“The Hierarchy of Power in the DC Universe” did not change at all, as the supporting cast of characters somehow manage to steal the show from the titular antihero.

Black Adam debuted all the way back in 1945, as an arrogant adversary for the Marvel Family (Now known as the Shazam Family). He’s remained a Shazam villain for all these years, and somehow they made a movie about him without Shazam. 

Black Adam is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, a spanish director who previously directed films like 2009’s Orphan, and Disney’s Jungle Cruise (which both flopped).

The film stars Dwayne the Rock Johnson as the titular character, as he faces off against the Justice Society of America for control of his home country, Khandaq.

Except for the few cool twists, the film’s plot is messy, with a heavy focus on two civilian characters the audience has no attachment to. These characters seem to fall flat, because it feels like there is no reason for them to be there. 

This is not the case with every character however, as the Justice Society is so damn cool in this movie. The team consists of Hawkman, portrayed by Aldis Hodge, Doctor Fate, portrayed by Pierce Brosnan, and Cyclone and Atom Smasher, who are brilliantly played by Quintessa Swindell and Noah Centineo.

Doctor Fate and Hawkman are major players in the DC Comics world, which must have put a lot of pressure on the writers to do well by the fans, and boy does it pay off. The two fan favorite characters are written so well, with amazing performances by Hodge and Brosnan to top it off. 

Atom Smasher and Cyclone are the rookies of the group, and they manage to perfectly lighten the tone of the somewhat serious film. Centineo and Swindell have so much chemistry which makes the pair really shine when on camera. 

As much as I ripped on the character before I watched the film, Dwayne Johnson was not that bad as Black Adam. He was nowhere near as entertaining as the JSA, but he still managed to give a pretty compelling performance despite many of his cringey one liners.

Johnson brings a lot of action in this film, the set pieces were so enjoyable, the best of which mostly involving Hawkman and Black Adam going toe to toe. The film is fast paced and broken up by many of these action sequences, which I don’t mind at all. 

Everything else about the movie is pretty mediocre. The CGI was laughably bad in some scenes, with Johnson goofily floating around Khandaq looking like a looney tune who smelt a good pie. And the Shot Composition and Cinematography was OK. 

Overall, it’s good. All I have to say is, the JSA should’ve had their own movie, and all the stuff with Black Adam could’ve been slipped into a Shazam movie.

My Final Verdict: