Black Adam is a Terrible Movie (Full Spoiler Review)

Want a superhero story not written by a committee of idiots? Check out Vito's comic book SUPERKILLER: Superkiller.org. The Rock is back with another phoned in PG13 action-adventure, except this time he can fly and murder people to the beat of a kicking rock soundtrack. This movie is a tone-deaf superhero romp that has has no idea what it's trying to say, where even the visual spectacle can't make up for the sheer stupidity of it all. Let's take a look at this nonsense!
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From New Line Cinema, Dwayne Johnson stars in the action adventure “Black Adam.” The first-ever feature film to explore the story of the DC Super Hero comes to the big screen under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Jungle Cruise”). In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed and Black Adam has gone from man, to myth, to legend. Now released, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone. Johnson stars alongside Aldis Hodge (“City on a Hill,” “One Night in Miami”) as Hawkman, Noah Centineo (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi (“Sex/Life,” “Rush Hour 3”), Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “The Mummy”), Quintessa Swindell (“Voyagers,” “Trinkets”) as Cyclone, Mo Amer (“Mo,” “Ramy”), Bodhi Sabongui (“A Million Little Things”), and Pierce Brosnan (the “Mamma Mia!” and James Bond franchises) as Dr. Fate. Collet-Serra directed from a screenplay written by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, based on characters from DC, based on characters created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck. The film’s producers are Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, with Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Chris Pan, Walter Hamada, Adam Schlagman, Geoff Johns, Eric McLeod and Scott Sheldon executive producing. The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Lawrence Sher (“Joker”), production designer Tom Meyer (“Real Steel”), editors Mike Sale (“Red Notice,” “Skyscraper”) and John Lee (“Anyone Home?”), costume designers Kurt and Bart (“Deadpool 2,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 & 2”), Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer (“Life of Pi,” “Wonder Woman”), and composer Lorne Balfe (“Black Widow”). New Line Cinema Presents a Seven Bucks/Flynn Co. Production, A Jaume Collet-Serra Film, “Black Adam,” smashing into theaters and IMAX internationally beginning 19 October 2022, in North America on October 21, 2022. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

[@vito]

Want a superhero story not written by a committee of idiots? Check out Vito's comic book SUPERKILLER: Superkiller.org

[@KennethMoreland]

Noone wants to see your shitty ripoff of KICKASS.

[@youareacoward8459]

You are a joke! 90% from the auidence.

[@Ya-got-boyf]

Aside from relating with children , there is absolutely no reason to include children in any film. This movie is no exception . Another terrible , cringy child actor that almost completely ruined any chance this movie had to be good.

[@owenismyname.3023]

Black Adam was the best movie of all time. It has awesome laser with yes. How you think you can say this. No never. Mega stupid your father is currently Absecon black

[@maximumguitarage]

well the people want Circus and Popcorn 🍿 Thor Love and Thunder ⚡ is the new benchmark

[@Luke101]

Vito going through the movie frame by frame when it hasn’t even been in theaters for a week is savage 😂

[@straybeans6561]

Yes, what is wrong with him? Why does he do shit thus stupid?

[@TheRobotRen]

YO HO HO A PIRATES LIFE FOR ME

[@hothotheat3000]

I saw the reviews and said “lemme hit up Putlocker”. I’m glad I did. I’d have been pissed if I had paid for this.

[@BlackAngusReviews]

I’m very excited for superkiller

[@razarryan2465]

Dr Fate was straight up suicidal. There was no reason for him to die. He could’ve just summoned Black Adam and waited with the rest of the crew lmao.

[@NoCtUrNaLJonez]

Man I was so sad when he died!!! I wanted to see way more of him so bad 😔

[@OTG1776]

I didn’t even think of that as he knew what was going to die and that he’d need Adam however it’s clear as you stated he must have wanted to die which is kinda gangster in retrospect.😅

[@MrSolobear333]

Dr fate had god like abilities bit showes kid tricks that Dr strange would piss on..... he's sopposed to be like Dr manhatten and be over powered

[@MrSolobear333]

That kis needed to be shot .... proper shot

[@dreamsneezer8668]

Also, why didn’t Adam immediately yell Shazam when he escaped “suspended animation”? He decides to wait until he’s underwater then yank out his breathing apparatus and have a float for 10 minutes? Nothing anyone does in the movie makes makes any sense.

[@afroahmed3989]

VITO not giving AF showing the pirated version of the movie , what an absolute legend

[@hothotheat3000]

And WB hasn’t taken it down, they don’t even care about this movie.

[@Holy-Rowlo88]

@@hothotheat3000 That's exactly how I saw the movie too... what a piece of trash

[@irishvader2193]

Pierce brosnan is a veteran actor, he will always be great

[@VegetaLaunchedFinalFlash]

Indeed.

[@dimensionzone8048]

Facts

[@hothotheat3000]

He’s the best actor in the movie.

[@robertrogers074]

He had more respect than the Rock, he didn't let his ego say I want to be the leader of the JSA.

[@user-vg8ox3he1i]

I just watched this movie and I have no idea WHAT BLACK ADAM WANTS. It's such a fundamental part of any character and I cannot answer it. Does he want to be king? No. Does he want to kill everyone? No. Does he want to be a hero? No. Does he want to get rich? No. Does he want to be worshipped? No. Does he want to be a liberator? No. Does he want to take down inter-gang? Maybe. Maybe. He kind of suggests he might like that, but he isn't motivated by any of those things. This film is a mess. The musical sequences were so bad and jarring, you could tell someone thought "this will look so cool" when they edited them in out of nowhere. Who is Hawkman? How did the Justice Society form? How is that related to Justice League? Why are we just now hearing about Atom Smasher when apparently there have been TWO in this universe. What is Hawkman's motivation? Where the heck have they been since the start of the DCEU? It's just a bunch of noise, but since critics hated it, reactionaries online have to praise it like the second coming. It's ridiculous. It is not a good film. It's fine if you like it, but it isn't very good from a technical point of view.

