On October 21, 2022, Warner Bros. Pictures released the film Black Adam, starring Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Shahi, Pierce Brosnan, Aldis Hodge, and numerous more.

The cinematic headline of fall centers around the DC character of Black Adam, a classic villain in the comic book universe. 

With its film debut, the studio wanted to leave a resounding impression with this character. Set in Khandaq, Black Adam’s story is a series of emotional steps of history, revival, and resurgence. The film makes an attempt to captivate its audience and is able to meet certain expectations yet falls short in meeting others.

One of the most critical parts of a movie is its plot speed and plot depth. If a movie had an excessively slow or fast plot, it would feel rushed and inconsistent; a plot lacking depth would feel incomplete. 

At first, Black Adam does suffer from a slow plot as the introduction of characters is stretched out to a point where the audience has a thinner interest. However, as the major events of the film transpire, the audience becomes more and more invested in the story. Despite the unsteady pacing and pauses in the plot, the film is able to continue the characters’ stories in a reasonable way and maintain audience interest.

While a movie may have a strong plotline, it requires strong characters to support that foundation. This film’s casting was aimed at getting the most stars, rather than truly focusing on getting the most accurate actor for each role. 

However, Warner Bros. Pictures manages to make it work with a superstar of a celebrity, Johnson, at the head of the movie. A few characters seem a bit undeveloped as they are swiftly introduced in the beginning and seem to hold noteworthy responsibility, but they do not fulfill the viewers’ expectations in later events. The movie leaves the audience yearning for more in terms of characters filling their places in the story. 

DC has been looking for its mark in recent media to help support its universe as they continue to engage in competition with the more successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. For the everyday superhero film watcher, Black Adam hits most of the critique points but becomes lackluster in a few. However, this fall film is able to garner attention for the DC Extended Universe.