'Black Adam' - DC and Dwayne Johnson Level Up Their Action and Comedy

DC has once again extended their universe and seems to be starting to finally reach the same level as Marvel during its glory days and whether that's good or bad, it's a matter of preference at this point. Sure this doesn't have the brooding atmosphere of Matt Reeves' The Batman nor it has the groundbreaking storyline of the women in and out of Wonder Woman, but this has the same ingredients the audience are going to look for when they watch a superhero movie. Black Adam has it all and with this, it seems like DC is proclaiming that it's their turn or at least they're giving their rivalry a higher competition.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Black Adam wastes no time in the action department, to a point where there's almost no breathing room in between each of the action sequences and if there's any, it either introduces a couple of new characters and superheroes--some are fleshed out, some exists for the needed humor they're usually criticized for, and all are generally likable. This movie also offers a new world with compelling history that elevates this movie even more, and it's great at world building. It's good to see a superhero movie move away from the usual city these movies are accustomed to be set. The middle-eastern inspired Khandaq is actually my favorite part of the film.

Then there's Dwayne Johnson, the go-to person of studios that want to make more money out of their ideas. Here, he's not afraid to be savagely brutal and murderous because the thing is people are going to like him whatever he does. That's probably problematic but it's just what it is. The character he's portraying, Black Adam, the antihero doesn't like to be noble. He only cares about his family and dark sense of justice he likes to wield onto the world. Good thing is there's Justice Society of America, a team of modern day heroes who neutralizes him whenever he wants to be vengeful. So there's him and there's them and the conflicts surrounding their background and goals make for a great popcorn superhero movie. It doesn't hurt that the cast consisting of Pierce Brosnan, Noah Centineo, Aldis Hodge to name a few are in it to have fun and give Johnson more of the spotlight.

Johnson is known for blockbusters and he doesn't veer away from that and instead, DC uses his appeal and what he's known for to make a superhero movie that will capture even more fans. They created a formula that's infused with different kinds of action sequences involving slow-mos, the desert, CGI, flying and all, a character-centric comedy that again is very reminiscent of the Marvel humor, and a cast that's going to make people root for, cry for, and laugh about throughout the film. It's going to bring back the superhero movies people loved during the 2010s and for that it's easy to declare that people are going to love it. Even when it's probably going to be criticized for the same old thing all over again. Case in point, it's entertaining point blank and sometimes that's the only thing that matters for moviegoers and superhero comic and movie fans.