[@SergioHernandez-le8wp]

He doesn't want anything. His story played out 5,000 years ago. He was woken up by mistake by people who want him to be a hero again. The JV Justice League are worried about him because they know what he's capable of if he decides this world isn't worth saving. The character drives and motivations don't come from him. It's from everyone else around him that either want to use him or are flat out afraid if him (which is pretty unique for a superhero movie, honestly). He's just a lost guy in a new time and he's weighing what "group" he wants to align himself with. He chose his people. He's their hero now...maybe. We'll see if his ambition changes as he lives among "mortals" without any conflict to keep him busy. Maybe he'll decide that they should be ruled by someone more deserving. But for now, I'm ok with this.

[@Ramsey276one]

I’ll enjoy the KZbin videos, but after all those unanswered questions, I ain’t watching it and PAYING!

[@SergioHernandez-le8wp]

@@Ramsey276one fair. To each their own

[@Riqo2Suave]

@@SergioHernandez-le8wp when you’re proud of C student purely bc everyone else in the class is special ed

[@blazingace1699]

The whole point is that he gets awaken and his home is not the same anymore. They want him to liberate the people and be a hero but he doesn't want to. Towards the end, they offer him the position to rule them as king and he even says that he will be their champion. It's in the movie. If you didn't catch that, then that's on you 🤷‍♂️

[@RonW4684]

"Killing is Bad" would be a valid statement in a superhero movie from the 90s or earlier. But we've had Iron Man kill the 10 Rings terrorists in IM1, we had Captain America kill N@ZIs in First Avenger; we had Thor kill Frost Giants; we had Superman kill the terrorist African leader and Zod in MoS; we had Batman kill everyone in BvS; we had Wonder Woman kill normal humans in JL. DC can't get all high and mighty now. Black Adam did nothing worse than most of the JLA.

[@RonW4684]

My biggest gripe with DC characters, since I was a kid with their comics, is that it seems everyone is either a god, a god-tier alien, or a billionaire. Not one of them is relatable. At best they are gods playing at being men. Additionally, they end up looking like action figures being smashed together by a 6 year old. Because when you can lift a gazillion tons and tank nuclear explosions there is no tension.

[@clarity2199]

Wait. In Shazam when he did a power transfer to his family, he still kept his powers. Why didn't happen like that in Black Adam? Why would the kid lose his powers from that? That doesn't make sense to the original Shazam movie!

[@maximumguitarage]

because the Rock didn't want that to happen and wanted the twist and grasp for heart strings at his son dying ...in other words servicing the Rock to look cool 😎👌

[@rwfxdesigns]

Because at this time all of the other wizards were still alive. In the Shazam movie they were all dead save one.

[@thefanwithoutaface8105]

Well partially because in the original comics Black Adam and his Nephew originally shared the powers of Black Adam, only Teth to later kill his nephew to keep all the power. They instead went with this Transferring powers to Black Adam and I'm guessing part of the reason was because Teth was dying at the time and needed all the power to survive.

[@ryanwilliams7987]

Because that corny ass concept destroyed any credibility the movie had!.. Shazam was basically turned into a clown and circus show... You cannot have that Shazam go forward to represent for the DC Cinematic Universe!.. That "Shazam Family" concept only works in the comics and looks childish and ridiculous on screen. Just saying. 😎

[@Holy-Rowlo88]

DC comics is really the Down Syndrome of comic makers, bless their little hearts

[@stanyeung7124]

Tone sentiment is spot on…like why would he shove a grenade in the dude’s mouth or why would he emulate the gunslinger other than the director thinking “hey this looks cool”.

[@vito]

And why would Black Adam care about looking cool? Makes no sense for the character.

[@gracey62uk]

I’m also wondering how a 5000yr old being knew what a grenade was and why his first instinct is to shove it in a dudes mouth

[@Truthspeaker7777]

Did you forget he saw the western movie on the tv at the house in the living room? That’s where he got it from

[@stanyeung7124]

@@Truthspeaker7777 I know he saw it but what about his personality said he would just recreate it in a fight when all he’s been doing is zapping people full tilt.

[@casthedemon]

@@gracey62uk did you forget that he's a fucking wizard?

[@4l45t0r]

i love how the opening is "before Rome, before Greece, before Egypt, It was Kahndaq" Then the year is 2600BCE. LMAO, i have a bad news for you

[@AngryMunci5]

?

[@Solidkhallid]

This movie honestly could've split into 4 four films with how much they try to stuff into it. Movie one would be a Justice Society film to meet them and establish their character motivations. Movie two would be introducing Black Adam and his backstory. Movie three would be Waller sending the Justice society after Black Adam. Movie four would JSA/Black Adam vs. random CGI monstrosity.

[@Byronic19134]

Yeah 4 shity movies instead one condensed rock solid adventure.

[@soupnoodlesam]

Yes but dc is trying so desperately to catch up with marvel that every movie has to be 3 or 4 different movies worth of plot

[@elnelly16]

I would prefer a great single movie, instead of these phase X Y Z movies of only 4 good movies among 20 movies.

[@Tekkenandgaming]

I totally get what you mean, but I think 2 movies would have don the job. That being said I still enjoyed the movie.

