Black Adam - It's An OK Movie 

Critical Drinker giving your movie an "ok" is one of the highest honors.

Crazy how The Rock wanted Black Adam to be R-rated but DC straight up rejected it... imagine what we would have gotten.

The Rock is actually a huge fan of Black Adam and pushed the studio to let him play him. And he's also been wanting to do a super hero movie for years now, he was supposed to play Doc Savage but I think that movie was cancelled or just never got off the ground.

the rock being straight faced fit so well and when he smiles it felt refreshing and suddenly making jokes made it hilarious

It’s amazing that “It isn’t shit” is the best we can hope for from modern Hollywood these days

My favourite part was when Black Adam stared at White Henry for a good 30 seconds and screamed "it's about drive it's about power we stay hungry we devour‘" and totally devoured him. Really puts the Black Adam in Black Adam.

I was just glad they included Doctor Fate. He's someone I never thought would make it to the big screen.

Not every movie needs to be a masterpiece, I just wanna enjoy it

To be fair to the Rock coming late to the Superhero genre, he has been trying to get this movie off the ground for about 10 years or more. For goodness' sake, the man still had hair when he first pitched himself as Black Adam.

The Last Jedi is a great movie! And Brie Larson is a phenomenal actress

"Dont kill me. I'll give you anything you want." "This is what I want." Damn good line and if they had made Adam into a proper villain this would have been an awesome addition.

It felt like a movie from the 90s made with today's VFX. And I love it.

Honestly, considering how hard The Rock was apparently pushing for this movie to be rated R, I think that there *were* plans to make Black Adam a lot more sinister and a true anti-villain Only for it to be shot down in favor of playing it safe

A diverse cast, a decent bunch of actors, good male/female interaction, no "All men bad" and "All women stronger than any man" narrative, no belittling of the male characters and a decent if not spectacular story. Even if it isn't great, I hope it does well enough for other studios to take note and we can finally get back to way movies used to be, entertaining and fun.

Too be fair I really did like the plot twist about black Adam's true history and the death in the film to avoid spoilers you shall never know who it is unless you watch it. But I do really think they could have leaned into his brutality more if they wanted to but that doesn't really fit the story or his history. So the funny lines about catch phrases and watching him destroy everything with amazing cgi is just awesome. Personal favorite line is "catch phrase, then kill"

Honestly, I'm fine with that. Not every movie needs to be some great epic that moved you to tears. Sometimes just having an entertaining flick that leaves you thinking it was an 'Okay' way to spend a couple of hours is all that's needed. It's okay to be okay.

It was really refreshing to have a classic character from the comics wreaking havoc instead of being incompetent Anyways thx for the likes

High Audience Score on RT, combined with a miserable critics' score, plus an "OK" from the Drinker, is more than enough to give it a shot.

I thought The Rock, Pierce Brosnan and Aldis Hodge's (even though Hawkman was never black in the comics) performances carried the film. It's not perfect and there's some things that could've been polished better, but overall it does something relatively new in the big budget superhero genre by making a bad guy into an anti-hero, and does so in a believable way. I also liked how it showed Black Adam's complete indifference to killing bad guys until he was convinced by the JSA that he should probably tone the murder down a bit. The reintroduction of Cavill as Superman at the end was probably the most exciting thing for me as Cavill's interpretation of the character is my favorite and kudos to The Rock for telling Warner Brothers to bring Cavill back.

It is enjoyable except by how they handled the kid. It wasnt made for movie critics, it was made for kids as how superhero movies are for, how comics are originally for. The problem is there are too many movie critics who compares superhero movies to high quality movies. You go to cinemas to see superhero movies to see them fly, kick asses, having a decent storyline is good.

There's something to be said for an escapism movie that meets expectations. Sometimes that's all I need. It's much better than being a movie that's supposed to move me, but fails.

I don't know much about Black Adam, but as I understand it, he's the kind of guy who has an iron will, a desire to defend his people, but no morality outside those traits. His view is simple. You threaten his him, he ends you. Which makes him a great character to occasionally help and hurt the other superheroes.

Just watched this the other day and really enjoyed it, i don't tend to expect lots from these sorts of films and it was a good solid film, plus Black Adam stomps and the action scenes where he first comes out of the tomb is awesome, also at the end where they are threatening him and hes like "send them all" then superman fly's down to have a talk such a great scene.

