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Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra , and featuring a remarkable lead performance by Dwayne Johnson , the spiky and majestic "Black Adam" is one of the best DC superhero films to date. This tale of a gloomy, seemingly malevolent god who reappears in a long-occupied Middle Eastern nation rejects most of the choices that bland-ify even the good entries in the genre. For its first third, it presents its title character—a champion who challenged a despotic king thousands of years earlier—as a frightening and unknowable force with a bottomless appetite for destruction. Known by his ancient moniker Teth-Adam, his reemergence from a desert tomb proves both a miracle and a curse for people who prayed for someone to defend them against corporate-mercenary thugs who have oppressed them for decades and strip-mined their land. 

Throughout the rest of its running time, “Black Adam” leans into the inevitability of Adam’s evolution toward good-guy status, condensing the transformation of the title character in the first two “Terminator” films (there are even comic bits where people try to teach Adam sarcasm and the Geneva Conventions). "Black Adam" then stirs in dollops of a macho sentimentality that used to be common in old Hollywood dramas about loners who needed to get involved in a cause to reset their moral compasses or recognize their worth. But the sharp edge that the film brings to the early parts of its story never dulls.

Adam initially seems as much of a literal as well as a figurative force of nature as Godzilla and other beasts in Japanese  kaiju  films. It’s initially hard for the people in Adam’s path to tell if he’s good, evil, or merely indifferent to human concerns. One thing’s for sure: everyone wants Adam to help them prevent a crown forged in hell and infused with the energy of six demons from being placed atop the head of someone in Intergang, a global corporate/mercenary consortium whose interests are represented by a two-faced charmer ( Marwan Kenzari ).

Decades ago, Humphrey Bogart played a lot of cynical men who insisted they weren’t interested in causes, then changed their minds and took up arms against corruption or tyranny. Viewers still love that story, and Johnson has updated it many times during his career, most recently in “ Jungle Cruise ,” in which he played a character modeled on Bogart's riverboat captain in "The African Queen." He channels vintage primordial acting by Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger but also poet-brute performances like Anthony Quinn's strongman in " La Strada ," and infuses the totality with his unique charisma. "Black Adam" confirms that he’s studied the classics and cherry-picked bits that seem to work for him. There are even tenderhearted moments of regret and recrimination that seem inspired by 1950s moral awakening pictures like “ On the Waterfront .” 

The latter are usually triggered by three “civilian” characters who appeal to Adam’s presumed innate (though submerged) goodness. One is Adrianna Tomaz ( Sarah Shahi ), a university professor, resistance fighter, and widow of a resistance hero who was killed by the colonizers. Another is Adrianna’s cheerful and indomitable son Amon ( Bodhi Sabongui ), who zips around the bombed-out city on a skateboard that seems to have as many secondary uses as a Swiss Army Knife. And then there’s Adrianna’s brother Amir (comedian Mohammed Amer), who livens up a standard-issue earthy everyman role.

Somehow, though, the script by Adam Sztykiel , Rory Haines , and Sohrab Noshirvani resists the temptation to wallow in unearned sentiment. Nor does the movie insist, despite the evidence, that Adam and the superheroes brought into to confront him ( Aldis Hodge ’s Hawkman, Noah Centineo ’s Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell ’s wind-manipulating Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan ’s dimension-hopping and clairvoyant Dr. Fate) are wonderful people who have pure motives and always mean well. In conversations about motivations and tactics, nobody is entirely right or wrong. The movie's edge comes from its determination to live in moral gray areas as long as it can. 

It also comes from the violence, which is presented as the inevitable result of the characters’ personalities, ambitions, and duties, rather than being associated with any particular code or philosophy. That framing, plus the sprays of blood and images of people being impaled, shot, and crushed, pushes the movie's PG-13 rating to the breaking point like “ Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ” and “ Gremlins ” did with the PG rating nearly 40 years earlier. There were several walkouts at the “Black Adam” screening this writer attended, and in every case, it was somebody who brought a child under 10. 

In fairness, they may not have expected the movie to begin with a flashback that climaxes with a slave at a construction site getting gut-stabbed and thrown off a cliff, and a boy being threatened with beheading, or for the title character to obliterate an army with electrical bolts and his bare hands seconds after his first appearance. Nearly every other scene—including expository dialogue exchanges—is set against the backdrop of a chaotic city whose residents have been hardened not just by the occupation, but by the catastrophes that are unleashed whenever super-beings clash, which ties into recurring scenes and dialogue about what it means for a small country to be invaded and occupied by outsiders who set their own rules and are indifferent to daily life on the ground.

Film history buffs might note the studio that originated the project: the Warner Bros. subdivision New Line. It rose to prominence with horror films, grew by releasing auteur-driven, down-and-dirty genre pieces and dramas (including “ Menace II Society ” and “ Deep Cover ”), and got into blockbusters with the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. You can see that lineage reflected in many scenes and sequences of this film, which is PG-13 in fact but R in spirit. “Black Adam” immediately announces what sort of film it is by weaving in quotes from the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black” (the melody of which is referenced in Lorne Balfe ’s score) and musical as well as visual snippets from “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly”—key works from artists whose best work invites you to root for people who move through their worlds like threshers. 

The film’s director honed his mayhem chops in horror movies, then in R-rated thrillers in which Liam Neeson brutally dispatches adversaries. Collet-Serra makes a PG-13 film feel like an R by cutting away or jumping back from the nastiest violence, but letting us hear it (or imagine it when people watch from a great distance). He also does it by insisting, through actions as well as dialogue, that individuals, even superhuman ones, do things for multiple, often contradictory reasons. (A boy’s bedroom is filled with superhero posters and comics, and when a “good guy” and Adam fight in there, they burn and tear through DC’s most recognizable icons in a way that rhymes with scenes of the city's historic monuments being toppled or pulverized.)