[@jbbrolic]

Much like Venom (originally a terrifying villain,) Black Adam rose to prominence as Saddam Hussein with near Superman power levels, so film one being an antihero/superhero movie is a waste of the character.

[@toganium4175]

Black Adam is truly one of the films of all time.

[@ericvulgate]

This was funny three months ago

[@chasehedges6775]

One of the superhero films ever made.

[@ToyFiend]

It was one of the best movies I saw on Thursday.

[@IAmAlpharius20]

Like Barry Bonds.

[@lanalan4157]

Thrah

[@yragcom1]

THANK YOU!!! The gaslighting here on KZbin has been INSANE. I thought I going crazy, and actuually watched it TWICE to make sure it sucked. And it DOES SUCK. You're one of the few KZbin critics that's telling the TRUTH about this crap movie.

[@maximumguitarage]

I agree 👍💯

[@leeftree33]

I watched it twice too it was really fun, it's a good movie nothing amazing

[@Arander92]

The anti-woke brigade has gone completely mad. To the point where they think this is a good movie. Kids, this is why you NEVER submerse yourself too deep onto any ideology, no matter how much you believe in it. You WILL lose your mind like Midnight's Edge

[@lanalan4157]

@@Arander92 Truth

[@desperado3236]

Dunno who youve been listening too but from what ive seen, no one with any credibility has called it great. Its average ok at best. A mindless popcorn flick. Still better then marvels recent films. Haven't seen bp2 yet though so cant comment on it but i heard its not great either. I guess these past couple of years are full of mediocre to bad superhero movies. Cept spiderman no way home. That movie was awesome.

[@thebatman4279]

28:06 That paused image of Skateboard Kid is nightmare fuel.

[@tonyrame7548]

you have to wonder why shows like "the boys" and "invincible" can do super hero genre apparently way better and more realistic than these MCU and DC writers, perhaps because they put their characters in real world situations with real world consequences? in these movies it feels like there is no accountability for the characters actions except the one time in Batman v Superman when you see from Batman's perspective that superman is bad because he is fighting in the city putting innocent people's lives at risk, it is not like Dragon ball where you can revive everyone that gets killed in a catastrophic event.

[@benwilton5307]

Glad to see you’re back making humorous reviews Vito 👍🏻

[@PerfectTroy1]

The superhero movie/ music video thing goes back long before Guardians of the Galaxy...the Blade movies were doing this decades before.

[@antiquecardboard]

Vito, you should read Leo Tolstoy's "What is Art". An amazing work that has been lost to time. But a lot of what you say in your movie critiques is in line with Tolstoy's genius.

[@menheerMaytrap]

i remember Intergang being on that old Superman and Lois tv show from the 90s

[@Athanase48067]

all that licensed music just makes me remember suicide squad and roll my eyes. Im starting to think it's not 'the won't learn', it's that they physically, mentally CANNOT learn from what flopped before

[@mattjones7226]

But don't you guys get it? 'Paint it Black' because 'Black Adam'. It's sooo Meta. Ridiculous.

[@andrzejkopalnia]

I love these videos, but we need more "Gotcha!" ❤️

[@HeavyMetalJesus02]

Even though I don't believe "it's in the comics" is a good defense for something. I will say the fact that Kahndaq still loved Black Adam at the end of the movie, yeah, that's actually what happens in the comics. It's quite jarring that a whole country is portrayed like that.

[@vito]

Kahndaq is a bad place

[@user-vg8ox3he1i]

@@vito the writers clearly struggled with wanting to talk about the most obvious comparison: Israel and Palestine but not wanting to dive into the politics. Khandaq makes no sense. Who runs the government? Water? Power? Who makes international deals and agreements and treaties? Why would their neighbors tolerate a coup and then letting a gang run the country? Even if that were to happen the gang would become the government. It has a child's understanding of how the world works

[@domino6490]

Watch the video first fellas then we'll talk

[@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r]

Critics may hate it but it's sure a hit with the audience. And I'm one of those audience members who loved it lol

[@JRennick27]

The audience is people like Matt Ramos who yell and scream about every comic book movie. Wouldn’t say that’s much of an audience

[@Riqo2Suave]

Yea bc while entertaining on technical film making level is on par with what 13 year old boy would come up with

[@Leo6933]

@@JRennick27 it was a fun movie, had its issues with the pacing and the story. But it was a great SUPERHERO movie with lots of action.

[@Leo6933]

@@JRennick27 it was a fun movie, had its issues with the pacing and the story. But it was a great SUPERHERO movie with lots of action.

[@phelanlawson1995]

my biggest problem with this movie is the rock. hes the rock he wont allow himself to be a morally gray anti hero. if youre telling me the same guy who in his contracts has to go punch for punch with jason statham cause he cant "be beat" is gonna play one of the coolest morally complex anti-heroes/villians in the DC lexicanum faithfully then get fucked. Rocks hype for this movie sucked, the rock sucks, and his ego dealing with how bad the movie is doing sucks.

[@craigwilliams1073]

I too thought the Doctor was the favorite of the movie!!!

[@grproteus]

Strange, isn't it?

[@mattlewis6833]

Black Adam should have been the villain in Shazam or at least introduced in a JSA film. This was a two hour wrestling promo.

[@peterparker9214]

Sounds like one of those intros where you forget what movie you’re watching lol

[@Steve-sd7wk]

FYI, BCE means, Before Common Era, not before christ. You are right about the music, why can't they just find another John Williams? Lastly... magazines... not clips...

