by The debut of the superhero of The Rock in Black Adam it received negative reviews for being “tasteless”, “anti-fun” and “repetitive”.
Dwayne Johnson has been hired to play the DC comic book superhero since 2007, and the action movie has finally hit theaters, but critics have been mostly disappointed.
Black Adam has a disappointing 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and only 45 on Metacritic, with many reviewers agreeing that characters and storyline are lost due to the excessive amount of action and CGI scenes.
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Alonso Duralde of The Wrap, called the film “anti-fun” and accused “the CG is unattractive and the quick editing that sucks the euphoria out of every fight scene.”
Wade: Black Adam initially rated R due to violent scenes
Rolling Stone film critic David Fear called the film “generic, tasteless and inconsistent” and claimed that even his enjoyment of The Rock performance couldn’t make up for this.
IGN reviewer Joshua Yehl said the film was “filled with undeveloped characters and too many repetitive action scenes, to the point that his half-cooked debate about what it means to be a hero is lost in all the noise.”
ScreenCrush critic Matt Singer called the film “pretty mediocre” and said the film felt too focused on setting the scene for the sequel.
He wrote: “After two hours of grim table set, you are left with a clear direction for DC’s cinematic future – and far less interest in actually watching it.”
Variety‘s Peter Debruge seemed to agree, saying that “the whole purpose of the film is to give Black Adam a suitably grandiose introduction assuming that he will soon be confronted with a more deserving opponent.
And John Defore of The Hollywood Reporter said that Johnson’s “passion project serves the character well, preparing him for adventures that are hopefully less predictable than this one.”
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw agreed that The Rock’s performance was the film’s highlight, writing that “his massive bulk, planet-sized head and cunning gift for deadpan humor make him a great superhero.” .
Black Adam currently has the lowest approval rating for a DC movie since 2017 Justice Leaguewhich only hit 23%, and it was such a flop that Warner Bros produced a reboot in 2021, with Justice League by Zack Snyder.
The Shazam! The spin-off follows Black Adam as he returns to the mortal realm from a magical prison.
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Born as a slave in the nation of Kahndaq, Teth-Adam became famous as the Champion of the nation. Instead of using his powers forever, Teth-Adam took on the nickname of Black Adam and turned to the dark side by freeing a group of demons known as the Seven Deadly Sins, later being imprisoned for it. When released in the present day, he tries to restore Kahndaq to his former glory.
Black Adam opens in UK cinemas on 21 October 2022.
