5 Reasons 'Black Adam' Failed (And 5 Reasons It Was Fine)

Aug 27

It’s been almost two years since the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe changed forever, just not in the way anyone expected. By 2022, the DCEU was dogged with constant bouts of box office disappointment, inconsistent critical reception, a barrage of canceled projects, and dwindling fan support. Whether it was due to the disappointment of Batman v Superman, the Frankenstein’s Monster quality of the theatrical cuts of Suicide Squad and Justice League, or sequels failing to live up to expectations, the DCEU rarely ever got a break. And then there was Black Adam.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, Black Adam was released in 2022 and pretty much killed the DCEU once and for all. While Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom were all still on the horizon the following year, but Black Adam made sure that the DCEU’s reputation was utterly dead. Black Adam’s reputation is one of embarrassment; That one time the Rock tried to take over DC and failed miserably. However, that’s not the whole story. There are many reasons why the movie doesn’t work, but it also has its merits. Even the worst of films has a few good qualities to it. So what are the factors that caused Black Adam to bomb, but also the elements that were diamonds in the rough? Let’s find out together!

Spoilers ahead!

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5. Reason It Failed: Ego The Living Actor

It’s hard to believe that at one point, Dwayne Johnson was considered “franchise viagra.” Due to his universally praised performance as Agent Hobbs in Fast Five, Johnson cemented himself as one of the most bankable movie stars in Hollywood. His frequent Fast & Furious appearances, San Andreas, Rampage, Hercules, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation all continued the Rock’s quest for total box office dominance. Central Intelligence, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and Moana were also massive highlights for him. However, as we entered the 2020s, the Rock’s magnetic charisma and affinity for solid popcorn entertainment started to fade. While Jungle Cruise was solid enough, it failed to capture the same magic that Gore Verbinski’s original Pirates of the Caribbean films had. Red Notice was as dull and generic an action movie as can be, despite the talent. And the less we say about Red One, the better.

The Rock playing Black Adam doesn’t seem like a bad idea on paper, as many fans (including myself) were excited to see him play a villain. Sadly, the Rock turns Black Adam, one of the most interesting villains/anti-heroes in the DC Universe, into a bland video game character who is caught between his villainous roots and a typical Dwayne Johnson-esque role but doesn’t commit to either one. This lack of consistency will ultimately hurt nearly every aspect of the film. It often makes you wonder why Johnson even wanted to play this character.

5. Reason It Was Fine: The Name’s Nelson, Kent Nelson

If there is anything Black Adam did justice (society, I’m so sorry), it was its portrayal of Doctor Fate. Despite not having the most screentime, Pierce Bronson makes the best with what little he’s given. Bronson is pitch-perfect as Nelson Kent, as if the character leapt off the page. I waited so long for the character to appear in a film, and for the most part, his appearance here didn’t disappoint. Is it a massive downside that every time Fate is on screen, you wish you were watching a movie about him? Yes, it is. But is he still cool as hell? You beat your magic helmet, he’s cool! Bronson’s is effortless in every sense of the word, to the point where a part of me hopes he reprises his role in the DCU at some point. If not, hopefully, Doctor Fate is given a project worthy of his name, abilities, and history.

Shame he goes out like a punk though.

4. Reason It Failed: Hypaganda

Something I’ve noticed as I’ve gotten older is that some blockbusters are hyped up so much that it feels like propaganda. I started feeling this way whenever it’s time for Vin Diesel to hype up a new Fast & Furious movie. From 2020 to the day of release, Dwayne Johnson made Black Adam feel like a bigger than it was, coining the infamous marketing tagline “The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change!” What does that even mean? On paper, it sounded like the Rock trying to plant the idea of Black Adam taking on the Justice League in the minds of fans. However, there was one character the Rock kept mentioning to drum up hype for Black Adam. Throughout the entirety of 2022, you couldn’t go anywhere without the Rock saying he wants Black Adam to fight Henry Cavill’s Superman. While there were fans who wanted Cavill to return, there weren’t many who’d actually had any interest in Black Adam fighting Superman. Didn’t help that the Rock kept bringing up Superman like a form of hype inception. This phenomenon is what I like to call hypaganda. While it was fun seeing Henry Cavill don the suit and cape one last time, the fact that James Gunn’s Superman was announced weeks later makes Johnson’s constant hypaganda all the more embarrassing.