[@John-ns5se]

This movie was way better than what critics gave it. My only nitpick for the movie was that I wish they would have explained more about the backstories of the JSA since not everyone knows who they are especially with Hawkman since his backstory is the most interesting I think. The generic villain toward the end was something they could have improved on but overall The Rock really steals the show in this film and I’m glad I a gave this movie chance and not listen to the critics

[@boxcarhobo7017]

Why do titles like the one on this thumbnail when I see them pop up on my feed bring me such pure unadulterated joy? Oh, I know. Because they are laugh out loud funny as F. Keep em comin' oh hilarious great one.

[@moosedawgatlantaproductions]

12:03, that statement could also refer to its horrendous color grading.

[@misterdaddy4240]

Very smart to use justice society as they were refreshing to look out and the fight scenes were AWESOME AND DRAWN OUT......

[@Disgruntled_Old_Man]

It was called a walkman but thinks for letting me know how old I am. (Guardian's of the Galaxy music stuff).

[@q8venom]

I haven't seen the movie but Vito's analysis is always entertaining to watch and has many well thought out points

[@maximumguitarage]

he's right in so many levels I thought the same ...wow kids are here and we are laughing at Death...didn't Superman cry when he killed Zod ? Venom realized he shouldn't kill people and it was bad and stopped, uh he killed Cletus Cacidy you say ? Yeah that was a child murder ans not the same as killing people part of a militia group that have family's. punisher is about vengeance and only kills the people that part took in killing his family and is geared towards adults. This movie did do something first that killing is funny for the first time in a PG13 comic super hero movie. Deadpool is rated R and has the right as it is over the top like vito pointed out. this movie was supposedly R rated then bad to scale back to be released to kids.

[@uosdwiSrdewoH]

The bit with the pipe at 22:50 into the video makes me crazy. It's shot in a strange way, it's supposed to be funny but it goes on for a few beats too long. Not to mention that it's blatantly obvious that they were, I guess, not allowed to hit The Rock or something because the stick is already bent and you can see the guy who goes to hit Black Adam is pulling his punch because of the way it was shot. I hate it.

[@EclipseHedgehog]

Just came back from the movie and I gotta say whoever said this movie went through editing hell to come out from an R to a pg-13 rating was right and it clearly shows. It wants to be a Justice Society movie as well as a Black Adam movie as well as a boy and his super hero story and they don't really mesh well that the titular character is just lost in all of it. Dr. Fate stole the show and I actually liked the guy playing Hawkman and think he did a good job though i DO sense the "we need our own ironman" vibe coming from the execs. I couldn't care less about cyclone and atom smasher and the movie sure as heck didn't either. Oh yeah and another satan character. that makes...4? No one cares about him and is just there for the heroes to fight. and of course NONE of the jokes landed (and for the record I don't laugh at marvel's "jokes" either.) Hated the skateboard kid and couldn't care about the mom i don't even remember their names and you're not gonna convince me they wouldn't have been shot or tasered when being chased by the guys in suits and by the way where the heck did those flying hover bikes come from? also I like how they say "Kent is possessed" when he wears the helmet of fate but he seemed fine to me, being able to keep his character (instead of being possessed by Nabu) and remove his helmet whenever he wants. the shots cutting fast are hard to keep up with, and lastly one more nitpick; doesn't hawkman's hammer negate magic or is that a DCAU thing? not that it matters since we're not told that it does in the movie anyway. Ugh, this movie is two thumbs down from me.

[@Byronic19134]

I loved the movie i think you just look for things to not like/

[@OTG1776]

@@Byronic19134 bro not even close lol. I like parts of the movie it made me laugh but ultimately left me disappointed at every step. The problem is it gives you unlikeable characters and doesn’t proceed to give you a reason to like them. The movie has zero build up for anything and therefore takes away all satisfaction when things do come to pass. It’s simply bad writing.

[@bradhedgehog12]

Geez Vito. That could of been another good Gotcha Video.

[@bradleygarrod7999]

I watched this whole fucking movie last night. I am stupid.

[@bradleyadams9430]

What about the fact that he destroys the people's home for no apparent reason? He was a HUMAN he only had God power for a short time why would he not just act like a normal human? How does he speak perfect English? Why does the people's home have 10" concrete INTERIOR WALLS? Is the whole building a boom shelter or something? Why do they make a point that the crown weighs 23lb but they carry it around like it's plastic. Have none of the writers ever lifted a 20 lb wieght? Did anyone else notice in the scene where the vilan tries to shot the kid and it goes into super slomo (again) it is SO SLOW that the bullet is not moving BUT apparently the kid is faster than a bullet because his head is still moving, very slowly, but still moving. Things like that along with everything mentioned in this video made this movie unbelievable for me. I actually walked out right before the ending sequence because I knew exactly what was going to happen.

[@RottenTanuki]

Yay! intro is back

[@Ramsey276one]

Since the Injustice game I have found Doctor Fate interesting Can someone give a brief summary? And, what’s his degree of? XD

[@Go_away__]

He has a degree in fate. Obviously.

[@purplej939]

Talk about over-thinking a movie. This is just a typical fun superhero special effects romp. All it needs to be. It succeeded at what it wanted to give audiences.

[@vito]

Telling children killing is heroic is a very bad moral

[@leeftree33]

@@vito children movie? This is more like a teenager/adult movie 😐 it was fun that's all, it was entertaining I don't think this was really a thinking movie

[@1980Triumph]

Exactly, people who hate already planned to hate it.

