Black Adam

4 / 10

Basically a paint-by-numbers WWE pay-per-view event sponsored by DC and Warner Bros. with a checklist-worthy storyline, a shallow ensemble in the form of the “Justice Society” and an acceptable CGI. Throughout the Middle-Eastern-set squared circle, the action feels spectacularly unimpressive with unnecessary slow-motion sections thrown into the mix and there are horrific music cues – Kanye West, my goodness – and an inharmonic soundtrack from Lorne Balfe with breakbeats and electronic enhancements which don’t work well with the orchestra.

From the people’s champion to the people’s actor and now the people’s anti-villain, “IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING” because as long as Dwayne Johnson decides to step into the shoes of invincible characters which limit his acting and facial range to a great extent, he can fly and flex with his physical stamina as much as he wants in this film and his next projects, but will still be locked inside an invisible cage of mediocrity and monotony. If anything, Black Adam undermines The Rock’s pop aura inside and outside of Hollywood for the umpteenth time, but feels overly generic.

Review published on 19th October 2022.