”
Black Adam is scheduled for release on October 21, 2022 by Warner Bros. Pictures.