As a Marvel fan, I was initially hesitant to see the newest DC Film, Black Adam. I went with a few of my friends who were also Marvel fans, and to be honest, I was expecting a film similar to the likes of Wonder Woman: 1984 or Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of Black Adam. Although it’s far from perfect, I see it as a huge step up for the DCEU.

Black Adam follows the story of Teth Adam (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), an ancient man who was struck down by the evil king of Kahndaq, his home country. When he was about to be killed by the king, ancient wizards saved him just in time. These ancient wizards gifted Teth Adam with the strength of Hercules, the wisdom of Solomon, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. These powers spell out the famous word, Shazam! Teth Adam defeated the king in battle, but in the process, he destroyed much of Kahndaq.

We pick up 5,000 years later, where present-day Kahndaq is being controlled by the most recent foreign invader in a long line of them. Amon (Bodhi Sabongui), a kid living in Kahndaq, is obsessed with superheroes. He rides around the streets with his skateboard, but always has comics in his bag. His mother, Isis (Sarah Shahi) is an explorer. Kahndaq has a rare metal in it called Eternium, much like Vibranium from the MCU. This Eternium was used to craft the crown of the king, which gave him immense power. It is one of the only things that can hurt Black Adam.

Isis goes with her brother on a hunt for the crown. They find it in a mountain, but not without hot pursuit from the invaders. They use the crown to summon Black Adam, who kills all of the soldiers to protect them. Back in America, the Justice Society sees the destruction that Black Adam is causing. The team, composed of Dr. Fate, Hawkman, Atom Smasher, and Cyclone, heads out to put a stop to Black Adam once and for all.

If I had to critically review Black Adam, I would give it an 8.5/10. Black Adam is a very good movie, which I believe is a gigantic step up from the hot garbage the DCEU has been putting out. It has fun characters, and fun dialogue, but ultimately suffers from a highly disorganized plot and pacing issues. Rotten Tomatoes places the movie at a 40% critic score, with a 90% audience score. Black Adam is an extremely fun movie, and I would 100% recommend it, but if you are expecting an award-winning character study movie, you may want to give it a pass.