4. Reason It Was Fine: Settling The Score

Even the worst DCEU films have pretty solid musical scores. Though by some weird act of God, Lorne Balfe created a score that is so far removed from the quality of the film it was made for that it’s almost funny. Best known for his work on Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Black Widow, and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Balfe takes what he learned from the Hans Zimmer school of film scoring and provides one of Black Adam’s few qualities with any real energy. His main theme for the titular anti-hero is appropriately badass, filled with as many pulsing strings and signature Zimmer-esque BWAHs you could possibly want. The musical highlight by far is the Justice Society theme, which manages to leave Danny Elfman and Tom Holkenborg’s Justice League themes in the dust. If you take away anything from this article, give Lorne Balfe’s score a shot!

3. Reason It Failed: Amon Us

As mentioned above, the film can’t decide if Black Adam is a cold-blooded villain or a charismatic anti-hero, and how that lack of consistent characterization leaks into the rest of the film. A shining example is with the character Amon, played by Bodhi Sabongui. Amon is essentially the film’s answer to Freddy Freeman from Shazam!. However, unlike Freddy, Amon lacks his charisma and relatability, while Sabongui lacks Jack Dylan Grazer’s comedic timing and, dare I say, acting talent. Too much time is spent with Amon info-dumping about superhero stats and marketing to Black Adam, recycling through all the same bits we did with Shazam and Freddy. However, David F. Sandberg understood that the point of Freddy workshopping catchphrases and superhero names with Billy Batson, every scene with Amon and Black Adam feels like nobody behind the scenes knew what the movie was supposed to be about. Every time the Rock delivers the line “Tell them the Man in Black sent you!” it is so groan-inducing that you can’t help but want to boo the screen.

3. Reason It Was Fine: And Where Is The Hawkman?

Aldis Hodge is a leading man stuck in a movie unworthy of his talents. He’s become a genuinely talented and reliable actor thanks to his roles in Straight Outta Compton, Hidden Figures, and One Night in Miami. Whenever Hawkman shows up on screen, you can’t help but be captivated by Adlis Hodge’s performance, as he seems to be one of the few actors to look like he’s having any real fun. He often finds himself delivering some truly generic lines, but he says them with a sense of commanding heroism that can be forgiven. If there was anything of note that was lost in the aftermath of Black Adam failing, it was the Hawkman spin-off film. It’s unlikely that Hodge will ever play this character again, but one can hope he has a superhero future ahead of him.

2. Reason It Failed: The Devil Is In The Detail

Due to the film’s lack of commitment to characterization and the Rock’s refusal to play a straight-up bad guy, Black Adam needed an enemy to fight. But did he get anyone interesting? Nope! Instead, we’re left with a villain so forgettable that he makes the Enchantress and Steppenwolf look well-developed by comparison. Played by Marwan Kenzari, Sabacc feels more like an unmemorable Zelda boss than an actual villain. He doesn’t have a threatening presence, memorable dialogue, or even as much as one good action scene to his name. Instead, we have to sit there and listen to him deliver half-assed villain dialogue while Black Adam saves the day.

2. Reason It Was Fine: Your Friendly Neighborhood Atom Smasher

It’s astounding how Noah Centineo doesn’t deliver the worst performance in the film. Admittedly, Atom Smasher doesn’t have much to do beyond using his powers a few times and being adorable. Centineo’s brief scenes with Quintessa Swindell’s Cyclone are some of the few moments of levity that cause the viewer to roll their eyes. Scenes with Atom Smasher, much like any scene with Doctor Fate and Hawkman, make one wish we were watching a Justice Society movie with Black Adam as the main antagonist. But that would require the Rock not to be the lead and hand off screentime to other stars, and sadly, we aren’t that lucky.

1. Reason It Failed: The Breakfast Of Chumpions

Imagine my shock that, after watching an entire movie centered on Black Adam, his arch nemesis was never brought up, even in a cameo role. The only thing worse than the Rock’s hypaganda regarding Black Adam fighting Superman is the Rock acting like Superman was his greatest rival as opposed to his actual greatest rival. David F. Sandberg’s Shazam! is a genuine comic book movie classic. The film is wish fulfillment in its purest form, which may make it difficult to crossover with a slightly more serious character like Black Adam. You think Jamue Collet-Serra and his writers would’ve tried to find a way to bring these two together sooner, but alas, we’ll forever have to deal with the fact that we had two Shazam movies and a Black Adam, and the two characters never crossed paths. Will they ever cross paths? Who is to say at this point?

1. Reason It Was Fine: Clothes Make The Man

An element of Black Adam that deserves a spotlight is the costumes. Costume designers Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller, for what it’s worth, put a lot of effort into helping bring these characters to life. Never in my life did I think that Black Adam, Doctor Fate, and Hawkman would all look incredible in live action. And while many made fun of Atom Smasher for looking like Blue Deadpool (Swanson and Mueller did work on Deadpool 2), he and Cyclone also look fabulous. If anything, at least we can say that the good costumes gave us some pretty dope looking action figures.

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