Shazam Review
PG-13: Intense sequences of action, language, and suggestive material
Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, DC Films, The Safran Company, Seven Bucks Productions, Mad Ghost Productions
2 Hrs and 12 Minutes
Dir: David F. Sandberg | Writer: Henry Gayden
Cast: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult superhero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quickly in order to fight the deadly forces of evil controlled by Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Strong).
Most of my knowledge of everything DC-related stems from the animated direct-to-DVD movies. My introduction to Shazam was a mix of the Injustice game and the 2014 DC animated film, Justice League War. While War was a bit too overstuffed as a 76-minute feature film, I was into how they introduced Shazam/Billy Batson. The concept of a kid having the ability to turn into a grown superhero with one word was incredible to me. His powers might as well be basic, but the character is what made him special. Out of all films on DC’s slate, I was eager to see this one come to life the most. Personally, I became legitimately excited for a Shazam adaptation once they casted Zachary Levi as the titular character.
DC has been adding a lot of levity to their films recently by adding a lighter tone. Shazam is the lightest one yet and it’s perfect for a hero like this. There’s no way you can make a dark and edgy take on this character. Hell, Freddy even mocks that concept and, from that instant, you’re thrown into a delightful coming-of-age superhero film that is actually aimed at families. It still has a PG-13 rating (as most superhero features do) but tonally this a family film. If we were living in the 80s, this truly would’ve been rated PG.
Speaking of the 80s, out of all angles they could’ve used to bring Shazam to the big screen, I’ll be damned that DC made a Big-esque origin film out of him and, honestly, it works! Right off the bat, this feature film nails all of the aspects of Billy and his origin, from being placed in a foster home full of misfits, his emotional detachment from the world and his training for what it takes to be a true superhero.
A part of Shazam’s charm is how small-scaled the story is while maintaining the conventional tropes of a superhero movie. The locations of the action scenes, ranging from a toy shop in a mall to a carnival, compliments the nature of the film where stakes applied to Batson aren’t that high, but the reason why it works is because they’re set on a personal level for him. The only thing that is truly endangered is his new family life opposed to the world. The hero’s journey is mostly this kid trying to find his place in the world while training to be a hero. It worked several months ago with Miles Morales and he won an Oscar because of it.
With a story developed by Henry Gayden (Earth to Echo) and Darren Lemke (Goosebumps), the film brilliantly captures the relative concept of what a teenager would do if he acquired the body of a superhero in a postmodern society. The film wastes no time answering with the obvious: becoming a viral sensation and a “hero for hire,” and it has fun with it.
They do a great job hitting all the beats of Batson’s character and providing an 80s-like family film tone that you don’t tend to get nowadays. Rivaling the essence of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, Shazam is a standalone film that takes most of its inspiration from the 80s. While Homecoming had the aura of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (so far as to paying homage to it) Shazam takes Big. Once Billy inherits the power of the wizard Shazam, this movie goes full-on Big, even down to homaging an iconic scene for a few seconds. The concept of the kid taking advantage of being an adult by doing things like buying beer, going to a strip club or trying to understand how to gain control of his newfound ability is also familiar. Out of all the DCEU movies, Shazam has to be the one that stays rightfully true to its New 52 material. Fans of the character have no need to worry about this depiction, for they get every detail about this hero correct. For example, the fellow foster kids in Billy’s home are true to the source in both character and depiction. Darla is Black, Freddy is disabled, Eugene is Asian, etc.
David F. Sandberg delivers the childlike wonder of being a kid again. This is the first superhero who is excited about being a superhero and because of Billy’s excitement, you’re beaming and wishing that it was you. It’s a very relatable feeling that gets you more invested into the story. This is a huge departure from Sandberg’s previous work. Hell, this is his third ever movie and first big blockbuster and he does a fantastic job integrating the fun energy through his direction. While his last two works were horror films, they still had their own fun entertaining style that kept you involved. Sandberg continues that here through his action scenes, the comedy, and his actors’ performances.