Fidelity to basic film storytelling keeps "Black Adam" centered even when it's doing ten things at once. The film is packed with foreshadowings, setups, payoffs, twists, and surprises, and is filled with well-defined lead and supporting characters. One standout is Brosnan, who delivers a moving portrait of an immortal who is tired of seeing the future and thinking back on his past. Dr. Fate looks at those who can live in the present with a mixture of melancholy, wisdom, and envy. 

Another is Johnson, who has real acting chops but in recent years has often seemed to be constrained (maybe intimidated?) by his lucrative image as the people’s colossus. He’s as minimalist as one could be when playing a god. He takes a lot of his cues from the screen star that the film quotes most often, Clint Eastwood , but he also seems to have learned from action-hero performances by stars like Neeson, Toshiro Mifune , Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Charles Bronson , who understood that the camera can detect and amplify faint tremors of emotion as long as you act with the film—not just in it, and never against it. The peak is a fleeting moment when Johnson lets us know that something deep inside Adam has changed by glancing in a different direction and softening his features. It's maybe half a second. It’s not the kind of acting that wins prizes because if it’s done well—as it is here—you feel as if it happened in your mind rather than on the screen. 

The politics and spirituality of the movie are just as committed and consistent. Even when the story flirts with Orientalism or incorporates simplistic Western heaven-and-hell imagery, “Black Adam” never loses track of what Adam represents in our world: autonomy, liberation, the possibility of redemption and renewal, and a refusal to be defined by however things have always been done. 

The result sometimes plays like the DC answer to the pop culture quake that was “ Black Panther ,” serving up a Middle Eastern-inflected version of the Marvel film’s Afro-Futurist sensibility, and letting its setting stand in for any place that was colonized. But its politics are more clearly defined and less compromised. “Black Adam” is staunchly anti-imperialist to its marrow, even equating the Avengers-like crew sent to capture and imprison Black Adam to a United Nations “intervention” force that the people of the region don’t want because it only makes things worse. The movie is anti-royalist, too, which is even more of a surprise considering that the backstory hinges on kings and lineage. 

"Black Adam" is a superlative and clever example of this sort of movie, coloring within the lines while drawing fascinating doodles on the margins. In its brash, relentless, overscaled way, Collet-Serra's film respects its audience and wants to be respected by it. "Black Adam" gives the audience everything they wanted, along with things they never expected.

Only in theaters today.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Film credits.

Black Adam (2022)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language.

125 minutes

Dwayne Johnson as Teth Adam / Black Adam

Aldis Hodge as Carter Hall / Hawkman

Pierce Brosnan as Kent Nelson / Doctor Fate

Noah Centineo as Al Rothstein / Atom Smasher

Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz / Isis

Marwan Kenzari as Ishmael Gregor / Sabbac

Quintessa Swindell as Maxine Hunkel / Cyclone

Bodhi Sabongui as Amon Tomaz

Viola Davis as Amanda Waller

Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt

Mo Amer as Karim

• Jaume Collet-Serra

Writer (based on the characters created by)

• Bill Parker
• Adam Sztykiel
• Rory Haines
• Sohrab Noshirvani

Cinematographer

• Lawrence Sher
• Michael L. Sale
• Lorne Balfe

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Black Adam Movie Review: Action is the only saving grace of this Dwayne Johnson film

Dwayne johnson's black adam is high on action and narration. here's our review..

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Black Adam, starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, walks on the tried and tested tropes of every superhero film, except for the fact that the titular character is no 'hero'. Yet the latest offering from the DC Universe is an enjoyable watch, mostly for its action set pieces.

The film relies heavily on action, so much so that it becomes very predictable after a point. We are introduced to Teth Adam's backstory in the fictional Middle Eastern country of Kahndaq through a voiceover narration (lazy enough?). Less than 30 minutes into the movie, Teth Adam, who is awakened after 5,000 years to save Kahndaq, himself appears, killing the bad guys without any remorse. No time is wasted.

The film's action is fast-paced and so is its narration. The characters and their intentions are quickly established and no revelation is left to be introduced later in the film. While the real motivation behind Teth Adam's character is revealed in the second half, its flimsy treatment squanders the possibility of any twist.

As per comic books, the character of Black Adam is a loose cannon, who can go up against the good and bad guys with equal intensity. He has been part of many teams of supers in the DC universe, mostly siding with the villains. Despite this, he remains to be seen as an anti-hero.

However, with Dwayne Johnson playing the character, the makers shied away from painting Black Adam with too much negative shade, even as Johnson's character keeps saying 'I am not a hero' throughout the film. Since it's Johnson, Black Adam is supposed to come out good in the end.

While there are some dazzling action set pieces coupled with impressive visual effects, the makers' risk-free treatment of the film makes Black Adam very predictable. Black Adam's weakness to Eternium is established early in the film, but the makers chose to carefully forget about the magical ore being a potential plot armour later in the film.

The film is an out-and-out Dwayne Johnson show. The wrestler-turned-actor's towering physique suits the role. His limited abilities as an actor are actually well utilised in the film where his dialogue delivery is a reminder of the Terminator.

However, it is Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate who is the show stealer. The veteran actor is in fine form to play the sorcerer, who is the only character with some tricks up his sleeve. Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge and Quintessa Swindell also play their part well.

Sarah Shahi plays Adrianna Tomaz, a university professor and a resistance fighter who wakes up Teth Adam from his 5,000-year sleep. However, the makers chose to stay away from revealing her alter-ego Isis, probably in a bid to not crowd the screen with too many meta humans.

The post-credit scene is a show stealer and hints at the return of a popular (most popular, actually) DC character. The scene hints at the possible revival of the flailing DC Universe, though that's the hope we get with every DC film.

Black Adam is an enjoyable watch -- nothing more and nothing less -- for DC fans and otherwise. Published By: Anindita Mukhopadhyay Published On: Oct 23, 2022 --- ENDS --- ALSO READ | Dwayne Johnson says 'Honoured to introduce Justice Society of America to the world with Black Adam'

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Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods--and imprisoned just as quickly--Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique... Read all Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods--and imprisoned just as quickly--Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world. Nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods--and imprisoned just as quickly--Black Adam is freed from his earthly tomb, ready to unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world.