[@FormerlyAVM]

They handled the origin pretty well but it should have been in the beginning. The kid was the most unnecessary character in any movie ever. The jokes didn’t need to be in it at all, he’s not Deadpool he works as an antihero but not in the jokey way Deadpool does. DC needs to be bought by people that care

[@gordonchard6243]

I've not seen so can't comment but lady I used to work with said it was great and she's not bright so looks like Vito was on the money.

[@RiverBeard]

Vito gets 9:45 in before mispeaking etherium for eternium

[@thebatman4279]

He calls Cyclone 'Tornado' too 😂

[@aguyfromnothere]

Why does Amanda Waller have anything to do with Superman?

[@atomicbrain9401]

7:13 me, when the world is a vampire

[@FUCKCENSORSHIP747]

I don’t feel like watching this video. From the title you’re completely and entirely wrong. This is the best super movie I’ve seen since endgame. It’s ok to like things*, damn.

[@pookypoo1169]

The movie was trash

[@thebigpig2364]

"This movie is actually good" "It's okay to like bad movies" Pick one. Don't say both.

[@FUCKCENSORSHIP747]

@@thebigpig2364 it’s ok to like “things”. I’m not calling the movie shit 🙄 ffs

[@jasoncarter1869]

"I don't feel like watching this video" "From the title"..... Really? Smh lol Yet you are actively trolling people about the video. You are sick my guy 🤮 All jokes aside... that's nasty

[@mulatso7959]

Besides the Nolan trilogy, Watchmen and a few others, what superhero movie is good as a movie? They're products mostly targeted at children, It's like they're a form of entertainment that has little artistic value by design. I think the bar is set lower for this specific genre than the rest.

[@Lplover007]

well guess what, i was kinda pro murder whenever i watched dexter even though im not for the death penalty or anything like that in real life and i dont really feel bad about it. its like how people are watching the sopranos talking about how its completely satire and telling you how pathetic these people are... well yeah, that is a part of it, but maybe you can also just enjoy some taboo things, all the more if its just vicariously through a movie character. not every movie needs a perfect moral at the end, maybe this is just a cool buff guy with slight anger issues who kills bad guys sometimes.

[@rower41]

Good analysis. Spot on regarding the messaging in this movie. At a time when left vs right is a powder keg the last thing we need is a movie that says "kill the ones you think are bad so they can't do more bad". All you have to do is invent the toxic rhetoric, produce the propaganda, and the fringe idiots will do the rest. There is nothing heroic about killing normies when you are all-powerful--I mean for all we know the baddies other than the head dude are like Finn--I mean the guy chasing the kid at the first of the movie could have killed him at any time as Black Adam would have done. Relative to BA the normie troops are helpless and killing the helpless is not heroic dark or otherwise. Also, the moralizing about the Justice Society (dumb name) and the rest of the world not rescuing Khandaq... if they had done that they would have been called colonizers or would have been accused of causing too much collateral damage 11 milliseconds after freeing them just like they did with Sokovia in the MCU. I guess their freedom fighters weren't very good at fighting for freedom. The movie was OK and I don't mind supporting something that isn't over-the-top political messaging but I think the writing, tone, and overall message needed a redo.

[@Toliman.]

So, the world building not being there, is something that can only be solved with a universe of connected Movies and content… that the Justice League completely destroyed on arrival. IDK. The DCEU is completely unable to convey the world building because they never had the rights or opportunity to introduce the story or characters. or they need a tepid streaming service TV show that’s just a 6-8 hour long movie that has to cover 10 to 50 different D grade superheroes. I guess the problem is that the entire WB/DC hero lineup is C/D grade because they’re not that strong in terms of cosmic scale damage. And in this movie setting, Black Adam is a Superman Analogue with anger issues. And they don’t focus on this ridiculousness. ie which of the DC heroes can survive a nuclear explosion to the face ? Wonder Woman, Black Adam, Superman ? Because, if you’re putting these people in the same situation as Mumen Rider, bicycling for Justice… or Cyclone, Hawkman / Harvey Birdman attorney at law, then you have some serious world building issues trying to fit a street class versus army class vs world class vs god class villains. They film the movie where he’s able to take on military level threats. IDK.

[@xposhboyx]

Thank you very much for pointing out the muddled morality of the movie. Great take. Meanwhile no one questions the morality of "extrajudicially" entombing Black Adam in solidarity confinement in a sensory deprivation chamber for an eternity, a fate at least as bad as death IMHO And why are these "heroes" working for Waller, she's shown zero compunction about mass slaughter and reckless abandon when it comes to collateral damage/civilian casualties.

[@Lemon_Slices]

Oh thank god people can be smart(I’m talking about critiques)before I watch the entire video these are my thoughts on black Adam based on the trailer •black Adam is set in the dc universe directly affiliated with Shazam and somehow he was chosen by whoever Shazam was • they cast Dwayne Johnson to get butts on seats I will update you when I see this video Update: art is dead

[@jameswest360]

And doctor fate using basically his version of the mirror dimension just so hawkman can punch black adam one time was a f****** waste

[@EsPea86]

Just got out of watching it and I thought it was complete garbage

[@bZman]

This movie COULD have been good, but at the end of the day NO ONE wanted to see Intergang or stupid crowns. If it was all about the JSA as a villain that would have been fine. The movie felt schizophrenic with its jumping around to Intergang then JSA then more intergang then more JSA then magically, hey its Surtur from Thor 3. "evil terrorist who no one gives a shit about turning into evil fire man no one gives a shit about is NOT compelling"

[@niajones992]

I watch this review about once a month and cry laughing every time 😭😭🤣🤣

[@rannxerox3970]

Why does the demon dude have a pentagram on his chest? The #5 is the number of man and a pentagram is used to control a demon. It should be a 6 sided shape.

