Dwayne Johnson’s cherished 15-year project has finally premiered after the actor’s arduous effort for years upon end, as Black Adam just premiered as the latest DC superhero to grace the big screen. As one of the most anticipated superhero films, the Jaume Collet-Serra movie is expected to open new doors to an entirely new generation of superhero films in the DC repertoire, a much-needed change for the otherwise very split-opinionated company among the masses. Nonetheless, the movie just came out, and Dwayne Johnson could not be more proud.
Telling the tale of Black Adam, a violent alleged anti-hero from an ancient world who suddenly finds himself in modern times. The unique premise surrounding this comic hero has left many anxiously waiting for the release of the film, including Johnson himself. The actor shares a video on Twitter, and went ahead to gloat about the allegedly “best superhero movie in years” – or so they say.
In spite of Johnson’s ardent opinion about his beloved project, it seems as though reviewers online seem to disagree, for the most part. IGN was one of the first reviewing platforms to voice their opinions on the electrifying superhero, giving it a whopping five out of ten stars. In the review written by Joshua Yehl, IGN defended that the movie is “packed with undeveloped characters and an excessive number of repetitive action scenes, to the point where its half-baked debate on what it means to be a hero is lost in all the noise.”
Rolling Stone‘s opinions weren’t any different. In a review written by David Fear, the acclaimed website finds that the movie’s action scenes resembled “video game cut scenes from 2010,” criticizing the “inability to figure out how to harmonize edgy, bad-boy genre elements with an almost corny notion of old-fashioned superhero tale-telling,” characterizing Black Adam as “generic, flavorless and incoherent.”
As for RottenTomatoes, the reviews coming in are not any better. With a total of 93 reviews, the Tomatometer for Black Adam sits currently at 54 percent, with a consensus that “as a standalone experience, it’s a wildly uneven letdown.” On a brighter note, TheGuardian left a review of three out of five stars for the DC film, saying that despite the cast being “moderate in terms of charisma,” Johnson still has “the chops for it.” That’s certainly better than nothing.
Johnson is definitely not letting himself be affected by the not-up-to-par reviews, especially after all the hard work put into making the film happen- even if it doesn’t seem to exactly translate onto the screen. Black Adam will be officially out in theaters all across the U.S. tomorrow, Oct. 21.
