So I have to confess that I went to see ‘Shazam’ not really looking forward to it. He is a silly character to begin with from the Golden Age of comics and the trailers left me thinking it was just a little too campy for its’ own good. Superhero movies have spent the better part of the last two decades trying to gain respect as a genre and this seemed like a throwback to the cheesy and silly B-rated films pre-2000s. Now I will say that this movie is designed for kids and the humor and even some of the plot line can be unsurprisingly cheesy, but even with all that and the family fun, this film has a heart and even some genuine thrills.
Shazam (played by the boyish Zachary Levi) was originally called Captain Marvel back in the 1940s, but due to DC letting the copyright expire, the newly formed Marvel comics grabbed the name for one of their characters whom they also called Captain Marvel (taking decades to become the feature film that was only recently released). Marvel and DC battled over the name for years, but eventually DC gave in as the Marvel version became more well known and DC changed the character name to Shazam. For those who aren’t familiar with the character, SHAZAM is the magic word which a teenage Billy Batson utters to magically transform into the “World’s Mightiest Mortal”.
This is an origin movie like any other and like in all super hero movie, the super villain is introduced along with the superhero. Mark Strong takes on the role of the villainous Dr Thaddeus Savana, who was rejected as a child by the Wizard Shazam ( Djimon Hounsou) when he deemed him not worthy enough to hold the power. However, the embodiment of the 7 Deadly Sins saw someone in Thaddeus Savana who would be worthy to help pull off their plans for conquering the earth and so they used Savana as their earthly vessel. The Wizard Shazam, desperate to find a champion pure enough to fight the 7 Deadly Sins, sends out a spell to find a worthy mortal. Enter Billy Batson, a 15 yr old orphan who has been hopping from foster home to foster home in search of his real mother. The Wizard imbues young Billy with the power of the Greek gods every time he says the magic word SHAZAM.
The movie comes dangerously close several times to becoming a copy of the Tom Hanks film ‘Big’ with the ‘kid trapped in an adults’ body’ cliche humor, but the film still finds its’ fun and we enjoy Billy testing out his powers with the help of his crippled foster brother Freddy. A lot of praise for Shazam comes from the fact that DC has left its’ dark noir vision that they have clung to for many years and is trying to have fun with the genre. That being said, Director David Sandberg has his roots in the horror genre and some of the scenes with the monstrous 7 Deadly Sins are suprisingly horrifying for a kid centric film. Sandberg deftly balances the horror with Billy’s foster group home family. All his brothers and sisters are cliché cute, but it really works as the true heart of the film whose ultimate message is the search for family.
I will say that this isn’t my favorite superhero film... not even close, but it was a welcome surprise given what the trailers prepared me for. With all the heart and thrills this film is based upon, I can forgive the campiness of the humor. Given the subject matter, I don’t know how they could have done it better. I’m going to give ‘Shazam” a higher rating than it deserves just from the sheer satisfaction aspect I took from the film.
I give this film 3 *** out of 5
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