‘Black Adam’ Is Surprisingly Good, And Good For The DCEU

I have been a Black Adam skeptic for a while now, as The Rock overpromoted the film, making me more exhausted than excited to see it by the time it arrived. The idea that The Rock was attempting to elevate Black Adam to be on the same level as the Justice League, skipping a logical face-off, and becoming a main hero/villain of the DC Universe was not believable.

I may have treated you too harshly now that I have seen the movie.

The critics have. The audience score for Black Adam is only above the worst of the DCEU, Batman V Superman and Justice League.

I was surprised to see that I am with the audience on the show. The Rock and his cast are enjoyable in the movie. Critics say it's the fourth worst DCEU movie of all time, but I think it's better than everything except the first Wonder Woman. I think I got the most Aquaman vibes from it, taking a hero of a lost civilization and making a coherent movie around him. I don't know how you would view this movie with Wonder Woman 1984 or Birds of Prey in mind.

Black Adam takes on the idea that heroes don't kill directly as he fries and dismemberes hundreds of mercenaries at a time. It is a display of power that we haven't seen in a long time. It can be very cliché, but it works when Black Adam is tearing things up, and when he is playing the song "Power" by West. There is something satisfying about The Rock killing people and then continuing to do so as the JSA tries to stop him.

Black Adam is positioned in the DCEU to bring something unique to the universe. This isn't just a member of the Justice League. The Rock made a lot of noise about Black Adam being an anti-hero, but that is actually an interesting dynamic to introduce to the world of generally black and white heroes. In Man of Steel, Batman murdering everyone, in every fight scene, more or less, is what he was trying to do with morebrutal versions of Superman and Batman. Black Adam isn't out of character from the source material. The Rock can pull off that passive attitude towards violence.

By the end of the film, many will say that the final scene is forced, but I think it's worth it. Black Adam doesn't need to be the center of the DC universe going forward, but I would like to see him interact more with Superman in the future. The DCEU feels directionless now and should let him do it. Who doesn't care? Give us Man of Steel 2, Black Adam 2 and then do a Justice League project with whoever is left in the DCEU by that time. I haven't heard any better ideas recently from Warner Bros.

Even if Black Adam isn't an all-time classic, it's better than critics think. The Rock makes Adam a force in the DCEU and I'm interested in seeing more from him. I hope this could be a turning point for what remains of the DC Universe.

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The Herokiller series and The Earthborn trilogy are available for purchase.