[@FUCKCENSORSHIP747]

Could be hinting at Trigon, in which case he could have been controlled

[@user-vg8ox3he1i]

No one but you knew that.

[@ToyFiend]

Why the fuck is Satan CGI and not just a guy in a suit?! Why does every DC movie have a finale with a fucking CGI cartoon villain that looks like XBox 360 graphics!? Wonder Woman, Justice League, Black Adam. Its awful.

[@honeydenison83]

I just watched the movie. They show the mom's necklace and she says her grandmother gave it to her. I thought that would go somewhere, but it didn't. The Amon wasn't needed and annoying. I won't go into Black Adam going from speaking his native tongue and speaking perfect English 5,000 years later. Amanda Waller is aware of Black Adams power and it's broadcasted on the news, but she lets the JSA go in when she could have called Superman. As I said, the destruction was broadcast on the news. Superman/Clark would have seen or heard this. Heck, Lois Lane would know about it. To show Superman at the end, that raises the question of where was he from the jump? Best characters, Dr. Fate, Black Adam, and Hawkman in that order. Everyone else was meh.

[@SnappyDude]

The tongue thing is part of the magic that grants him his power, its why when he transforms back to be put in prison he no longer speaks English

[@zack6892]

If you look during the flash back when black adam says they went after his family his wife is wearing the necklace. I thought it was kinda weird but whatever. No way a necklace gets handed down 3000 years. Also a really weird way to make that connection that it is his family and it goes nowhere really unless they already hinting at him passing the powers to that kid which is crazy cause he was annoying.

[@randez626]

You forgot to mention how the black lady at the end, like a bully, threatens black adam saying if u dont listen to me, i will send the hounds. Then superman appears IMMEDIATELY like some hired gun? I thought she delt with villains like suicide squad? Not the justice league.

[@nogrecords]

Dammit man. I burst out laughing LOUDLY when you said "maybe I'm RACIST!" (because I assumed you were joking)..,......but then at the end, you said that about dirt people and their religion that says it's okay to kill people, or chop off the hands if they steal. Like, come on bro But shit I agreed with almost everything else you said I this breakdown about black Adam. Except for the kid and BA , I actually liked their dynamic

[@vito]

The movie made the people of Kahndaq into a stereotype of bloodthirsty desert savages, not me

[@dagg497]

@@vito To be honest I think the entire movie felt like a setup for vilifying USA and glorifying Arabic countries and Islam. Every scene felt like Iraqis hating on US troops for some reason. And the kid and the mothers values were so typically stupid and archaic Islamic I couldn't even... My GF is from Brasil and I am from Norway so none of us have any clue of political and religion tropes, but we felt It seeping through the screen like some woke/feminist Ghostbusters 2016 agenda 🤣🤣🤣

[@SnappyDude]

I enjoyed the movie but it was definitely not well made. It seemed like the writers wanted something darker with a more serious message about grey morality, is it justified to kill an invading army if they've been killing and terrorizing your people? Why is the JSA letting thing like this happen, does that make them responsible? What right do they have to police another country, especially when that entire country supports the methods of black adam? Even if black adam is all powerful, he can not be everywhere and you can not put an entire invading army in jail. Also it would seem the UN is allowing these people to invade KAhndok so no court would try them. This could have been a really good story about the horrors of occupation, but it feels like the director wanted a fun marvel movie so he chopped up the script added bad music sequences etc. I think they should have leaned into the darker elements, shown what the invaders were doing to the country, dropped the intro monologue and the family. Then in the third act have the JSA arrest Adam right before the bad guys invade the city with lethal force to get the crown. Then the JSA sees their evil and has to make a choice to go against orders. Have amanda tell them the UN supports the occupation and that they're not allowed to help. So they either have to go against orders or allow Adam out to stop the genocide of his people. They had those magic bullets you wouldnt need a cgi monster to give him a challenge. It was a wasted potential but far from the worst thing in the superhero genre.

[@user-vg8ox3he1i]

Countries are made up of millions of different people. No government has 100% support of their people. Black Adam just glosses over this and says everyone believes in this one thing here. Its ridiculous. Also self defense is justified but is black adam defending himself from people who cant hurt him? If a child punches you, is lethal self defense justified? Obviously not.

[@andrzejkopalnia]

6:24 exactly my point with Tom Holland's Spider-Man: Awesome indy/alternative music from today could've been used. Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Royal Blood, anything really. But no. The 17 year old listens to Canned Heat...

[@vito]

yeah so lame

[@etzool]

On one hand, some people absolutely do deserve to die, right here in reality. On the other... that's not a point this movie is even trying to make with its shallow lol-hey-bad-guys-dying schtick. In the comics, Black Adam is a murderer to the point of genocide, but it's not played for laughs. It's intended to be tragic and horrifying, and to characterize him as having little to no remorse or regard for human life -- which makes sense in that context, and also makes him something between a villain and an anti-hero, depending on who's writing. It works specifically because it's not played for laughs, and it's shocking, but shocking in service of the character and the plot.

[@perceivedvelocity9914]

I watched the movie last weekend. It was fine. Not terrible or fantastic, just fine. I found it interesting that DC created a religion free middle eastern country. Well, modern religion. Is that their idea of representation?

