The DCEU definitely started out with doom and gloom, but now they’ve embraced a much more lighter tone and that is no more evident with Shazam!
For about 80% of its runtime, the movie proves to be a big, colorful, funny, and surprisingly heartfelt romp that succeeds.
It stars Zachary Levi as Billy Batson, who as a kid (Asher Angel) is living life as an orphan and committing crimes such as stealing until he’s taken in to a group home.
He has an encounter with a magical wizard (Djimon Hounsou) who gives him all of his unique powers and all he has to do is say his name and that is, you guessed it, Shazam!
Now, Batson is a full-grown adult, but still has a 13-year-old mentality. That doesn’t stop him from testing out his newfound powers especially in front of adopted brother (Jack Dylan Grazer). Together they have a terrific chemistry that carries the movie through.
Mark Strong costars as a physicist who attempted to receive the wizard’s powers also at a young age, but was deemed unworthy. Now he sees Shazam at work. I don’t think I need to say where this part of the plot heads.
I give the movie credit for not having rapid fire pacing. It actually slows down for some character-driven scenes as in one scene where Batson tries to find his long-lost mother who disappeared when he was a kid.
Levi shines as the titular character, infusing his role with the right amount of humor, brains, charm, and wonderful poignancy. In the action scenes, he’s equally as convincing because most of the special effects sequences do involve some interaction instead of just turning him into a CG character without any kind of weight, presence, or conviction.
In terms of its story and tone, Shazam! is sort of like a cross between Big and the original Superman from 1978 and there are some not-so-subtle hints to both of those films.
I really enjoyed Shazam! for the level of heart and spirit displayed and with this effort, DC looks like they will continue to give Marvel some fairly good competition.
Grade: A-
(Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, language, and suggestive material.)
