The superhero movie “Black Adam” was released October 21 bringing the infamous supervillain Black Adam to theaters. Starring Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson as Black Adam, the movie contributes as an addition to the Detective Comics Extended Universe (DCEU). The DCEU became notorious for creating low-quality live-action superhero movies compared to the Disney powerhouse Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The studio changed the character notably by turning the known villain Black Adam into an anti-hero, or protagonist who lacks the attributes of a heroic figure, such as the nobility of mind and spirit or life and attitude marked by action and purpose. In this sense, Black Adam fights for the heroes but kills whoever stands in his way, unlike other superheroes such as Batman and Spider-Man following a no-killing rule. This change in character brings the question of how the antihero will clash with his nemesis Shazam.

“I thought it was a really fun time with lots of great action. I would have gotten rid of the main villain and focused the entire movie on Black Adam fighting the justice society of America so they could be more developed and although I think Dwayne Johnson did great I might have cast an ethnically Egyptian actor as Black Adam,” junior Liam Martin said.

Black Adam’s actor, Johnson, considerably promoted this film with his social media greatly in contrast with his other movies. This promotion justifies itself with “Black Adam”, earning the highest-grossing opening weekend of any film in his career. Johnson accepted this role in 2013 and worked on the film since then, leading to the release of “Shazam!” and eventually “Black Adam”.

Whether due to frequent comedic gaps to break up the action or monotone voice dubbing, the emotional scenes in this film frequently fall flat. The second trailer of “Black Adam” glaringly spoils an important plot twist of the movie. With a secret meant to withhold important plot information shared with the audience before the release of the film and the aforementioned spoilers, “Black Adam” delivers key scenes that could hit the audience harder if applied with extra polish.

“Black Adam” ranks as one of the better films of the DCEU. After a long streak of less-than-mediocre superhero movies and the involvement of James Gunn, the DCEU finally focuses on films that can entertain the audience. Although nothing mind-blowing, “Black Adam” creates an enjoyable experience for comic book experts and uninformed audiences.

“I guess it’s more common now but it’s really the first (detective comics) movie that really ties the universe together. I hope for diverse tones for different movies and iconic and more obscure characters being adapted,” Martin said.

The Chant’s Grade: B+