[@mikielsahagun6054]

It's describing the world today: the world is a vampire: set to drain you

[@JustTooDamnHonest]

If anything this should've been a JSA film with Black Adam as the villain and we could've found out where the JSA have been since the events of the Snyderverse. But nope w had to make Black Adam the anti-hero and Hawkman really comes off as a massive hypocrite when he is trying to convince Adam that heroes do not kill when he is working for Amanda Weller herself. Not to mention that Cyclone was a redhead in the comics. But this is Hollywood and they hate gingers remember that and so they race swapped her with a POC(#GingercideIsReal). -Kahndaq is Wakanda. -Eternium is Viberanium. -The JSA jet is basically the X-Men jet. -Dr. Fate is Dr. Strange(also Pierce Brosnan's Dr. Fate is the best thing in this film). -Adam Smasher is Giant-Man. -InterGang is a worldwide merc group that is "totally" not an allegory for the wars in the middle east like Iraq or Afghanistan🙄. -WB is basically using the James Gunn GOTG comedy or music stick in this film just like Disney is using it in their whole M-SHE-U phase 4 and onward(showing that they do not have a plan of making any sense of the DCU or being consistent with it's build up to a big event)if there is even going to be one considering that Darkseid has been reduced to a being a b*tch since he got his ass whipped by the defenders of Earth back then in the Snyder Cut. -Black Adam's soul is not even in the debate at this point after killing generic Satan and this b*tch has the nerve to say that it is his darkness that is the reason to get the job done and at that point I was laughing on how stupid the messaging in this film is. Basically the DCU is trying to recreate the MCU when it was great. But it is basically a Frankenstein's monster mash up of things that we have already seen and were better than this. Plus Dr. Fate got nerfed so badly in this film it is not even funny. The Superman cameo wasn't enough. If anything it was a meh film.

[@elcato8126]

Oh man, that dislike ratio is creeping up to the like ratio. Also this video is pretty bad so I guess it's not all just hate.

[@jeffreyyelverton5567]

32:22 I like this way more than what we got.

[@donalda8017]

Bronson Spaceball'd the movie and got this screener ..saw how bad it was and said yea kill off my character

[@peterparker9214]

“This is just masturbatory, waste of my time!” 😂😂😂

[@thebatman4279]

I'm addicted to this review, I think I need help lol

[@VisceralVenom]

There should be a reitrement date for actors, The Rock is there. Of all the people in this world, can we not find new people?

[@marke4576]

Audience 90%. Nobody pay attention to critic reviews.

[@thebatman4279]

It's funny, the people who usually say that can't seem to help themselves but talk about Rotten Tomatoes and critics CONSTANTLY.

[@leeftree33]

@@thebatman4279 it's almost like the websites purpose is to discuss and review movies by anyone who signs up idk its almost crazy really

[@damionstr1ke]

I have no idea how some people are raging about this. It was boring and mediocre at best. Maybe the last third of the movie was semi watchable.

[@davidbranch1077]

They get the music from Public Domain, is free . It's what the video game producers use also. However yes, I agree...it's getting old. That said, they can do whatever, Superman is back.

[@vito]

It's not free. They probably paid $50,000+ for the use of each track.

[@Creabsley]

You think smashing pumpkins is in the public domain? Jesus Christ

[@aeneas6377]

My biggest problem with this movie, besides the terrible script, is the damage this characters inflict or take. Adam gets smacked around Kandaq by everybody at some point, tanks Fate's magic, Smasher's fist etc, yet he's completely unfazed, not a scratch. When he gets hit by a random rocked, he passes out. Why? Because it was an Etherium rocket? Mighty convenient that nobody uses a weapon like that ever again. Hawkman has a similar problem, he always loses but somehow doesn't take any serious damage despite the fact that Adam *should* be fighting to kill. In movies like this you either get impaled/ripped in half or you can go on like normal. It really kills the tension behind characters getting beat up. People die only when the script wants them to die

[@casthedemon]

Except Black Adam wasn't trying to kill Hawman.

[@arcticfox6808]

Superman's got Kryptonite, Black Adam has Eterneum, or whatever it is. That's what that was.

[@robotjox77]

Did you just call Sergio Leone "Sierra Leone"? I think you should hand in your Italian card immediately, Vito.

[@wellokayyes1266]

I think of "the boys" as a comparison in this review. A lot of similarities like maybe they borrowed from that show.

[@FurbyParade226]

He's killing for the cause that he sees fit. A true antihero. Just like Punisher. Just like Venom. Etcetera..

[@vito]

except the entire city cheers him on for doing it

[@tylerbranson2099]

@@vito To be honest, this version is still better than the comics. In the comics its a Dr. Doom situation except worse because Dr. Doom is confirmed to actually sometimes increase the standard of living for his country. In the comics Black Adam rules the country as its God King and lets it stay a third world shithole and the people still worship the ground he walks on. At least in this version he doesn't do that so they do have some reason to respect him. He's a legit champion protecting the country instead of just the most recent Dictator with only his own interests in mind. Admittedly some versions of him do have him caring about the country in more than just a possessive manner, but those are the exception rather than the rule. It's almost like he was written to be a villain or something.

[@maximumguitarage]

no no no, this movie is geared towards kids. to laugh at murder is warping young kids minds and is sick . punisher is vengeance and only kills the people who killed his family extremely different context and is geared towards adult with usually an R raring. venom realized he couldn't eat people and stopped and started to care for people. Your points are invalid to just say it's an anti hero therefore killing is ok when a movie is geared towards kids. then the citizens excepting his past for their greater good ? how is that even morally acceptable? what lessons does that teach ? just because you have God like powered you are off the hook. didn't the wizards Bansish this individual for being an imposter and recklessly killingly innocent people then to just be let loose with no consequences come on ....

