The Black Adam red carpet premiere in New York lifted the veil on the first wave of critics and media voicing their opinion on the film, and while there’s some mixed reception, Dwayne Johnson and its action are getting plenty of praise.
The movie stands out as the sole Warner Bros. Discovery blockbuster not to be delayed recently, and with its relative distance from DC's other films, Black Adam was positioned as one of the studio's most intriguing offerings. Fortunately, it looks like Johnson aced his superhero exam, with practically every reviewer commending his performance for a role he had spent quite a few years preparing for.
Although the full review embargo is still up, social media takes are fair game, meaning Collider's Steven Weintraub was free to post his belief that The Rock “is fantastic as Black Adam [...] Left the theater wanting to see the sequel immediately.” This is a feeling echoed by Variety's Courtney Howard, who also noted how director Jaume Collet-Serra “lays out building blocks for a larger, grand universe” — so exactly what Warner is looking for on that level. Brandon Davis from ComicBook.com came out of the film wanting to see precisely this, saying, “the thought of him crossing over with other heroes and villains after this one is awesome.” Meanwhile, The Illuminerdi calls it some of the best action yet in the DCEU.
It’s not all positive though, as CNET's Sean Keen called it outright bad, criticizing Black Adam for having "no emotional depth" and no sense of peril whatsoever, while also not being wowed by all the fancy CGI spectacle. Similarly, Vox's Alex Abads admits Johnson and his co-star Pierce Brosnan do great things for the movie, as does much of the cast, even if “the script’s inconsistent internal logic lets them down in a lot of spots." So, it’s fair to say Black Adam is far from perfect.
The general feeling seems to be that Black Adam is every bit the entertaining superhero flick it should be, with Johnson delivering all of his box office allure. Still, some reviewers like Russ Milheim feel “it’s forgettable” due to several issues. Under that scope, Black Adam initially comes off as a certain “go out and see for yourself” in the eyes of many fans, both hardcore and casual, yet the promise of its action sequences and Teth-Adam's characteristic brutality might provide some new flavors.
Johnson has carefully teased he’d like to go up against Henry Cavill's Superman, as that is the entire point of bringing on such a powerful antihero like Black Adam, even uttering a “Welcome home” at the actor during the premiere. As the film's official release gets closer, so might Black Adam's inclusion in MultiVersus in order to seize the character’s momentum.
Black Adam will premiere in theaters on October 21, 2022.
Source: @colliderfrosty, @Lulamaybelle, @BrandonDavisBD, @The_Illuminerdi, @PaulsMovieTrip, @SpectacularSean, @alex_abads, @RussMilheim