The film felt very much like a pre MCU superhero flick, the kind we got in the 90s. A somewhat goofy and overall okay film that entertains but never gets you too excited or invested. These types of films went away after the MCU took off but I think there is still a place for them when they're done well.

Tbh these days hearing about an ok movie feels like hearing about a rare master piece

I want a Dr. Fate solo movie. That character has a lots of potential.

The relationship between Cyclone and Atom Smasher was the best thing about this movie. You absolutely nailed it. It was so refreshing just to see cool girl meet school boy, I’ll be at a little bit nerdy trying to hardish, and they’re working together. And they’re likable. And what little they had to do was funny and interesting.

I am very sad that Black Adam was just a rock instead of a villain. Knowing that Fate, my favorite hero, was in the movie hyped me really well, untill the trailer talked about the "tragic backstory" of a guy I hoped to be a monster.

1 Critical Drinker review is worth more than all 227 Rotten Tomatoes critics reviews combined

I just saw the movie and one part about it that I loved was that they were not afraid to paint the Justice Society as a bit ignorant and narcissistic. They called them out for showing up only to imprison Black Adam whom the people saw as a hero. The conflict that arose from that was really interesting and a refreshing perspective for how the heroes seem to do whatever they deem necessary, even when it isn't.

I just saw this recently on HBO Max and as an old-school comic book superhero fan I really enjoyed it. It was a nice straight forward story that didn't feel the need to push "the message". As a result it was actually a pretty fun popcorn flick that delivered on some pretty cool action scenes. Can't ask for much more than that from a comic book movie, IMO.

This movie made me remember why I love superhero movies again. It's what I needed this year after mom and l&t

Black Adam was exactly what you'd think "The Rock makes a superhero movie" would be like, and considering the standards that have been set recently it was actually refreshing. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected

The “cover band performing your favorite song” metaphor is a genius portrayal of the comic book film and I will be adopting it into my common parlance. Thank you, drinker.

The problem with comics these days is that it invests more energy into thinning the line between good & evil, right & wrong. Batman in the 1939 to around the 1990's was pretty much morally incorruptable. Of course there were a few writers here and there that deviated from that but ultimately, Batman was a "good" guy. Nowadays, he's morally questionable and more often than not mentally unstable. In the 80's & 90's, I remember a few comics & cartoons that played with the idea that MAYBE villains emerged BECAUSE of their hero counterparts. However, that was usually debunked as they just CHOSE to be bad people and NOT a product of their heros. Nowadays, villains like the Joker are thought to be a product of either Batman or a victim of society. The introduction of Amanda Waller's story arcs further propagated this notion that villains can be "good" guys ... that "good" things can come from bad people under the right circumstances. Again, blurring the lines of good/evil & right/wrong. Red Hood was revamped from a 1951 comic to now fit this modern narrative that Batman's code is actually wrong. In the 40s through 70s, Batman's moral code was good, however, in the 90's, Batman's code was questionable at best but now it's actually wrong. Here you have Black Adam doing the same thing. Back then, he was a bad guy with a few good intentions but ultimately chose the path of evil. Same with Mr. Freeze back then too who was trying to save his wife Nora but circumstances that prevented that made him choose evil. Now Black Adam is a good guy who makes "killing under the 'right' circumstances" a good thing. They've done this for years with Batman who refuses to kill. I believe they've lost the whole point of many of the characters as a result of this pervasive comic culture. This urgent need to eliminate traditional values by painting them in a bad light. This is what opened the door for the woke ideologies to come flooding in. Now, the MCU are all women. She Hulk is twerking and the male heros are all weak morons. America Chavez wears an LGBTQ pin in her movie debut. All these women heros are just innately stronger & smarter than their male counterparts without an actually journey to earn that.

Dr Fate took his helmet off way too much

Ironic how when a movie exists that isn't pushing the message down our throats critics hate it and fans love it, whereas if a certain show existed such as she hulk, critics cannot throw enough praise at it, meanwhile the fans hate it.

Just by not having "The Message" beeing shoved down my throat made this movie much more enjoyable in my eyes than other recent superhero movies like Multiverse of Madness

I felt like atom and storm weren't any use they were there for just being there, but their interactions were quite refreshing and u said it right "take a note Marvel" this how you respect ur characters and don't pull down male characters to show female characters superior. In the end I'm excited about Superman's entry in the post credit scene let's how they built up on this

I think the problem is that they think up cool action sequences and then try to tie them all together with the thinnest of stories. We know early someone's going to die but they telegraph it very clearly to the audience who it will be and it falls flat. DC played it too safe with this.