• Jaume Collet-Serra
• Adam Sztykiel
• Rory Haines
• Sohrab Noshirvani
• Dwayne Johnson
• Aldis Hodge
• Pierce Brosnan
• 1.8K User reviews
• 283 Critic reviews
• 41 Metascore
• 1 win & 12 nominations

• Black Adam …

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• Adrianna Tomaz

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Did you know

• Trivia Jordan Peele was originally offered the chance to direct the film when it was first announced in 2017, but Peele declined, saying, "I'm not a fan of superhero movies and I'd hate to take that chance away from a director who is passionate about them."
• Goofs At one point, they state the crown weighs 23 pounds. However, in several places in the movie, people are carrying/lifting it like it weighs a few ounces.

Hawkman : In this world, there are heroes and there are villains. Heroes don't kill people!

Teth-Adam : Well, I do.

• Crazy credits The Warner Bros logo is made of Kahndaq's eternium metal, and through lightning strikes it changes to the New Line Cinema logo.
• Connections Featured in The Observant Lineman: DC Fandome LIVE (2020)
• Soundtracks Bullet with Butterfly Wings Written by Billy Corgan (as William Corgan) Performed by The Smashing Pumpkins Courtesy of Virgin Records Under license from Universal Music Enteprises

User reviews 1.8K

• Oct 22, 2022
• How long is Black Adam? Powered by Alexa
• October 21, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• New Zealand
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• Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Warner Bros.
• New Line Cinema
• DC Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $195,000,000 (estimated)
• $168,152,111
• $67,004,323
• Oct 23, 2022
• $393,452,111

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 5 minutes
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Atmos
• IMAX 6-Track

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'Black Adam' is a one-time-watch, especially for Dwayne Johnson and the jaw-dropping visuals and action sequences.

Black Adam Movie Review: Dwayne Johnson and the visuals are a treat in an otherwise exhausting watch

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Black Adam - Official Trailer

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msepa 1 224 days ago

Tushar raj 373 days ago, surya manupati 452 days ago.

The power regime in DC was about to shift but James Gunn shat on it. Why bring Henry Cavill back as Superman if you're gonna cancel them anyway. And peacemaker actors are in the movie which isn't cancelled. Great.

Ranadip Madhu 111 524 days ago

Wonder Black Adam Vs super man ;)

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• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor. Share
• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor.
• This is the second time Arjun Kapoor is playing a double role, the first being Aurangzeb (2013).
• The song ‘Yamma yamma’ from ‘Shaan’ is sampled in the song ‘Partywali Night' for the film.

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Black Adam may end up pointing the way to an exciting future for DC films, but as a standalone experience, it's a wildly uneven letdown.

With lots of action, solid effects, and a story you don't have to be a comics fan to follow, Black Adam is one of the best DC movies to date.

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Aldis Hodge

Noah Centineo

Atom Smasher

Sarah Shahi

Adrianna Tomaz

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‘Black Adam’ Review: Dwayne Johnson Plays an All-Powerful DC Villain Who Can Be Talked Into Heroism

Set in the imaginary Middle East country of Kahndaq, this meaty, feature-length teaser reframes a fan-favorite 'Shazam!' baddie as an antihero, though his greatest battles are still to come.

By Peter Debruge

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SPOILER ALERT: The following review contains mild spoilers for “ Black Adam .”

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After all, this summer’s “DC League of Super-Pets” wrapped with Krypto (Clark Kent’s companion, also voiced by Johnson) meeting Black Adam’s pet basenji, with whom he debates the meaning of “antihero”: “It’s basically exactly like a regular hero, except way cooler. You make up your own rules, and then you break them.” The prospect that the superegos attached to these two canines might one day collide transforms the spectacular (but otherwise pointless) one-off/origin story that is “Black Adam” into a feature-length tease. The payoff is still to come, but here, audiences are presented with the moral and emotional backstory for a future showdown.

“Black Adam” is built around the notion that Teth Adam, as he’s referred to for most of the movie, isn’t evil so much as really, really angry. The surprisingly serious-minded (but still plenty pulpy) project deprives Johnson of his greatest superpower — his sense of humor — while giving the now-straight-faced star a chance to play a character with some interesting contradictions. His instinct is to kill anyone who upsets him, and yet, he can still be reasoned with. This flexibility will prove crucial, since there’s a far more malevolent (if not especially memorable) character scheming to liberate Kahndaq, the fictional quasi-Egyptian country where the film takes place.

It’s an unusual move for DC to base an entire superhero feature in the Middle East — although it’s a homecoming of sorts for Johnson, whose film career kicked off playing the Scorpion King in “The Mummy Returns.” Doubly daring is the way “Black Adam” aligns our sympathies with the locals, who call upon an ancient hero to help overthrow the white mercenaries extracting precious Eternium from their land. In the film’s “300”-style prologue, the powerful mineral is responsible for transforming a lowly slave into a practically godlike figure — with the help of several wizards.

Flash forward to the present day. Tired of living in a state of oppression, a group of rebels led by tough gal Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) go looking for a legendary crown made of Eternium. Co-written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani, “Black Adam” features a lot more action than most DC movies, cramming the exposition into a series of supercharged set-pieces — including an early “Tomb Raider”-like sequence wherein Adrianna and three accomplices explore a cave, recovering the crown and unleashing Teth Adam from his millennia-long imprisonment.

Looking thoroughly annoyed, his neck thick as a banyan tree trunk, Johnson levitates into the first of many confrontations, blasting blue lightning from his fists. Bullets bounce off his bald dome; bazookas barely slow him down. Collet-Serra has studied everything from “The Matrix” to “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” basing his visual style on favorite tricks from more original films. Half the reason it’s so hard to take comic book movies seriously stems from lazy devices like Eternium and wizards, which “Black Adam” accepts without the slightest hesitation.

