There’s a certain gleeful excitement in Shazam! that I think is lost in most of the superhero movies coming out in recent years. The latest outing in DC’s own cinematic universe doesn’t take itself too seriously, as it should, and has a self-awareness that makes it genuinely liberating and honestly quite enjoyable. It reminds me of a time when these kinds of films were made to entertain the child in you, just an opportunity for your favorite comic book character to appear in live action, far from the current reality of studios heavily relying on the genre to generate massive revenue.
That joyful feeling surrounding Shazam! stems from the fact that this film is essentially about kids, after all, specifically about a troubled preteen gaining superpowers. 14-year-old Billy Batson (Asher Angel) was separated from his mother as a child and has been constantly in search for her, clinging to the hope that they would be together again. He is eventually placed in a new foster home of adorable misfits run by the couple Victor (Cooper Andrews) and Rosa Vasquez (Marta Milans), who were foster children themselves as they say. Here, he rooms with Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer), a paraplegic boy obsessed with superheroes and their powers (his room is full of Batman and Superman authentic memorabilia).
The film’s heartwarming charm comes into fold shortly after Billy saves Freddy from a bullying incident at school. This display of selflessness leads him to a desperate old wizard named Shazam (Djimon Honsou), who’s looking for someone of pure heart to pass his magic powers onto for decades. By yelling the words “SHAZAM,” Billy inherits the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury, and transforms into the champion known as Captain Marvel. And no, not the one you’re thinking of. Here’s a quick history lesson before I move forward: in the 1940s, Fawcett Comics published Whiz Comics featuring said superhero called Captain Marvel. With the character being stuck in limbo since 1953 over a lawsuit from DC Comics alleging the character being a copycat of Superman, Marvel Comics introduced their own Captain Marvel in the ’60s, and thus gained the trademark for the name. By the time DC Comics obtained the full rights to Fawcett’s Captain Marvel, it’s already too late, and the publisher has marketed the character using Shazam! since, officially renaming him as such in 2011.
So, with a word, Billy can transform into the superhero Shazam (Zachary Levi) as he pleases. And as with several superhero origin stories, it is at this point where our protagonist revels in his newfound powers. For Billy, he asks Freddy to assist him in discovering everything he can do as Shazam. A majority of the film stays in this particular stage, perhaps a little too much, exploring the different aspects of juvenile wish-fulfillment that a teenaged boy would do if he ever acquired such powers. Zachary Levi possesses the chops to perfectly portray the selfish, carefree joy of a kid, and the scary uncertainty of realizing that he has to save the world.
Facing Shazam is Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), a scientist who once met the wizard, and now craves for his powers. He was deemed unworthy to inherit it as a boy, so he goes for the next best thing – the evil embodiments of the 7 Deadly Sins. The scenes where these demons appear are particularly intense and terrifying, creating a jarring disjoint in tone for a supposedly family-friendly fare. Perhaps old habits die hard with director David F. Sandberg, whose directing credits before jumping into the caped genre are horror entries such as Lights Out and Annabelle: Creation. The violence aside, Mark Strong gives out a performance fitted for the script: a motivated, intimidating enemy without falling into the silliness of a cartoon villain.
And for all its charms, Shazam! does miss a few marks when addressing its overarching theme of family and rejection. The rest of Billy’s foster siblings — Mary Bromfield (Grace Fulton), Pedro Peña (Jovan Armand), Darla Dudley (Faithe Herman), and Eugene Choi (Ian Chen) — only get thrown in the forefront towards the final act, adding a much needed wake-up call to the dragging middle arc. In my opinion, kid actors can make or break a movie. But thankfully, their inclusion and performances are remarkably amusing, even elevating the more emotional moments in the end.
David F. Sandberg and screenwriter Henry Gayden taps into a heartfelt, childlike delight that’s reminiscent of Richard Donner’s Superman and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films. While the film is technically a part of the same DCEU that gave us flops such as Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League (plus the more favorable Wonder Woman and Aquaman), Shazam! stands heroically on its two feet, providing us a sense of wonder and fun that we badly need in the grim cinematic world DC has created.
Rating: ★★★½
The Talking Screen 