I admit, when I first saw previews for Shazam, I was apprehensive.
It looked goofy. It looked kiddie.
Having seen it, it IS goofy. However, it is goofy in all the right ways. DC finally has their mojo working and realize that not every hero movie has to be dark and brooding.
It isn’t “kiddie”, not in the way I feared anyway. Rather, imagine yourself a 14-year-old who just got powers. That’s what this movie is about. A 14-year-old boy who gets powers from a wizard. Shazam, his hero half, is a Superman-level superhero who is strong, very fast, can fly, and shoot electricity. After all, he has the power of Zeus, the strength of Hercules, the speed of Mercury, the courage of Achilles, and the endurance of Atlas! Part of his powers makes him appear as an adult. What would you do?
Many of us would want to help out and be a superhero, sure. We’d also experiment with other things. Billy Batson, the kid in the movie, experiments as well. He buys beer and visits a gentlemen’s club. I’m sure some parents will say “Aghast! How could they?” First, he immediately spits the beer out because it tastes disgusting. Second, the movie doesn’t show the inside of the club. So, before you find yourself appalled, think as a 14-year-old boy who can pretend he’s full grown for the first time ever. You may very well find yourself attempting the same things!
Either way, everything he does to pretend to be an adult or learn what superpowers he has is flat out hilarious. Wait till you see how they determine if he is bullet proof or if it is just his suit that is!
Mark Strong makes for a … strong… supervillain. As Sivana, he was menacing and creepy. He was heartless and cold and provided some of the darker scenes of the movie, which was otherwise light-hearted and fun. The perfect villain for the hero or pure heart.
Admittedly, I’m not overly familiar with the complete story of Shazam, but I know enough that I saw some Easter eggs in the movie. Mr. Mind (another Shazam villain) made a brief appearance. A backstory moment showed a slight glimpse of Black Adam. Also, the school is named Fawcett, for the original comic publishers of Shazam, then known as Captain Marvel (different from Marvel's Captain Marvel).
The movie acted as a great origin story, teaching life lessons to the boy along the way. Lessons of responsibility. Lessons of family. The origin and his development as a hero were fun to watch.
Shazam, the movie and the hero, have good hearts, and it shows.
Rated 4 out of 5 babies!
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