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. As with “Shane,” sticking a kid in the middle of the story brings the entire project down to a middle-school-level intellect. And yet, except for the recent Batman movies, that’s how most of the DC films feel.

The most out-of-place characters here are the quartet representing the JSA. Adrianna rightly questions why Hawkman and friends should show up now, after a villainous organization called Intergang has been exploiting them for years. Black Adam may be billed as an antihero, but by the logic of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” he’s more helpful to these Kahndaq freedom fighters than the JSA. Fight scenes involving Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Cyclone pose strange challenges, considering their powers, while Doctor Fate at least gives the visual effects team some fun tricks to animate.

No one’s allowed to upstage Johnson, however — not even a bulging demon named Sabbac who appears near the end. Clearly, the film’s whole purpose is to give Black Adam a suitably grand introduction on the assumption that he’ll be pitted against a more deserving adversary soon enough.

Reviewed at Dolby screening room, Burbank, Oct. 17, 2022. MPA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 125 MIN.

• Production: A Warner Bros. release of a New Line Cinema presentation of a Seven Bucks, Flynn Picture Co. production. Producers: Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia. Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Chris Pan, Walter Hamada, Adam Schlagman, Geoff Johns, Eric McLeod, Scott Sheldon
• Crew: Director: Jaume Collet-Serra. Screenplay: Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, based on characters from DC created by Bill Parker, C.C. Beck. Camera: Lawrence Sher. Editors: Mike Sale, John Lee.
• With: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Mohammed Amer, Bodhi Sabongui, Pierce Brosnan.

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Review: Style and great supporting players make ‘Black Adam’ forgettably entertaining

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The newest entry in the DC Extended Universe, “Black Adam,” starring Dwayne Johnson, has been hyped as a “new phase” and a “change in the hierarchy” for the embattled comic book franchise, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t also been cause for concern. The trailers looked ponderous and gray, and though the film is directed by the auteur of many lively Liam Neeson actioners , Jaume Collet-Serra, his prior outing with Johnson, “Jungle Cruise,” left his signature verve behind. But, it seems Collet-Serra has got his groove back for “Black Adam,” or perhaps he was saving it for this film, which is far more entertaining than it has any right to be.

It helps that “Black Adam” has a distinct and dynamic visual style and tone that distinguishes itself against the Marvel “house style” we’ve become accustomed to over many, many phases of superhero flicks, which have devolved into a depressing digital sludge offset by an onslaught of cutesy, quippy dialogue. In “Black Adam,” the setting is a bustling Middle Eastern city, the cinematography and digital effects crisp and saturated, the action brutal and bruising enough to test that PG-13 rating and the quips judiciously metered out.

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Johnson plays an ancient champion from the kingdom of Kahndaq, who received his powers from the Council of Wizards (you might remember them from the DCEU movie “Shazam” ). Kahndaq is now a modern metropolis, overrun by an organized crime outfit known as Intergang. Adrianna ( Sarah Shahi ), who has been searching for a cursed crown made of “eternium,” awakens Teth-Adam (Johnson) from a 5,000-year slumber while escaping an Intergang faction. The all-powerful champion is essentially a “Dark Superman” — he flies, he has super strength, lightning shoots out of his hands, etc. After a violent clash in the desert, this supercharged Encino Man becomes the protector of Adrianna and her plucky son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui, who steals the whole movie).

But in this universe, there need to be checks and balances on all-powerful beings, so the Justice Society is called up to rein in Teth-Adam (and also to introduce new characters for spin-off movies). Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo) and Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell) swoop in to “promote stability” in the world and battle it out with Teth-Adam in the streets of Kahndaq. They eventually decide to team up to take on Intergang, who have occupied the country for 27 years, mining eternium and searching for the cursed crown so that their leader, Ishmael (Marwan Kenzari), can ascend the throne as some kind of hell demon king.

Screenwriters Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines and Sohrab Noshirvani have to power through a lot of expository lore, character intros and various mumbo jumbo, so they take the tack of repeating the beats over and over again: Teth-Adam lost his son in the process of gaining his power, he’s reckoning with 5,000 years of trauma, he’s not a hero, but his damage makes him powerful. There’s also a refreshingly anticolonialist bent lurking in the story of Kahndaq overthrowing their occupiers, embodied by the rebellious Amon.

While massive global star Johnson is clearly the box office draw, dramatic roles aren’t his forte, and that’s especially clear here as he delivers a dour and dark dramatic performance that’s lacking his natural charisma. Surprisingly, he’s the weak link. Collet-Serra surrounds Johnson with a charm offensive of supporting actors, including Hodge and Brosnan, who are great, as well as Shahi, Sabongui and comedian Mohammed Amer as Adrianna’s brother Karim. The director does heroic work crafting a film around Johnson that is fast and entertaining, tossing needle drops and skateboard stunts and movie references and zombies and funny uncles and fire demons in the mix just to keep us somewhat distracted from the void that is Black Adam himself.

The whole proposition is all a bit silly, and everyone seems in on the joke except for Johnson. While the film feels cobbled together out of spare parts of other superhero movies, and it’s almost instantly forgettable, Collet-Serra manages to hold it all together out of sheer force of will and an inherent sense of style. If there’s any superhero to write about with “Black Adam,” it’s the director, and it’s a good thing to see he still has some lightning coming out of his fingers.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

‘Black Adam’ Rated: PG-13, for sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes Playing: Starts Oct. 21 in general release

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Black Adam First Reviews: Action-Packed and Powered by a Charismatic Dwayne Johnson

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 new in the dceu powers it forward..

TAGGED AS: dceu , First Reviews , movies

Almost 15 years after Dwayne Johnson first announced interest in playing the character, he finally makes his debut as Black Adam in the DCEU this week. But is the movie, eponymously titled Black Adam , worth the wait, the promise, and the anticipation? The first reviews of the superhero spectacle are mixed, but those that get what the movie is and who it’s for praise the positives enough to disregard any shortcomings.

