Shazam! Review

Has anyone compared this film to Big yet?

DC use to be the laughing stock of the movie world. Following Marvel’s insanely successful cinematic universe launch. DC decided they needed to hop on the trend immediately. Their attempt couldn’t have gone any worse. Marvel had humour, DC decided to go in an opposite direction. They wanted their heroes to be dark, gritty and show you that the world isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. Man of Steel and Batman Vs Superman were met with groans from audiences who could see that DC were trying to force darkness into their films and have an unnatural cinematic universe. Marvel’s formula was natural. Everything that built up to Avengers Assemble was genuine. By the time Justice League rolled around for DC. Audiences couldn’t care less about a team that we didn’t really know about. Justice League was a disaster. It’s my least favourite comic film of all time. Nothing about the team up rang true. It went against everything the classic cartoon stood for. At least Green Lantern tried to be original. There was a shining glimmer of light for DC at the end of 2017. Wonder Woman had wowed everyone that summer. It was the first time that the studio gave fans a film which didn’t have the urge to tie in any unnecessary connections to other films. The film also happened to be excellent. Fast forward to the end of 2018 and the release of Aquaman. While many see the film as idiotic beyond believe. I love it. Aquaman was in your face, uproariously entertaining, bonkers fun and unlike anything I’ve seen before. DC had finally cracked how to make their films unique. Make their films feel like comics; standalone adventures that you can watch without having to watch 20 other films to understand. Wonder Woman and Aquaman showed that DC aren’t here to be mocked. Shazam! arrives in cinemas with a mission to show fans that DC are ready to listen to them. Superheroes are meant to be fun. With Shazam! DC have made another film which will make you smile for its entirety.

Shazam! tells the story of Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a 14-year kid who’s been bouncing around the foster system since he was just a kid.  When gifted powers by a mysterious wizard (Djimon Hounson). Billy can transform into an adult superhero (Zachary Levi) by doing one thing. Shouting SHAZAM at the top of his lungs. Can Billy balance being a schoolkid with being a superhero? Or will the evil Dr Thaddeus Silva (Mark Strong) bring him to an end before he reaches adulthood? Whether you love or hate Shazam! as a movie is up to you. There is no denying that this film is a ball of fun. Not since Sam Rami’s Spider-Man have you seen a live-action superhero film that embraces the cheesiness of the genre. The first 20 minutes of Shazam! had me a little worried. Billy’s story looked likely to be going into the typical superhero origin story. Kid doesn’t believe in himself, has no friends and hates life until his powers change everything. The introduction of Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) changes that. The generic open is worth the interactions between Freddy and Billy from then on. Even when Levi comes into the fold, Shazam! strides on Billy and Freddy’s friendship.  The entire second act may be one of the finest acts in the genre’s history. Shazam discovering what powers he has is the type of joyous fun that the genre has missing at times. It’s so good that you will forgive the final battle which goes on way too long with dodgy CGI at the forefront. It’s refreshing to have a superhero film where the character’s relationships are more valuable than the battle scenes. Nothing feels forced either. Shazam! is light-hearted in the best possible way. It’s its own thing and man is it fun.

The film achieves its greatness through its performances. Asher Angel as Billy gives the type of teen performance we don’t get too often in movies. Billy feels like a teenager. Angel doesn’t confine his performance as just one emotion. Billy is just like any other teenager when it comes to mood swings. He’ll go from happy to angry at the drop of the hat. Jack Dylan Grazer steals the show as Freddy. Freddy can’t walk without the aid of a walking stick. In many other films this would be his character; frustrated at the world for leaving him like this. Instead, Freddy is hilarious. Anytime he’s on screen he shocks with his sharp humour that leaves you in stitches. Some of the lines that come from him are instantly quotable. Grazer has now impressed in his two big opportunities. In It he played Eddie who arguably gave the best performance out of the kids in that cast. If Grazer keeps this up, then he will surely become a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. My biggest problem with Shazam! comes through the other child performances. The younger kids in the foster home are infuriating.  Eugene (Ian Chen) is a gamer who is always gaming. If that sounds like I don’t know anything about younger kids who game. It’s because this is all the character is written to be. He loves game. Why? Well that’s not important apparently. Darla (Faithe Herman), the youngest of the foster kids, is annoying whenever on screen. It’s not the young actor’s fault that the script doesn’t know how children act. Anytime these younger kids were on screen I became a cynical old man. Thankfully, Shazam! is a film where its lead is its biggest asset.

