Critics' Review: Dwayne Johnson Shines As Magnetic Antihero In 'Black Adam'

Here are the critics' reviews of Dwayne Johnson's film 'Black Adam'.

Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam is a spin-off from the film Shazam! (2019). A film where he was ideally supposed to play the villain. Black Adam, however, focuses on him being more of an anti-hero. It is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani. The film also stars Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Marwan Kenzari, Quintessa Swindell, Bodhi Sabongui, and Pierce Brosnan.

Here's what critics have to say about the film:

It’s kind of a cheat, casting someone as massive as Dwayne Johnson to play a DC superhero — or antihero, in the case of “Black Adam,” an action-packed, adolescent-skewing stand-alone that presents the swole Samoan star as a nearly invincible global threat.

Peter Debruge, Variety

Black Adam is a bewildering entry in a franchise already falling apart at the seams. It’s therefore a perfect fit for what one day might be described as the “chaos era” of DC Comics’s corporate owners Warner Bros.

Clarisse Loughrey, Indenpendent

Johnson creates a magnetic antihero, volatile and antisocial. He doesn’t fly so much as stalk the sky; he swats opponents like the bundles of weightless CG pixels they are. And this passion project serves the character well, setting him up for adventures one hopes will be less predictable than this one.

John Defore, The Hollywood Reporter

“Black Adam” so desperately wants to be a darker and gristlier version of the same hamburger that audiences have been served over and over again for the last 15 years, but Johnson — who’s also a producer on the film, and a part-time architect of this cinematic universe in addition to our own — can’t abide the idea of doing something that might leave even one audience member behind. He doesn’t have the stomach to make Black Adam much of an antihero, let alone a bad guy (the character is workshopping catchphrases within a few scenes of waking up, and has a habit of disappearing from sight whenever things get complicated).

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

The film’s dramatic shortcomings would seem at least partly attributable to the equivocal natures of some of the important characters. As noted, Black Adam was born a bad guy, one who’s now been modified into more of a loner type somewhat along the lines of Clint Eastwood’s character in the Dollars films — he picks his spots, goes his own way and plays his cards as he sees fit. He still seems capable of treachery, but has adjusted his ways and will do what needs to be done as circumstances dictate.

Todd McCarthy , Deadline