Here’s what critics are saying about Black Adam :

Does it live up to expectations?

Johnson has been attached to the Black Adam role for nearly two decades… His love for the DC Universe shines through the film and his passion pays off well throughout. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

Those who have been waiting for this adaptation long since Johnson first expressed interest back in 2007 will not walk away disappointed. – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

If The Rock smashing more things than he usually can as human characters sounds like a good time, Black Adam delivers. – Fred Topel, United Press International

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. – Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend

How well does it fit into the DCEU?

Black Adam isn’t a full-on course correction for the DCEU, but it is an encouraging new installment in this larger universe. – Ross Bonaime, Collider

Black Adam feels like the first project in years to take from multiple parts of this universe while also focusing on setting up something big for its future. – Gregg Katzman, CBR

Though we’ve prayed DC would move on, there are more than echoes of the Snyderverse here. – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

A strong entry into the DCEU. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

As much as Black Adam is a darker take on Shazam, it also repeats the missteps of lesser DC movies. – Fred Topel, United Press International

It’s not awful, especially when compared to many of the other DCEU films, but it’s far from the game-changer it claims to be. – Matt Rodriguez, Shakefire

Does it feel like any other movies?

The film plays like 2018’s Venom in multiple ways, focusing on brutal action sequences and a mixed tone of dark moments and humor. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

The movie is essentially Shane on steroids, set in the Middle East instead of the Old West. – Peter Debruge, Variety

One movie that’s clearly a model for Black Adam is Terminator 2: Judgment Day . – Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network

(Photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)

How is The Rock as Black Adam?

The Rock delivers one of his best performances. He put his heart and soul into this role. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

An absolutely terrific performance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, [the movie allows] him to flex his trademark muscular showmanship and combine that with character-driven appeal. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

Johnson keeps up his enchanting screen presence as he lands old-fashioned one-liners and brutal action all with complete passion. – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

Johnson also breathes just enough emotion and empathy into the character. – Gregg Katzman, CBR

Johnson is grandiose as Black Adam, leaving his charismatic movie star stamp in every scene. This is perfect casting from more than a physical standpoint. – Jeff Nelson, Showbiz Cheat Sheet

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. Johnson is the man. – Todd McCarthy, Deadline Hollywood Daily

His charisma and brooding stares can only take the film so far. – Matt Rodriguez, Shakefire

Black Adam is perfect for Johnson’s action-figure frame. He just deserves a better first superhero outing than this. – Brian Truitt, USA Today

The problem isn’t that Johnson can’t act — he definitely can! — the problem is that he doesn’t want to. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

What about the Justice Society?

The Justice Society of America nearly steal the movie right from underneath [Johnson] as the film gives them a satisfactory introduction, leaving us wanting more from all of them by the end. – Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture

Aldis Hodge and Pierce Brosnan’s portrayals of Hawkman and Doctor Fate are both equally brilliant. – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

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. Hodge is just as great in the film. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

Pierce Brosnan [is] the standout, even if his character reads like a second-rate Doctor Strange. – Peter Debruge, Variety

Brosnan steals every scene he’s a part of, and the actor is brimming with charisma. – Ross Bonaime, Collider

On the whole, members of the JSA are dealt short shrift, leaving [them] severely underdeveloped. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

Noah Centineo and Quintessa Swindell’s Atom Smasher and Cyclone feel like they stumbled in from another movie. – Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network

(Photo by ©Warner Bros.)

How is the action?

Black Adam features a lot more action than most DC movies. – Peter Debruge, Variety

The visual spectacle just keeps coming at you for two hours, and the effects are all so stupendous that you could begin to take it for granted. – Todd McCarthy, Deadline Hollywood Daily

This movie is packed with action. When we say that, we mean it is pretty much non-stop action for the entire movie. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

Every fight sequence packs a punch, and the film gets extra creative when utilizing Doctor Fate’s powers. – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

Collet-Serra manages to make these action scenes exciting in everything from Adam wiping out large armies to a hand-on-hand fight through an apartment with Hawkman. – Ross Bonaime, Collider

There is no wit, no thrill, and no slickness to the action. – Witney Seibold, Slashfilm

Does the film have a worthy villain?

The villain doesn’t do much of anything except provide us with a pretty cool battle, so we will take it — reluctantly. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

Unfortunately, there isn’t much depth to the big bad, and he’s ultimately there to offer a ton of action in the final act. – Gregg Katzman, CBR

It’s just a shame that the main villain isn’t stronger here because it does overshadow some of the bombastic action on display. – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

The single most forgettable villain in comic book movie history. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

How is the script?

The screenplay is so action-orientated that it almost completely leaves out the necessary room for characters to breathe. – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

The script of Black Adam is arguably the weakest part of the film. Character arcs can feel paper-thin and predictable. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

The character development is shallow. – Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend

The script does little to help non-DC-scholars here, briefly alluding to nanobots and relics and the Justice Society of America as if other movies had introduced them already. – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

Does the movie get political?

The picture’s overarching themes – dealing with colonialism and our desperate need for heroes to speak out against tyranny during bleak times – are affecting and effectively crafted. – Courtney Howard, Fresh Fiction

There’s enough complexity in the post-colonial politics of Kahndaq to engage adults. – Peter Debruge, Variety

It’s an interesting setup: American “heroes” coming to a foreign country to stop the local hero from protecting the citizens. But if you’re hoping Black Adam will get into the complexities of that, this is not that movie. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

Moviegoers may have trouble finding escapist pleasure here, given the knotty global issues the movie raises but doesn’t fully process. – John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter

Will we leave feeling hopeful for the DCEU?

