'Black Adam' review: The Rock saves this superhero film from sinking like a rock

Black Adam might mark a new chapter in the DC Expanded Universe, but it really needs a bigger bolt of lightning to recharge it. – Photos: Warner Bros Malaysia

Black Adam

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Bodhi Sabongui, and Pierce Brosnan.

It has not been a good year for the DC Expanded Universe. With the whole mess of a Warner-Discovery merger seeing DC projects falling like dominoes, Black Adam represents a chance to at least wrest back control over its universe and set it back to the right path.

And what better way to do that than with arguably the planet’s biggest superstar playing one of your most powerful superheroes?

Dwayne Johnson finally makes his superhero debut as Teth Adam, a character who made his debut in 1949 as a villain of Shazam (known then as Captain Marvel), and has been cast as more of an anti-hero in recent times.

Black Adam can definitely smell what the Rock of Eternity is cooking.

In the movie, Teth Adam was a slave in the ancient the city of Kahndaq five thousand years ago, who inspired his people to rise up against the tyrannical rule of king Anh-Kot. The King sought to forge the Crown of Sabbac, which would give him limitless power. However, Teth Adam is summoned to the Rock of Eternity. He is then chosen to become the champion of the wizards of Shazam, who bestow him with the powers of six Gods, which he uses to end Anh-Kot's rule.

Fast forward to the present day, and archaeologist Adrianna Tomaz (Sarah Shahi) is trying to prevent an evil corporation called Intergang from finding the Crown, and in the process, unwittingly awakens Adam from his tomb. Adam goes on a murderous rampage against Intergang across Kahndaq, prompting a response from Task Force X directore Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to send in the Justice Society to stop him.

The team comprises the Nth-metal wielding Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), immortal magician Dr Fate (Pierce Brosnan), the size-changing Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), and the wind-manipulating Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell).

This is what happens when you let Fate decide your new look, Bond.

For a movie that boasts The Rock as its main character, Black Adam is surprisingly lacklustre, hardly making use of its star's famous charisma at all. Johnson's Adam seems to be a on a constant rampage most of the time, destroying things and buildings everywhere he goes, and can't even perform a simple task like walking into a room without destroying a wall.

The few times when Adam isn't on a destruction spree, he is a brooding, unsmiling mope, and what dialogue he has during those times is spent spouting exposition or repeating something someone else says.

While some of that famous charisma does come through at times, these moments are few and far between. And I can't even remember a single eyebrow-raise throughout the entire movie!

The staring contest was not going well for Hawkman.

Also, the fact that he is so powerful means the stakes are relatively low in this movie. Adam is nigh indestructible here, and not even the Justice Society can stop him. In fact, director Jaume Collet-Serra seems so obsessed with making Adam stand out that nothing else does, not even the Justice Society.

For a movie featuring one of DC's premiere superhero teams, it's almost criminal how badly they are used. While Brosnan shines with his wry, laidback performance as Dr Fate, Hodge's Hawkman is an unlikable cliche, while Centineo and Swindell's characters are just not given enough to work with.

Look, Cyclone can paint with all the colours of the wind!

In the end, it all comes down to Johnson to carry the entire movie, which he does, in almost all senses of the word. Heck, this entire movie is all about Adam – from the moment he bursts onto the screen, the action just doesn’t let up, and neither do the decibel levels. Yes, there's some impressive action, but none of it is memorable. In fact, it felt like the entire movie was just one CGI setpiece after another, with hardly any room to breathe.

The result is a movie that struggles to be anything else other than by-the-numbers superhero movie starring Dwayne Johnson. Without Johnson, this would have sunk like a stone, and even with him, you'd struggle to think of another reason to watch it again. Black Adam might mark a new chapter in the DC Expanded Universe, but it really needs a bigger bolt of lightning to recharge it.