Am I the only one who was just happy to see Pierce Brosnan again?

an ok movie in 2022 might as well be a masterpiece

I can remember Black Adam/Teth Adam from the Shazam Family (Captain Marvel) comic books when I was a kid in the late 70s or early 80s. He was a true villain back then. I can remember that if you duped him into saying Shazam and he reverts back to his mortal body then he crumbles to dust. I also remember how different the Justice Society was back then (Earth 1 modern JLA vs Earth 2 1940s JSA) and DC revised their comic book universe multiple times so this is confusing as hell.

After 15 years of planning this movie, ok is a great word for it; not bad and not excelsior.I guess it’s a good start for the fifth reboot in the DC film universe.

Critics: Scissors Black Adam: Rock

The Drinker saying a movie is OK is essentially the new 90% on Rotten Tomatoes… worth a watch

"Eternium" is an element that has been part of the MoTU mythos for decades. It was first introduced in the cartoon series and later appeared in MoTU comics. Makes me wonder if Mattel has grounds for some kind of lawsuit?

My favorite part was the rolling credits at the end 🔚

For the record, Intergang actually is a mercenary force from the DC Comics that often goes up against Superman, so they didn't pull it out of nowhere.

I really enjoyed this movie because I already knew that it wouldnt reinvent the wheel, but I liked the action, the violence and the fact that I left the theater thinking "Wow, I completely forgot all of my worries for 2h" and had a really productive work session after clearing my head for just 2h. It did it's job as entertainment.

dude I love the fact that you don't hit us with the "like comment etc etc" tag. great review also. respect

My favourite part was when Cyclone startes slinging around a few metal pipes at the immortal bald lightning god that can't be harmed by bullets or rocketfire.

A throwback to old school superhero movies is the same feeling I got.

6:43 “Take Note Marvel.” That got my laughing so hard, and I completely agree with that statement.

Atom Smasher's personality was that of a discount Tom Holland's Spiderman

I couldn't continue watching the movie after the first few dialogues between Black Adam and that kid whose name I can't remember! But the "OK" in this video shocked me!

Dr fate carried the movie. I never heard of the character and I thought he was done really well. He was a real support character. Not supportive cast. But a main character who’s goals are to not punch hard but to support his teammate in their goals. And he wasn’t just a cliché support who does nothing but heals the main character.

I really like the visuals of the girl's superpowers. Seemed fresh and just looked very pretty.

When you actually put the name "InterGang" in your script, somebody at that read-through needs to say, "let's keep thinking."

The fact that they chose The Rock for the role tells you a lot about how they intended the character to be portrayed. As Drinker said, he never really plays "bad" guys. There's always some redeeming qualities that make him more grey than black, so to speak.

You forgot the trope of "The end battle is against someone with similar powers as the protagonist, but just evil instead"

Whenever I exit a movie, the simplest takeaway on my enjoyment will come down to one thing: will you watch it again. The film had flaws that I'd like corrected in a sequel (improvement over the JSA/stop giving us big clunky CGI final boss battles + their minions), but I left the theater saying that I'd definitely watch it again. I have seen many films this year and just minutes in or halfway through, I've already concluded that I will never willingly watch it again (for example Thor: Love and Thunder), but I will definitely watch it again.

I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Black Adam was cool. The opening action scene was fantastic and shot really well. Hawk man was your typical Boy Scout, but his look was cool. Dr. Fate was the the high light for me. An absolutely interesting, awesome character.

You know it's wild thinking "okay" is legitimately a high standard now, but it's true.

OK superhero movie after Endgame = feels like a masterpiece these days

This is the most likeable superhero movie in the last 5 years. Doesn't try to preach anything and DJ does a good job of being himself, I mean, Teth Adam.. 🤪 The cameo at the end and having you know who back to the DCEU is also DJ's "fault" so good for him for doing that!

I really enjoyed it. The first half is very very good. And that end credit scene got me clapping.

I loved the way Black Adam gruesomely electrified the bad guys. It was satisfying.

I just wish Dr fate got his own solo movie it would be epic

7:30 to answer the question, the justices league came after the justice society. The justice society are an older group who were created much before the justice league.

This looks good. I can't wait to see this film. Really really great review, Drinker.