Black Adam will help DC fans restore their faith in the DCEU. – Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky

Black Adam might not change things single-handedly, but it certainly feels like the start of a new era of DC movies. – Ian Sandwell, Digital Spy

What it sets up for the future of the DCEU is exciting and not to be overlooked. – Ben Rolph, Discussing Film

The film’s whole purpose is to give Black Adam a suitably grand introduction on the assumption that he’ll be pitted against a more deserving adversary soon enough. – Peter Debruge, Variety

Perhaps this is a new way forward for the DCEU, but do we really need them to do exactly what the MCU is doing? – Chris Bumbray, JoBlo’s Movie Network

Black Adam opens everywhere on October 21, 2022.

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Black Adam FIRST reviews peg Dwayne Johnson's DC superhero film better than entire Marvel Phase 4

Black adam marks dwayne 'the rock' johnson's entry into the superhero genre. the movie will release in india on october 20, a day before its us premiere..

Black Adam: What is the movie about? 

Black Adam is a spin-off from Warner Bros and New Line Cinema's Shazam!, featuring Zachary Levi. The character first appeared in DC Comics in the 1940s as a villain corrupted by power. He became an anti-hero in the early 2000s. Jaume Collet-Serra, who earlier directed Johnson in the upcoming Jungle Cruise, is helming the film. Johnson has said that Black Adam will feature some of the most biggest action sequences ever filmed. Johnson has also undergone grueling physical training for the titular superhero role. 

Read:  Dune 2 Latest Update: Excited for sequel of Timothee Chalamet's sci-fi film? Know new release date

Black Adam first reviews are positive

The first reviews of Black Adam have been extremely positive. Those who had the chance to watch it early on have shared that it is better than Marvel films that have been coming of late. It has been called 'action-packed' and a 'thrill ride'. It is said that the film has 'non-stop action'.

An Indiewire journalist wrote in his review of Black Adam, "DC is BACK IN BLACK. A fun, yet emotional EPIC with sexy, tit-twisting action that’ll make you hard. WOW!! Start the campaign now: OSCAR 4 ROCK. This isn’t just another cbm, it’s one of the BEST films ever! GREAT music too. A fitting end setting up what’s next (sic)."

Read:  Dwayne Johnson was asked to change name for Hollywood career? Deets inside

Another critic wrote praising the film, "#BlackAdam is DC's most action-packed film to date. It's a non-stop thrill ride that is all about spectacle, and it knows it. Ther3 is barely anytime to breath, or even talk.  @TheRock is a perfect Black Adam, plus Pierce Brosnon is a standout. The film will leave fans buzzing (sic)."

Check out more reactions to the film below. 

Black Adam: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson declares 'time of heroes is over' with new poster of DC film

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Black adam cast details .

With Dwayne Johnson's title character as well as a host of new additions, Black Adam is bringing the Justice Society of America to the DC Universe. The Justice Society, including Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone and Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate, is a superhero team that predates the Justice League in DC comics.

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Black Adam movie review: Dwayne Johnson's film is a bloated, bland, the very worst of superhero storytelling

Black adam movie review: dwayne johnson puts on the superhero suit finally but for a boring, bloated mess of a movie..

It was only a matter of time really. Dwayne The Rock Johnson was always going to enter the superhero arena eventually. Why would he not, as one of the only movie stars who actually looks like a superhero? If anything, it’s a wonder it took him so long to don the spandex and take flight. (Also read: Werewolf by Night review: Marvel goes from mass to niche and quite gloriously so )

The Rock plays antihero Black Adam in the latest from the bumpy DC cinematic universe. As the impressively lazy opening voiceover tells us, 5000 years ago there existed the vibrant, thriving kingdom of Kahndaq (somewhere in the Middle East). That is until an evil king decided to enslave Kahndaq’s people using his evil magic crown. Amidst years of oppression, a hero finally arose from the people who dared to take a stand against the king. An ancient order of wizards (the same ones that gave Shazam his powers) decided to grant this champion powerful abilities to help liberate and save his people. But after a battle with the evil king, the champion disappeared and the king’s magic crown was lost forever (I literally feel like I’m reading out a children’s bedtime story at this point).

Cut to the present day and Kahndaq once again lies in ruin with its people living under the hostile rule of Intergang - an organisation of foreign mercenaries (some sort of Iraq metaphor?) A group of brave freedom fighters (Sarah Shahi and Mohammed Amer as the ineffective comic in a film in desperate need of relief) attempt to take a stand against their merc invaders by setting out to find the lost magic crown, to keep it out of the hands of the bad guys, I think?While off tomb raiding, they manage to locate said crown and in the process, reawaken the famed champion - Black Adam (The Rock who seems so content looking the part that he does little else to act, perform or emote).

As the film shrieks at us literally every six minutes, Black Adam isn’t a hero. He isn’t a villain. He’s an uncontrollable violent force who has no issue taking the lives of his enemies. Think moody Superman on crack. I don’t think I’ve ever seen The Rock this dull and uninteresting to watch. We see not even an iota of the charisma from films like Jungle Cruise, Red Notice, and Jumanji, or the sheer formidable presence of Hobbs from the Fast And Furious franchise. It’s to the credit of director Jaume Collet-Serra that he’s managed to make an empty film that’s spectacularly devoid of any kind of directorial stamp (it’s what’s known as the ‘John Watts condition’). What’s worse, he’s also failed on the absolute bare basics of capitalising on The Rock’s daunting presence as a really angry, scary dude who could snap you like a twig.

There are a precious few moments early on where we first see Adam tear through soldiers, rip them in half, and zap them to hell, where we get some inkling of what could have been. An arena of fear. Soldiers on the run from an impossibly powerful being who's eviscerating them in seconds. Think of the scary Kryptonians in Man Of Steel or the haunting presence and casual carnage of Anthony Starr’s Homelander in The Boys. Whereas the most that can be said about Black Adam, in both character and performance, is that he shows up. He’s certainly in this movie.

