Review: 'Black Adam' tries to turn Dwayne Johnson into an anti-hero and jump-start the DC movie franchise — and fails at both

With “Black Adam,” the folks at Warner Bros. (and their subsidiary New Line Cinema) once again try to move the DC cinematic universe forward in one movie where its rival Marvel took a half-dozen features — and they do it by cramming in the action without giving audiences a minute to get to know their new heroes.

The movie starts with some ancient history of a nonexistent place, a Middle Eastern country called Khandaq, and slaves to a evil ruler, King Acton, being forced to mine a fictional super-mineral, eternium, to create a crown of great power. Before King Acton can wield that power, a hero is created by the same ancient wizards who gave Shazam his powers. (Djimon Hounsou reprises his “Shazam!” role in a brief cameo.)

Flash-forward nearly 5,000 years to now, and Khandaq is occupied by a nasty paramilitary force called the Intergang — proof, alongside the Legion of Doom, that DC villain groups don’t even try to hide their intentions. A lot of people are looking for the long-absent crown, including Adrianna (Sarah Shahi), an archaeologist who’s wanted by the Intergang forces. Adrianna gets into the secret cave where the crown is hidden, gets followed by Intergang commandos, and before she’s killed she lets loose the ancient champion called Teth-Adam — played by a scowling Dwayne Johnson.

Johnson, always the confident and smiling hero in his movies, is trying a new screen persona, and it’s a struggle — no matter how many people he drops out of aircraft or sends flying toward the city’s harbor. Even in his wrestling days, Johnson was more comfortable as the good guy than an anti-hero, and that limitation sabotages this movie.

Before we’re given much time to contemplate Teth-Adam’s moral problems, the rest of the superpowered world decides it’s time to step in. Cue Amanda Waller, Viola Davis’s no-nonsense character from the “Suicide Squad” movies, who sends in a team from the Justice Society: Hawkman (Aldis Hodge), who has gold wings and super-strength; Doctor Fate (Pierce Brosnan), who can see into the future; Cyclone (Quintessa Swindell), who is a genius who can command the wind; and Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), who can become several stories tall and is the newcomer to the group.

I’m sure all of these heroes have rich, interesting backstories, but the script (credited to three writers) and director Jaume Collet-Serra (who worked with Johnson on “Jungle Cruise”) don’t have time for that. The movie is always rushing off to the next action set piece, without ever spending even a few seconds giving us anything to make us care about who these characters are or why what they’re doing matters.

“Black Adam” feels like nothing so much as the trailers for the episodes of a 12-part Zack Snyder-produced miniseries, all smashed together. The result is a two-hour visual bombardment, all movement and not enough emotional involvement.

Fans will ask where “Black Adam” will place within the broader canvas of the DC Extended Universe. The “Shazam” references early on — heck, even the lightning bolt on Johnson’s chest — connect this movie to that hero, and Waller is a direct link to “The Suicide Squad” and a couple degrees removed from the main branch of DC’s characters. I wouldn’t hold my breath for some massive DC ensemble movie, a mega-mashup of all the brand’s big names. Johnson, this movie proves, doesn’t play well with others.

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‘Black Adam’

★★

Opens Friday, October 21, in theaters. Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, intense action and some language. Running time: 124 minutes.