PG-13, 2h 12m – Action, Adventure, Comedy
Opens Today
When I originally got into comics as a kid in the late 80’s/early 90’s, I was a DC Comics guy. Sure, the art might have been a bit more energized (especially the mayhem) in Marvel Comics at the time, but the “Death of Superman” and the “Reign of the Supermen” story arcs from DC got me full-bore into “funny books” back in the day. Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman” film was also responsible, but it was the Big Blue Boy Scout was the one that got me reading almost weekly for a while. Try as some of my friends might to switch me to Marvel, I was dedicated to DC.
Unfortunately it has been a number of years since DC on film has nailed the tone and magic of those comics. I don’t count Chris Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy as one of the mis-steps. Batman has always been a bit darker and brooding, so those film perfectly captured the tone of its source material and, dare I say, improved upon them. Richard Donner’s “Superman: The Movie” was damned near perfection, but that was 40 years ago. Where was the DC Comics magic for the current crop of Hollywood superhero blockbusters?
After several missteps such as “Man of Steel” (underrated), “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (forgettable), “Suicide Squad” (unnecessary), and “Justice League” (bad), WB/DC has started turning the corner with the wonderful “Wonder Woman” and the entertaining “Aquaman,” both huge hits. With “Shazam!” DC has finally found its groove.
Director David S. Sandberg, who last directed “Annabelle: Creation,” has significantly upped his game since the “Conjuring” spin-off, painting the “Shazam!” canvas with the perfect blend of comedy and heart. Like its source material, the film center’s around 14 year old Billy Batson who, by shouting out the word – “SHAZAM!” – can turn into the adult superhero of the same name.
The aspect of the movie that impressed me the most was the facet that deals with Billy as a foster youth. Young Batson has jumped from home to home, leaving after a day or two in most cases. He finally finds what appears to be a “forever home” with a family of foster parents that have been there before. They were also foster kids and grew up to open their home to the same type of troubled and lost children that they were. These foster parents, played with refreshing earnestness by Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews as Rosa and Victor, respectively, are a breath of fresh air. In a world of dark superhero origin stories, cynical storylines, and unscrupulous hero’s, this foster family who embraced Billy Batson as a new brother had me smiling every time they were on screen together. This was the DC I knew and loved, sincerity be damned, and director Sandberg and writers Henry Gaydenand and Darren Lemke are unapologetic in honoring it.
Like any film, particularly a superhero movie and especially a film with kids, casting will dictate if a movie sinks or swims. The casting of Zachary Levi (“Chuck”) as the titular hero, Asher Angel (Disney’s “Andi Mack”) as the our young protagonist Billy Batson, and Levi Jack Dylan Grazer (“It”) as Batson’s best friend are perfect casting.
Mark Strong plays the films main antagonist, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, and while Strong is quite good giving a ham on rye performance, the villain in this first “Shazam!” outing just isn’t that interesting. It may be hard to compete against such a funny and charismatic character as the hero himself, but fans of these kinds of movies don’t have to do much of a Google search before discovering that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s contract has been signed and sealed to play Shazam villain Black Adam for a while now. Hopefully in the sequel.
While the script sometimes falls into some superhero origin story cliches, the humor and heart of the script stay front and center and don’t let go for the entire runtime. This makes it one of best DC Comics films made in the last two decades, and one of the more enjoyable comic book movies in quite a while. After six long years, Warner Bros./DC Entertainment are finally doing it right.
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