On the scene to contain Black Adam and eventually try to make him embrace his inner hero is The Justice Society of America, led by Carter Hall AKA Hawkman, a swagged-up Aldis Hodge as arguably the only watchable actor here and comes out of this bloated mess of a movie relatively unscathed. Hall is tasked with assembling a team to take down Adam, which he does from his massive Charles Xavier-style mansion. Also on the team is Dr. Fate: Pierce Brosnan doing his best with a wafer-thin character. With Fate, the makers clearly have zero interest in exploring a truly fascinating figure. Instead, he’s reduced to being an impressively useless hero who does next to nothing of value throughout the proceedings, aside from a lot of sitting and talking and pondering. If I'm ever falling off a building, for God’s sake don't call him. It also doesn’t help that Brosnan looks truly ridiculous in the costume.

Rounding off the team are the two forgettable rookies - Atom Smasher which is Noah Centineo playing goofier Ant-Man, and Cyclone: Quintessa Swindell as a hero who can control the wind while glowing in every colour possible. A friend and fellow critic sitting next to me described Cyclone's abilities as “interpretive dance” and I can’t stop thinking about how hilariously accurate that feels. For most of the movie, the JSA are remarkably useless and do far more harm than good. They fly into Kahndaq to contain Adam but essentially just end up tearing through the city and destroying every standing structure in sight. It reminded me of a stellar sequence from Season 3 of The Boys, where a team of super-powered buffoons is sent to the front lines of the Vietnam war where they only manage to end up killing all their allies and little else.

For what it’s worth, I liked that there was at least some attempt at imagination in staging the film's action set pieces, the key word being ‘attempt’. The beginning Black Adam vs soldiers in slow motion sequence, the Mexican stand-off sequence, and the Black Adam tearing through posters of DC heroes in a child’s room sequence. They’re far from memorable, but any sort of innovation you find in this film, you cling onto for dear life.

What’s there left to say? We could discuss the bland music from Lorne Balfe. We could talk about one of the most pointless DC-VFX-supervillains ever seen on screen. We could get into how the entire film feels like it was shot on the same three sets and soundstages. Or the juvenile dialogue perhaps? Black adam is “written” by Rory Haines, Adam Sztykiel, and Sohrab Noshirvani. When I saw Sohrab’s name in the credits, I genuinely didn’t know whether to celebrate that a brown guy had made it beyond the VFX team list, or be dejected by the fact that he was partially responsible for this movie.

In this, the age of superhero storytelling, Black Adam represents the very worst of it. A generic, vague, bloated blur of VFX, with little sense of character, craft, or creativity. At one point in the film, a key character is put into “suspended animation” - a barely conscious state of being where you’re unaware of your surroundings and are kept just about functional. A fitting metaphor, I think, for the experience of sitting through Black Adam.

• Dwayne Johnson

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Black Adam to release a day early in Indian theatres

Dwayne johnson's black adam is a spin-off from warner bros and new line cinema's shazam, featuring zachary levi..

Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson ‘s much-awaited movie Black Adam will make its debut in Indian theatres on October 20, a day earlier than its global release. Warner Bros India shared the news on Thursday on its social media handle, announcing that the film will be released in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in the country on October 20, instead of October 21.

“Brace yourselves because #BlackAdam is arriving one day early! Watch ‘Black Adam’ in cinemas in India from October 20 onwards in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu,” the studio tweeted.

Brace yourselves because #BlackAdam is arriving one day early! Watch ‘Black Adam’ in cinemas in India from October 20 onwards in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. @therock #WarnerBrosIndia #TheTimeOfHeroesIsOver #DwayneJohnson #TheRock #PierceBrosnan #AldisHodge pic.twitter.com/hASqTQwVRv — Warner Bros. India (@WarnerBrosIndia) October 6, 2022

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Black Adam is a spin-off from Warner Bros and New Line Cinema’s Shazam !, featuring Zachary Levi. The character first appeared in DC Comics in the 1940s as a villain corrupted by power. He became an anti-hero in the early 2000s.

Directed by Jungle Cruise director Jaume Collet-Serra, the movie also features Aldis Hodge as Hawkman, Noah Centineo as Atom Smasher, Quintessa Swindell as Cyclone, and Pierce Brosnan as Dr. Fate. The movie is written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani.

Click for more updates and latest Hollywood News along with Bollywood and Entertainment updates . Also get latest news and top headlines from India and around the World at The Indian Express .

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‘Black Adam’ Review: Heroism, but Paint It Black

Dwayne Johnson stars in this overstuffed superhero film about an ancient figure granted god powers.

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By Maya Phillips

Behold: the proselytizing superhero film! Listen as it cautions against moral absolutism! It is not the hero movie we need but, thanks to what’s now a tradition of beloved comic book stories shazam-ed into empty Hollywood schlock, it is the hero movie we deserve.

Which brings us to “Black Adam,” a dull, listless superhero movie that hits all the expected touchstones of the genre under the guise of a transgressive new antihero story.

We begin with a briskly delivered tragic back story involving a magical demon crown, a gaggle of wizards and a people’s rebellion in an ancient land called Kahndaq. We then skip forward 5,000 years to modern-day Kahndaq, a poor yet futuristic country that, for generations, has been under siege by various mercenary groups. Adrianna (Sarah Shahi), an Indiana Jones-esque Kahndaqi professor turned artifact hunter, is searching for the aforementioned diadem of doom, with help from her bumbling brother, Karim (Mohammed Amer), and hero-obsessed son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui).

Adrianna summons Black Adam (Dwayne Johnson), the champion of ancient Kahndaq who was granted god powers by the same sorcerer who — surprise! — transformed the teenage Billy Batson into the red-spandex-wearing capester Shazam (Zachary Levi) in that 2019 DC action-comedy .

But Black Adam has some rage issues and an inconvenient habit of zapping baddies to death with his lightning powers, so of course, according to the rules of superhero franchises, a superteam must unite to confront him: Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), a meek genius in colorful threads who can manipulate the wind; Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), a rookie hero who’s just trying his best; Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), a Doctor Strange type in a knight helmet; and Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), the leader of this so-called Justice Society of America (not to be confused with the Justice League of America).

