In 2007, Dwayne Johnson signed on with DC Studios to star as the movie’s classic cult villain, Black Adam. For nearly two decades, film treatments starring Johnson as the Black Adam was written, rewritten and scrapped for many reasons. This troubled production eventually gained steam in 2020 when filming finally began. The film was released in October of 2022 to negative reviews from critics and overwhelmingly positive reviews from audiences.

The stand-out element of the movie is the many likable characters whose main purpose is to make the story engaging and entertaining. Characters such as Atom-Smasher and Hawkman serve as fun supporting figures, but Pierce Brosnan as Doctor Fate is the most incredible of them all. Not only does his magical powers serve to dazzle the audience, but so too does Brosnan’s excellent performance.

Dwayne Johnson has officially turned in his acting career. For years, people have repeatedly criticized Johnson for starring in the same genre of films. These are, of course, the action-adventure-comedies in which he plays a goofball explorer who saves the day in the end. Black Adam flips the script entirely when it comes to Johnson. Instead of turning in his typical kind-hearted “cool guy” performance, he instead portrays a morally gray man, willing to do anything to save the innocent.

It is thrilling to see Dwayne Johnson branching out from his relatively limited career at the moment.
However, the movie suffers from a pacing problem. It takes a slight while to become entertaining, but it certainly does not disappoint once it does. This problem is mostly due to the film’s editing rather than anything related to the story or performances.

Black Adam is a delightful blockbuster with loads of heart and incredibly captivating characters.