Black Adam (2022)

I went into Black Adam knowing nothing — no trailer, no plot summary. I strongly recommend that approach. The colonial oppression and liberation hits much harder when you haven't been primed for it. Go in cold.

The music in Black Adam is so deeply married to the images that you almost can't separate them. It stays in your head days later and when you hear it again the emotions return immediately.

Black Adam has been praised so heavily that no film could live up completely. It's an excellent film — Dwayne Johnson's long-awaited role is genuinely remarkable — but it's not the untouchable masterpiece some claim.

Black Adam deals with power without mercy vs power with justice in a way that's genuinely uncomfortable at times. But that discomfort is the point. Jaume Collet-Serra never lets you look away, and the film is better for it.

I first watched Black Adam as a teenager and thought it was fine. Rewatched at 30 and it hit completely differently. The anti-heroism undercurrent makes total sense now in a way it didn't before.

I've seen Black Adam multiple times now and it just keeps getting better. Dwayne Johnson's long-awaited role is something rarely matched in cinema. If you haven't watched it yet, clear your evening.

Black Adam commits to a conclusion that not everyone will appreciate. I found it perfectly right — it refuses easy comfort. If you want tidy resolution you may be frustrated. If you want truth, it delivers.

Black Adam builds so carefully to its conclusion that when it arrives you feel genuinely moved. The power without mercy vs power with justice thread pays off in a way that's earned rather than manipulative. Couldn't sleep afterward.