Zachary Levi has always been an actor full of charisma and he friggin’ shines as Shazam. He captures the childlike nature of Billy Batson so well through his performance that you forget that Levi is portraying Shazam. You just get caught up in the contextual fact that this is a kid in a grown man’s body. Asher Angel is also amazing as Billy. As mentioned, Billy forms this detachment from the world, for his heart has a void that needs to be filled by a family and his take is relative to the source. His rebellious nature roots from his tragedy and, while he has a bit of a rough edge, you relate to how he feels. Billy always feels grounded and relatable as a person, even when he makes several wrong decisions. Thanks to the well-written characterization from the script, Levi’s childlike charisma as Shazam and Angel’s rebelliousness as Batson make for a great character that I’m glad is finally depicted on the big screen.
All of those aspects relating to Levi/Angel’s charming performance is enlightened by their chemistry with Jack Dylan Grazer as Freddy. Ever since his portrayal as Eddie Kaspbrak in It, Grazer has proven how talented he is as a comedic actor. Not only does he deliver toe-to-toe with Levi on screen, but he often steals the scene with his high energy and nerdy personality. His friendship with Billy is one of the key elements of the story, so whenever the two share the screen their dynamic is strong, it makes most of the humor successful and provides emotion when needed. But on a serious note, please stop making him play the disabled kid in these blockbusters. In one movie he has a cast, in this he has a cane.
You emotionally resonate with Billy’s journey. Given the subject of foster care and the theme of family, the film does a great job delivering those sweet, sweet tears. It does become genuinely emotional at times. It’s a movie about a foster kid, of course you’re gonna cry. Believe me, you will and you will be as in denial about it as Flight of the Concords
A lot of these recent DC movies are doing way too much by linking their antagonists to some sort of daddy issue. Black Manta had a daddy issue which made him swear revenge and so does Dr. Sivana. The movie opens with him being verbally abused by his family and literally 40 minutes in he completes his villain arc. Just like Black Manta, this dude needed more complexity as a character, especially since everyone else is actually developed. He is a small-scale, low-tier foe and fits for this story, but needed more as a character. The film does so much to build him up early on only to essentially do nothing with him besides be a superpowered antagonist. Plus, it’s Mark Strong who is awesome and does a great job with the material given, but Doctor Sivana is just another average antagonist.
The tone overall is light and fun, but when it cuts to Sivana, it gets way too serious. Sandberg loves horror and implements some of his roots here through the Seven Deadly Sins, but they become a detriment to the tone. You witness the grisly (nightmare-inducing) massacre of a room of people. I get it’s done to establish the foe Billy must go up against, but in accordance with the tone and younger demographic, it is quite jarring. Especially when the next scene throws you RIGHT BACK TO THE FUN! Remember when the foes in Wonder Woman were cartoon characters and tonally didn’t fit into that movie? Their personalities would’ve fit perfectly here, for they’re consistent with this aesthetic. If it was applied to Strong’s character the tone would’ve been perfect. Granted, they get great jokes out of him, but the cartoonish traits would’ve solidified the overall voice of the movie.
It’s 2019. Technology has advanced and CGI has been able to create worlds. They gave a shitton of money to James Wan to make Aquaman come to life. With Shazam, DC gave Sandberg chunk change because the CGI in this is terrible. The budget ranges from $65-$80 million which is low, but at the same time, could’ve still used better CG. Everything used to make Shazam fly and use his powers is fine, but the film incorporates the 7 Deadly Sin monsters and they look so bad. They mostly resemble Jim Henson creatures from Labyrinth by design, but they look as rendered as a creature from that era as well. Their textures are jankey and they never match up with the environment they’re brought into. By the climax where they all come out to play, it really becomes a video game cutscene. You guys talked shit about the Black Panther CG, but this is worse, effects-wise.
Some portions of the first act didn’t really work for me. I didn’t find the jokes funny, for they rely on bathroom humor. Some of the dialogue was weak. The only thing I latched on to was Sandberg’s energetic direction. But as Levi graced the screen being the adorably fun captain of thunder, the film gradually gets better. I must admit, the humor can get too random and irreverent at times, but the majority of it works.
Due to a small-scale origin story, a light tone entertaining enough for the whole family, and charismatic energy courtesy of the cast, Shazam continues DC’s streak of enjoyable standalones that solidifies they’re on the right track.
Rating : 3.5/5 | 76%
Super Scene: Power Montage
