Shazam!

Watch Movies TV -***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! So, how did the DC fanboys who think every comic book film must be R-rated feel about this one?

Shazam! – 5 out of 5

The DCEU has been a rocky affair filled with a rollercoaster’s worth of ups and downs.  You got the greats like Wonder Woman and Aquaman and then the incredibly disappointing Batman v Superman and the outstandingly uneven Suicide Squad.  It was a bit of a surprise when Shazam!’s trailer dropped because I never really thought I’d see this character ever be adapted into a film but also because it looked so damn fun.  Even though Wonder Woman and Aquaman showcase their own tones, it was hard to escape from the dark and gritty atmosphere Zack Snyder tried to initially create for this shared universe.  Shazam! is another refreshing step away from the weakness Snyder initially brought and proved that your superhero movie has every right to be fun and doesn’t have to be filled with brooding men all proving just how masculine they are.

Yep.  That's exactly what I would do if I had powers.

This film might have one of the most enjoyable montages
of the hero learning his powers.

After becoming lost from his mother at an early age, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) has become a bit of a troubled youth that’s going in-and-out of various foster homes and is on a never-ending hunt to find his mother.  His latest stunt lands him in probably the last home they could find run by the open-hearted couple Rosa (Marta Milans) and Victor Vasquez (Cooper Andrews) and occupied by five other children; the youngest Darla (Faithe Herman), the quiet one Pedro (Jovan Armand), the geeky one Eugene (Ian Chen), the oldest Mary (Grace Fulton) and the superhero fanboy Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer).  Freddy immediately tries to strike a friendship with Billy and won’t let Billy’s standoffish demeanor stop him.  One day, after Billy stops bullies from picking on Freddy, he is whisked away to another dimension and a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) gives him his powers and the ability to turn into the champion Shazam (Zachary Levi).  While it first is all fun and games and Billy and Freddy try to figure out the powers, things quickly turn scary as a man named Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong) who, as a child, was rejected by the wizard, has discovered a dark power and seeks to take Shazam’s magic for his own.

Hmmm...he kinda looks like Sinestro...

To put it simply:  Shazam! is an absolute delight!  It’s already cool to see Shazam (formerly Captain Marvel) get adapted but the film isn’t afraid to have a good time.  A lot of comic fanboys get irrationally angry if the characters aren’t adapted as gritty, angry types and if a joke comes into play they call it “kid stuff” but Shazam! has that right balance of being a goofy, fun feature but not shying away from exploring dramatic stuff.  For example, the film dives into what it means to be a family and I loved how they went about dissecting this theme.  While the film doesn’t get super deep in the drama waters it is wading far enough in that it felt like a great balance of humor and heart is achieved. 

"Come have a seat...but not on any of these chairs.  I hope you brought your own."

The cast in this one is just fantastic.  Zachary Levi perfectly captures the excitement, giddiness and confusion that one would expect from a boy trapped in a super-powered adult body.  Mark Strong is a fantastic antagonist who clearly understands the product as he never goes too dark but doesn’t lose his threatening demeanor by being too soft.  I really enjoyed Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy as his performance is very amusing and, finally, all the cast portraying the rest of the foster kids all nailed it and were very enjoyable.

If Zack Snyder did the Christmas Village would have been leveled immediately.

The only read drawback I had for the film is that I wanted to see a little more development from the other foster kids.  The relationship between Freddy and Billy is terrifically done but the relationship with the others and even just the kids as characters had me wanting more.  The kids are introduced well and they all have great moments so it isn’t like they were just cutouts in scenes or blank slates but their development and their relationship to Billy feels serviceable at best.  Hopefully, if the DCEU remains and we get some sequels, we’ll see they come into their own a little more and some more depth will be granted them and their relationship as a whole.

"Let's make sure our relationship gets developed before we are rebooted."

Shazam! is a whole lot of fun and a product that shows that it can have a very drastically different tone from the other films in the DCEU but still feel like it belongs with the rest of them.  The movie is capable of showcasing that the rest of the shared universe exists but doesn’t feel like it is using Batman to sell the film and is capable of standing on its own merits.  The action is fun, the tone has the perfect balance of comedy and heart and the cast is great.  This is right up there with Aquaman and Wonder Woman as one of DC’s best they’ve done in recent years.