On Oct. 21, 2022, the newest film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), “Black Adam,” debuted in theaters across the U.S. It is the story of a former slave turned anti-hero named Teth-Adam who receives the powers of the Egyptian gods through his son Hurut and uses them to get revenge on the tyrannical king Ahk-Ton.

What separates this movie from most films the audience has seen so far in the DCEU is that Black Adam has a complex moral compass, due to watching his family get slaughtered. The rage inside him began to build up, and loses his sense of reason and begins rather unethical decisions he will cross certain ethical lines to achieve his goals. Because of his unethical decisions, he comes into conflict with the Justice Society of America (JSA) whose leader, Hawkman, tells him that heroes do.

One of the most important things about this movie is the character development as it shows how one person learns that maybe others are right about them or it’s the opposite; rather, it is a starting point of a much larger plot as they start to see that one needs to be what they are in order for them to be what the universe needs them to be. This is best exemplified in Adam as he feels that he could never become a true hero like his late son.

The music that was composed for this film was beautifully done. Lorne Balfe, a Scottish composer, and veteran of Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Production is best known for composing the music on Mission: Impossible – Fallout, The Terminator, and other big-budget films that he spent a great amount of time working on it. When the theme for the film started playing, the sounds of the trumpet made people understand that Black Adam is a morally gray man, setting up for him to be constantly questioned about his decisions. As the music progressed, fans began to understand how tragedy can make one violent when the theme for the JSA begins the sounds of the clarinet bass drum and violin shows how selfless and heroic they are. Then, the music gets more intense as they are in conflict with Adam because of his tendency to mistreat prisoners. Pierce Brosnan’s performance as Doctor Fate was simply beyond amazing. He brings a sarcastic tone to the movie and acts as the voice of reason in the film.

This film brings about the dawn of a new age for the DCEU with so many brutal and action-packed scenes a sort of middle side between good and evil, as unlike most heroes, Black Adam will use extreme methods to achieve his goals. It is sure to hit box records and be nominated for many prestigious awards in the future. Dwayne Johnson also known as The Rock’s performance as Black Adam was terrific due to him bringing the brutality to the movie and doing things in a way that other heroes definitely wouldn’t do as they have a code of honor.

Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Quintessa Swindell, and Pierce Brosnan also did an incredible job bringing the JSA to life. This film has changed the hierarchy of power in the DCEU for years to come, as the first DCEU movie to be about an anti-hero. The movie is a once-in-a-lifetime experience as the brutality and the constant arguments about ethics brings about an interesting story. Its Impact on the entire franchise is phenomenal and it is one of the greatest movies of the year.