[@musicaldooder20]

Well, that “steaming pile of garbage” has has made a lot of money so far on its opening day, so we’ll see who’s opinion pans out.

[@Luke101]

Fast and Furious movies make bank too, they aren’t good films though. They’re mindless entertainment

[@musicaldooder20]

@@Luke101 but that at least makes them better than a steaming pile of garbage. 😂

[@argkitsune]

The Michael Bay Transformer movies made a huge amount of money and they’re all (except the first) absolutely terrible. Appeal to popularity much?

[@musicaldooder20]

@@argkitsune all I’m saying is that the movie made a lot of money on its opening day because it drew a lot of people to the theaters. So, we’ll see how well received it ends up being. I agree that the amount of money a film makes doesn’t always correlate with how good or bad a film is. Bad films sometimes make lots of money, and good/great films someone’s barely break even. I’m just saying that since it drew in a lot of people on it’s opening day, it may turn out to be a good/enjoyable movie.

[@vito]

Last Jedi made a billion dollars

[@PerfectTroy1]

Vito, you just helped me understand this dumb movie - I never thought they wanted us to think that The Rock was the kid! It was obvious that the The Rock was the father. Lol!

[@yungbfresh1]

You are dumb for not going to see it in theater.

[@PerfectTroy1]

@@yungbfresh1 you are dumb for thinking I didn’t see in the theater. Peasant.

[@lazzi-droid1181]

You only know this because he says it in the trailers .

[@LONlG]

Writers watched Last Action Hero and Terminator 2 too much as kids. The skateboard kid absolutely kills the movie (nothing on the actor, but wow was the role written badly). Plus the weird attempt at 'kinda' being political with the intergang, but not having the balls to just go out with it. Then the violence aspect that Vito pointed out perfectly, where the vibe from the movie is MDK. I wanted to like this movie, but instead I was bored. How can I be bored when it has so many action scenes? The majority are just 'action by number' and nothing felt fast. Maybe it was the constant slow-mo, but I think it was just mediocre fight choreography. Overall the movie was a huge letdown, and I was going in with low expectations. To note though, my kids (teenagers) enjoyed it and basically remembered nothing but a few of the cool lightning effects. So the $70 for 4 tickets wasn't a total waste, at least they enjoyed it.

[@testecalle3378]

I use your video essay about star wars to shout loud opinions about why I dislike them

[@KJM1984]

I'm not expecting it to be good. I'm expecting a popcorn flick. As long as it's passable, I'll be happy with it.

[@johndodo2062]

that's sad

[@NotAfraid280]

lol sad

[@Riqo2Suave]

This is why Disney was allowed to decimate 2 billion dollar franchises

[@kalebwilliams1213]

@@NotAfraid280 most of the Phase 4 Marvel movies are at best popcorn Flicks but I bet you still give those a pass.

[@NotAfraid280]

@@kalebwilliams1213 nah they were nearly all bad except for no way home

[@sethkaicer319]

Where is super killer when you need him most? 😵‍💫

[@adamsifford6228]

Dc reboots about every other movie. I think James Gunn will fall in Dc.

[@dall1786]

I'm sorry to break this to you but every movie can't be rated r and make a pile of money. There has to be some compromises made in order to make back the budget for these movies and the compromise is going to be in the rating. Obviously Black Adam to be done correctly would have to be rated r but that's just not going to happen. Now after the theatrical release will get a director's cut where we'll get the rated r version. So you have to go in looking at this objectively and objectively this is not a terrible movie it's not a top-notch stellar 9 out of 10 movie but it is certainly above average.

[@robertrogers074]

Hey Vito I want you to do some cover songs.

[@BenjaminWillard-hs7km]

Also I’m pretty sure they didn’t have advanced civilizations in 2600 BCE

[@ericvulgate]

It's sad no platform follows the law in regards to the legality of showing clips in a critic context.

[@ramigilneas9274]

Not sure what the law says about pirated clips.😂

[@garygrant6987]

It wasn’t bad. It was okay. Saying it sucks is an exaggeration. Sensationalism

[@FurbyParade226]

Exactly. It was average. Maybe a 4 or 5/10. Definitely not a 1 or 2 like the critics are saying..

[@marcsullivan2468]

I thought it was better than all the The last Thor movie.

[@garygrant6987]

@@marcsullivan2468 Absolutely.

[@garygrant6987]

@@FurbyParade226 I agree. The critics are being sensationalists. I give it a 6/10/

[@iulixMAXgames]

couldn't agree more the movie is garbage I never saw that Black Adam I saw the Rock playing overpowered character and most of the characters are really bad and boring with the exception of hawkman Andy F up dr.fate with that horrible CGI animation

[@Esauofisaac]

I actually disagree with whether it's morally wrong to kill mooks shooting at you. Just because you're much stronger than someone doesn't mean you have a moral imperative to leave them alive for trying to murder you. I highly doubt the world is missing some productive members of society that are trying to gun down a random guy. It's a huge issue for superheroes that they leave people who are plainly psychopathic murderers alive for no other reason than "that's the rule." Joker's killed like a million people over and over again and he's just put back in a cell. If some soldiers were trying to shoot me and I were super strong I would one hundred percent explode them into a blood spatter, I don't think that's unusual at all.

[@MnemonicHack]

Considering the people I generally listen to think it's an alright movie, and the public score on RottenTomatoes, I'm gonna have to go ahead and disregard your opinion.

[@vito]

the people you generally listen to are idiots

[@MnemonicHack]

@@vito That can't be true, I don't listen to you.

[@thebatman4279]

The people you 'generally listen to' probably laugh at weather and think Morbius is a 10/10.