Shazam! Movie Review
Shazam! is a magic word in more ways than one. Poor DC Comics. Marvel is over here absolutely crushing it and DC is coming out with flops like Suicide Squad and Justice League. Aside from Wonder Woman (and maybe Aquaman?), DC had been struggling. I’m happy to announce that they found their groove with Shazam!. I’ve said before that I’m just a casual superhero fan, so pardon me if this movie doesn’t do justice to the comics. But I had a blast watching it.
Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is a foster kid who won’t stop searching for his birth mother. After running away from most of his foster homes, Billy gets placed at a home where he meets a bunch of other foster kids and reluctantly makes friends with one named Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazier). Billy then gets plucked from obscurity by a wizard who transfers his powers to a reluctant and somewhat disbelieving Billy.
When he returns to the real world, if he utters Shazam! he transforms into Shazam (Zachary Levi), a grown man who has superpowers. The ensuing antics are as hilarious as you might imagine if a young boy found himself inhabiting a grown man’s body with the added bonus of having superpowers like super speed, super strength, and flying. All of the performances in this one are spot on. Angel is the perfect blend of innocence and rebelliousness. Grazier plays the sidekick extremely well. Levi is phenomenal and has great comedic timing.
But not everything is fun and games. Every superhero needs a villain to battle and the villain in this, Dr. Sivana (Mark Strong), is no joke. He is ruthless and doesn’t care at all that Shazam is actually a teenage boy. Mark Strong gives a reliably strong performance. Is it just me, or is there something about his face that screams, “I’m evil?”
There’s a typical final battle with a fun twist at the end that I loved. For all you OC fans out there, Adam Brody makes an appearance. Shazam is a very fun and somewhat silly superhero movie. There’s a great cast with stellar performances and a lot of laughs. Go check it out and give DC some love.
Film or Movie: Movie
You’ll like this movie if:
1. You like superhero movies
2. You want to see a fun, light-hearted comedy
3. You like action