In today's day and age, any movie that is average or adequate is akin to a masterpiece

As a DC fan, this movie gave me everything I wanted. Is it groundbreaking. No of course not. But I’m hopeful for the future and am looking forward to more.

Ok plot with entertaining characters, fan service, cool action and a pretty cool soundtrack. I am pleased.

I like how there’s 2 whole moments in the film where atom smasher saves cyclone and cyclone saves atom smasher as well there’s mutual respect and although atom smasher does stupid stuff in the film he’s still in the end the man of the situation it’s just a little thing I thought was realistic cyclone needs her own movie tho

The first fighting scene where we see Teth Adam killing the mercenaries is scary, we still don't see his face ,he doesn't say a word ,just killing everyone on his sight ,and he does it bloody, and quick with no mercy . Hell, thats how actually a super man would fight ,no flying around throwing punches which do no damage or fatal consequences.

I just saw Black Adam today and Drinker's review is spot on! I walked out of the theater relieved that it wasn't disappointing like the latest MCU crap-movies. There were moments where I actually thought to myself, "MCU needs to take some notes."

I had a good time. I also enjoyed his backstory and wish the trailers hadn’t shown so much. I could see that whole prologue section working as a full act

Black Adam feels like those late 90s to early 2000s action movies. Like those Mummy movies from Fraser. Well those latter ones.

I did not expect to like Hawkman and Atom Smasher as much as I did. Smasher gives off those Spider-man vibes as a young hero and Hawkman always fighting for his ideals even when completely outmatched reminds me of Captain America. I hope to see more of them in the future. They did my boy Fate dirty though but I forgive them for that.

He made Black Adam for the fans. And fans enjoyed it. He did not care what critics ranked it.

I thought this movie was DREADFUL. I found myself mentally rewriting it basically the whole time.

So Black Adam is like getting a plate of hot wings and a beer at a bar after work?

God, I love Dr. Fate. He should get his own movie.

They got Black Adam tearing people apart right (especially the final scene like damn that was brutal even if it was only there for like four seconds) which is all I wanted honestly. He is the powerful, brutal ruler of Khadaq who will do anything and everything to protect his people; from aiding the Justice League, the Justice Society, and the Society of Super Villains to becoming a yellow lantern for a very very brief time.

It was the likeable cast and their interactions that won me over.

This is practically a glowing review from the Drinker

I watched this with my 7 year old nephew who had a blast. Lately we have been watching D.C movies including The New 32 and my nephew even started reading comics and he is making his own comics too. This kid has no idea I love him more then life itself.

I would indeed say it's OK, but with some elements that I really like.

I'm sure a lot of people are talking about this issue, but one thing that really bothered me was, towards the end of the movie, if all the CGI antagonist guy had to do, was sit on the throne to win, THEN WHY NOT DESTROY IT? This isn't rocket science, I'm sure Fate has the power to destroy something as simple a piece of rock

The saddest part is that they had the idea of a Black Adam movie since 2008 and been working on it for 10 years, yet this is the best they can do.

It's the epitome of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnsons career, never awful, never amazing, always middle of the road.

2:31 - Haha love the 'Lock Stock' reference. I wish Rory Breaker had been cast as Black Adam.

I feel you on this one. Concerning the lack of knowledge about the new characters past, I would say that a film exploiting their history and involvement with the DCU would be interesting. A flash-back film.

Intergang, by the way, is from Superman's Rogues Gallery. It's basically a 1920s mob that eventually somehow made a connection with Apokalypse, and they do a lot of stuff for Darkseid, as well as illegal trade on alien tech and stuff like that. They're a bit like a less-compelling Legion of Doom without any real allstars.

This movie was a breath of fresh air to be honest. Was it ground breaking. No. But gosh darn was it enjoyable to not have to experience the MESSAGE in a super hero film for once.

1:35 Boba Fett and Din: *Laughing hysterically in Beskar*

Great point about the malleability of supposedly indestructible metals

Am I the only one who got the vibe that Hodge was playing a Hawkman whose already reincarnated at least once in the JSA? His relationship with Dr Fate and Waller and the way he carried himself spoke of a far more experienced superhero than his apparent age. My headcanon is that he fought alongside Fate in WW2, likely as a white Hawkman, with Fate possibly watching over his estate until he was reborn.

It really was just OK. My favourite part by far was the Supes cameo. The Rock is definitely savvy making sure the cameo happened.