Black Adam first reviews call Dwayne Johnson’s DCEU film ‘visually confounding’ but ‘action-packed entertainer’

Dwayne Johnson’s entry into the DC Extended Universe will happen with the super-antihero film Black Adam, which releases worldwide this week. And the first reviews for the action extravaganza are out, which call the film ‘neither the best, nor the worst’. The consensus is that the film is action-packed and fun and Dwayne makes a grand debut in the superhero genre, but the film lacks depth and can get stale soon. Also read: Black Adam trailer: Watch Dwayne Johnson in action as DC Comics villain

Black Adam is the origin story of DC’s popular antihero Teth Adam (played by Dwayne). In the comics, the character is a popular foe of Shazam and Superman. The film shows him as a wronged, angry man who sees destruction and violence as a means to extract revenge. In order to stop him, Earth assembles a motley of heroes called the Justice Society. The reviews have praised the actors, particularly Dwayne and Pierce Brosnan and Aldis Hodge, who play Doctor Fate and Hawkman respectively.

Mama’s Geekly’s Tessa Smith praises Dwayne Johnson, writing, “ (He) delivers one of his best performances. He put his heart and soul into this role.” Ben Rolph of Discussing Film adds, “Johnson keeps up his enchanting screen presence as he lands old-fashioned one-liners and brutal action all with complete passion.” The Cinema Debate review by Sheraz Farooqui has praises for other actors too. “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,” it reads.

Other reviewers said the film offers both non-stop action and some geopolitical subtext. “Its action-packed nature can be exhausting, and certain characters beg for more attention, but as an origin story for Teth-Adam, it succeeds in upending what viewers might’ve expected from Johnson’s live-action superhero debut,” wrote Rachel LeBonte for ScreenRant.

Peter Debruge of Variety seemed less impressed with the film in his review as he wrote, “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…sticking a kid in the middle of the story brings the entire project down to a middle-school-level intellect.” Similarly, The Wrap’s reviw of the film was also largely negative as it criticised the casting as well as the relentlessness of the action sequences. “Most disappointing of all, Black Adam is one of the most visually confounding of the major-studio superhero sagas, between CG that’s assaultively unappealing and rapid-fire editing that sucks the exhilaration right out of every fight scene,” wrote Alonso Duralde.

Currently, Black Adam has a ‘rotten’ score of 55 percent on the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 62 reviews. This implies that the film has not been received favourably by the critics by and large. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, and also starring Sarah Shahi, Noah Centino, and Marawan Kenzri, Black Adam releases in India on October 20.