Oh boy, I don't even know where to start when it comes to Black Adam. This movie is an absolute gem in terms of how poorly it was made. I have a strong suspicion that the creators' intention was to create the least entertaining superhero movie ever made, and they certainly accomplished their goal. There is nothing about this movie that can be considered good, from the uninteresting setting to the unimaginative characters.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who plays the principal role, shall serve as our first point of reference. His portrayal in Black Adam was as lifeless and uninteresting as a piece of cardboard, despite the fact that he is perhaps one of the most charming performers working today. In light of the fact that Black Adam is intended to be a nuanced anti-hero, it is especially disappointing that he was unable to give the character any sense of profundity or feeling.
About the characters themselves, the performances of the supporting cast weren't all that much better. They were all so easily forgotten that by the time the movie was through, I couldn't even recall what their names were. The so-called "villains," with their over-the-top costumes and cheesy one-liners, made for some of the funniest moments in the show. In spite of the fact that I'm very certain they were intended to be frightening, I just found them to be extremely funny.
Even the special effects were a complete and utter disaster. The computer-generated imagery was so poor that it appeared to have been taken directly from a PlayStation 2 game. I'm not even exaggerating. I was groaning in my seat during the entirety of the battle scenes because they were choreographed so terribly. It's almost as if the creators were attempting to create a clichéd action movie from the 1990s, but they forgot that the year is 2023.
The music that was playing was just as forgettable. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't even be able to tell you if there was one. It sounds to me like they merely pulled the score from a standard collection of music for superhero movies. It was so forgettable that when I walked out of the theater, the jingle from a nearby advertisement was stuck in my head instead.
And let's not overlook the storyline, shall we? Black Adam has been in virtually every superhero film released in the previous 10 years, so chances are you've seen him already. It's the same old formula where the hero battles the evil, the hero loses, the hero gains new power, and the hero ultimately triumphs. Yawn. This is a movie that I must have watched a hundred times before, so there was no point in my watching it again.
In addition to this, the pacing was all over the place. In one moment, they are engaged in a high-speed chase across the city; in the next, they are having a slow, emotional discourse about the terrible events in their respective pasts. The movie couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to be a grittier action film or a more sentimental drama, so it ended up being neither of those things.
In conclusion, Black Adam is a terrible movie that should never have been made. If you are someone who enjoys being punished and would want to throw away your money on a movie that is truly awful, then by all means, go ahead and watch it. But if you value your own dignity or have any regard for skillful filmmaking, you should stay the hell away from that place.