Afflicted by the all-too-common Overstuffed Hero Movie Syndrome, “Black Adam,” directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, flies past exposition and speeds through character introductions and back stories — for those who even get back stories — leaving us with a hero epic that fails to build emotional stakes or vivify its characters enough to make us care.

At least we’re promised gritty no-holds-barred action, right? Think again: That promise is mercilessly broken with an orgy of crude special effects set to an intrusive, tonally idiosyncratic score including the Stones’ “Paint It, Black.” (Because he’s Black Adam, get it?)

And if you thought the time of action movies using slow-motion as a crutch was over, “Black Adam” has bad news for you. Even fight scenes with resurrected hell demons and villains torn in half like sheets of loose-leaf are rendered yawn-worthy and downright juvenile.

It doesn’t help that our antihero is as exciting as, well, a flying rock in a cape. Johnson floats through scenes with his furiously furrowed brow and an expression stubbornly frozen between consternation and confusion. He, and the film, can capture neither the seriousness nor the humor it aspires to; Johnson attempts to cover up his signature lighthearted comedic delivery with a stony deadpan that sucks all levity from each scene he’s in.

Centineo and Amer are saddled with the responsibility to provide comic relief as goofy sidekick types, but both hit the same flat notes. Adam’s comedic beats, on the other hand, are limited to his lunkheaded responses to the other characters’ coaching on proper hero etiquette (“Catchphrase, then kill,” he repeats densely after Amon).

The hero tips are essential to the film’s pontificating about justice and its lumbering setup of Adam as the alternate hero for an age that requires more nuanced codes of integrity and more aggressive action. Heroes like Superman and Aquaman are out being saviors, but they have conveniently overlooked Kahndaq, Amon says to Adam, suggesting that even the world’s finest do-gooders can be selective and unfair when it comes to fighting evil.

“There are only heroes and villains,” says Hawkman, a character who, despite Hodge’s solid performance, is unbelievably saddled with this reductive mind-set; that way, the movie can remake the same point it spends two hours repeating. “The world doesn’t need a white knight; sometimes it needs something darker,” Doctor Fate says, presenting the film’s thesis — which, by the way, was more eloquently expressed 14 years ago in “The Dark Knight.”

If, as the credits roll for “Black Adam,” you’re still stuck wondering what defines a bad hero or a good antihero, know that at least the film clarifies one thing: What makes a bad hero movie.

Black Adam Rated PG-13 for bad guys meeting violent, untimely ends. Running time: 2 hours 4 minutes. In theaters.

Maya Phillips is a critic at large. She is the author of the poetry collection “Erou” and “NERD: Adventures in Fandom From This Universe to the Multiverse,” forthcoming from Atria Books. More about Maya Phillips

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• What is the release date of 'Black Adam'? Release date of Dwayne Johnson and Sarah Shahi starrer 'Black Adam' is 2022-10-20.
• Who are the actors in 'Black Adam'? 'Black Adam' star cast includes Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Shahi, Viola Davis and Pierce Brosnan.
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• In Which Languages is 'Black Adam' releasing? 'Black Adam' is releasing in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

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‘black adam’ review: dwayne johnson’s charisma carries a morally muddy superhero flick.

The star brings Shazam's maybe-nemesis to the screen in director Jaume Collet-Serra's DC debut, costarring Aldis Hodge and Pierce Brosnan.

By John DeFore

John DeFore

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'moana 2' sets record for most viewed trailer in disney animation and pixar history, 'moana 2' makes splash with first trailer.

Politics be damned, the first thing most comics buffs will notice is that, though we’ve prayed DC would move on, there are more than echoes of the Snyderverse here. In the very first sequence, we get slo-mo and flying globules of blood that could almost be outtakes from 300 . Conspicuous slo-mo plagues the film, and rumor-mongers will already know of stronger ties to Zack Snyder’s films.

Identification with the macho side of DC’s mythology might explain why, of the many superpowered costars here, the expected one is absent. The Shazam of David F. Sandberg’s surprisingly charming 2019 film would be welcome, shifting the focus away from revved-up egos and ancient grievances, but no: Don’t expect Zachary Levi’s boy-turned-hero to show up.

Millennia later, a Kahndaq scholar named Adrianna (Sarah Shahi) hunts for the king’s Eternium crown in a forgotten tomb. She finds it, and unwittingly revives the long-dead champion, just as her expedition is ambushed by Intergang, the crew of mercenaries that has terrorized Kahndaq for decades. Violence ensues.

Johnson’s resurrected warrior, Teth Adam, gets most of his briefing on the modern world from Adrianna’s son Amon (Bodhi Sabongui). Mother and son have secretly been working against Intergang, and possessing the magic crown only makes them bigger targets. But Teth Adam cares little about their troubles, and chides the boy for not knowing violence is the answer to such problems.

Others take a greater interest. In America, Hawkman ( Aldis Hodge ) enlists Doctor Fate ( Pierce Brosnan ) and some less famous heroes to go retrieve the crown and lock it up. They zip around the globe in a jet whose detachable cockpit would make any billionaire owner of phallic rockets envious, and proceed to behave (to Adrianna’s eyes, at least) like enforcers of a paternalistic Western power structure.

(The script does little to help non-DC-scholars here, briefly alluding to nanobots and relics and the Justice Society of America as if other movies had introduced them already. With so many new characters in what is basically a two-hour fight scene, there’s no place for much exposition.)

Johnson creates a magnetic antihero, volatile and antisocial. He doesn’t fly so much as stalk the sky; he swats opponents like the bundles of weightless CG pixels they are. And this passion project serves the character well, setting him up for adventures one hopes will be less predictable than this one.

And maybe, while Teth Adam slowly assembles a coherent moral worldview over the course of many movies, America can grow out of its appalling tendency to elect celebrities with no experience in making governments work. Sadly, that’ll take more than wizards and magic rocks.

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