After many years of trying to get it made, Dwayne Johnson’s DC Comics adaptation “Black Adam” finally unleashes upon the world this week in cinemas.
Today, reviews for the title have gone up and sadly, the reaction is not one Johnson may have hoped for. With 47 reviews counted, the film sits at 47% (5.3/10) on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 45/100 on Metacritic.
That figure is about on par with some of Johnson’s other solo action vehicles in recent years like “Skyscraper” (48%), “San Andreas” (48%) and “Rampage” (51%). It’s better than “Baywatch” (17%) or “Red Notice” (36%) but not quite at “Jungle Cruise” (63%) or “Hobbs & Shaw” (68%) levels.
Below is a sampling of review quotes pointing out a range of reactions to the film:
“Johnson is the man. Unfortunately, such arguably worthwhile matters as narrative coherence, appealing characterizations and suspense struggle to emerge here amidst a veritable logjam of intentions and tones.” – Todd McCarthy, Deadline
“There isn’t a single character here that doesn’t feel like a cheap photocopy of one from Gotham or the MCU, not a single beat that doesn’t feel like it hasn’t been audience-tested within an inch of its life.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“At moments in Black Adam, you can barely catch your breath. However…everything is rushed, half-explained, glossed over, and as a result, a movie that’s generally fun to watch ends up feeling super messy.” – Germain Lussier, io9.com
“This passion project serves the character well, setting him up for adventures one hopes will be less predictable than this one.” – John DeFore, THR
“The idea of introducing new heroes with powers first, origin later, seems appealing on paper, but knowing nothing about the Justice Society and its members doesn’t make them particularly interesting adversaries for our anti-hero protagonist.” – Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
“Black Adam” opens in cinemas this Friday and is reportedly on track for an opening weekend in the $55-60 million range domestically.
