Black Adam is the newest DC superhero feature based on the titular Shazam villain, and it gives you a lot to talk about. This movie sets out upon an impossible task of reviving the DCEU from its streak of poorly reviewed films and, in return, churns out one of great appearance, but a mixed bag of quality. The story sounds great on paper, but, with a director lacking an emotional attatchment to the material, it loses its chance of making a lasting impression outside of its action sequences.

I don’t believe the character of Black Adam is given the justice he deserves, and while The Rock does his best in the role, he falls into similar spaces he has before with previous characters. This feels like another “Dwayne Johnson-esque” character who kills his enemies in spectacle-inducing fashion just for the sake of a quick laugh. This sadly, is also the case with many of the more heroic members of the JSA (Justice Society of America), excluding Dr. Fate & Hawkman. Speaking of them, Pierce Brosnan & Aldis Hodge deliver very great turns as these classic heroes and deserve their own individual projects. I just wish their dialogue was written by more competent writers. For what its worth though, they both shine in stand out appearances.

The film’s story is painfully generic, and if its not for the creative moments throughout the movie, my score would be a lot lower than it is. Its a case of presentation over preservation, but it actually benefits. It shouldn’t work at all, but in some strange way of fate, it makes a poorly written feature an entertaining event! That final post credit scene more than delivers in the awe department and sets up a great future for some of these characters and the assumed returns of others.

All in all, Black Adam is a weird movie, but it has its moments. Its a strange hybrid of when bad writing mixed with an infectious energy that pulls the audience into the wild world of Kahndaq and keeps you there wanting more between the heroes and villains alike. This movie has some great performances and will make you want to see these characters again in the future, but the movie lacks from a decent villain and all in all, could’ve turned out better with a larger emphasis on the conflict between a ‘villain’ and the heroes.

PANTHER-METER:

A 3½ OUT OF 5 PANTHERS!