Zachary Levi gives possibly the best first-time origin performance of all time as Shazam. Levi is delightful as an adult vessel for Billy. Levi is a child in the role. He’s goofy, way over his head and heart-warming. Even when he’s not talking you feel like Levi is a child. If you thought Hanks was good in Big wait until you see Levi in this. It takes a while for him to enter the film, but when he does it’s the most fun, you’ll have in the cinema this year. Levi hasn’t had good luck in Hollywood. Following his terrific lead performance in Chuck the actor didn’t get a big break. I was stunned to find out that he was already in Thor: The Dark World as one of Thor’s mates.  On the back of this performance get ready to see a lot more of Levi in the near future. It’s impossible to picture anyone else in the role. Mark Strong plays a surprisingly good villain as Dr Thaddeus Silva. Strong goes extra hammy as the villain. This is not a bad thing. The actor is clearly having fun and is still intimidating as Silva. The typical DC CGI monsters that come with are jarring. Silva and Levi bounce off each other to create a rivalry which is may be the DCEU’S finest on screen to date.

Shazam! is directed by David F. Sandberg. Sandberg has only directed horror to date with the solid Lights Out and surprisingly decent Annabelle: Creation. Sandberg does a decent job on direction. The director has brought in some horror elements with moments that are brutal for a PG-13 film. Sandberg also manages to make you care about his characters in a way which DC is notorious for getting wrong. DC should keep this guy on board for as long as possible because he’s going places. The script is solid too. It relies too much on the family making us stronger cliché. However, when the jokes are as funny as they are here it’s forgiven instantly. Henry Gayden’s, who wrote the script, only other feature credit to date is Earth to Echo. I’ve never seen it, but my little sister informs me that it’s great.  Gayden is clearly a talented writer who surely has a bright career ahead of him. The only behind the scenes issue to be seen in the film is the special effects. There are moments when a green screen is clearly being used. The CGI at times belongs in a PS2 games. Slow motion is used more times than I could count. Shazam! is too entertaining for these issues to be on your mind when you leave the cinema. This is the kind of movie cinemas were made for.

Popcorn Movies is the name given to movies were your meant to be having a good time. The problem is that over the past few years any movie that has explosions is a called Popcorn Movie. This has led to Hollywood making countless mediocre movies but use explosions to disguise them as a Popcorn Movie. Fans don’t go to the cinema just to see mindless action. Telling audiences to turn their brains off does not give you an excuse to make garbage. Fans want to be entertained with a film that is trying. Shazam! is what Popcorn Movies should be in 2019. Fun, fast, vibrant and light-hearted. Never taking itself too seriously, Shazam! is a film that you need to see in cinema. DC are past there rocky past, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be going back. This is a new era for DC. They are making a worthy argument that they belong alongside Marvel. Roll on Wonder Woman 1984.

Liam’s Summary of Shazam!

Best Moment: A montage which made me appreciate Queen again.

Worst Moment: The final act is a tad too long.

Best Character: Freddy Freeman is a character who made my belly hurt with laughter.

Worst Character: Eugene was a gamer. I don’t know if the movie mentioned that?

Watch This if You Liked.

Big: A movie which has no influence on Shazam!

Chuck: Levi before he was super.

13 Going on 30: Don’t @ me. This is a gem.

Overall Rating: 4/5