In the DC comics universe, movies based on their comics have been made of iconic superheroes like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and even the Flash. However, now it is time for Shazam’s archenemy, Black Adam, a DC Comics character who has powers similar to those of Shazam, such as resistance, speed, strength, among others. The character was created by Otto Binder and C. C. Beck now has an adaptation in the recent movie starring Dwayne Johnson who is playing Black Adam. The film distributed by Warner Bros. and directed by Jaume Collet-Serra will premiere on October 21st, 2022. However, the movie does not seem to have too many positive reviews from the industry’s most notable critics.
The film produced by New Line Cinema, DC Comics, FlynnPictureCO. and Seven Bucks Productions is a spin-off from Shazam! (released in 2019). The movie is set five thousand years ago in the city of Kahndaq which was under the tyrannical rule of king Anh-Kot who wanted to create the Crown of Sabbac, known for giving great power. Teth Adam (Dwayne Johnson) was imprisoned for using the almighty powers of the gods for vengeance. In the present day, Black Adam has become a legend and now free, his form of justice is challenging superheroes such as Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone. Black Adam will later team up with the Justice Society League to defeat the Intergang organization.
Even though the movie is not in theaters yet, reviews have been published and they are both positive and negative. The website Rotten Tomatoes, gave the movie 55% out of 100% where they posted on Twitter and Instagram “the movie is a mixed bag, but is action packed and powered by a charismatic Dwayne Johnson”. IMDb gave 7.5 out of 10 and Metacritic 45% out of 100%. Meanwhile Variety and Yahoo! News stated the movie with negative reviews. Helen O’Hara of Empire (British magazine) gave the movie a 3.5 out of 5 and Rachel LaBonte from Screen Rant rated it 2.5 out of 5. Yet reviews will not prevent the audience from going to the cinema to watch the movie since this industry is just as subjective as the music industry, however cinematically the movie did not meet the critic’s expectations.
In relation with the cast, Dwayne Johnson is Black Adam, Aldis Hodge as Carter Hall or Hawkman (Leader of the Justice Society of America), Noah Centineo as Albert “Al” Rothstein or Atom Smasher (Member of the Justice Society of America, capable of controlling his molecular structure and manipulate his size and strength), Sarah Shahi as Adrianna Tomaz (A university professor), Marwan Kenzari as Sabbac (The militant leader of Intergang), Quintessa Swindell is playing Cyclone (who can control wind and generate sound) and Pierce Brosnan who is Doctor Fate (who has the magical Helmet of Fate).
The movie will be in theaters tomorrow and the fanatical public of DC Comics is waiting to see the movie, as well as the fans of “The Rock”. A total of 2 trailers were released and it is giving us a sneak peak of the action the movie will have. At the box office, it is expected for the movie to gross around $50 to $60 million in its opening weekend. Everything points to the fact that the film could be a success in the commercial part, due to its effects, the impact that the protagonist has and also because it is a film distributed by Warner Bros.
Andrea Rich
