I'm not here to make any grand proclamations about Shazam!
It's good not great, but it sure was a refreshing change of pace. It has a
straight-forward, perhaps silly back story. There's a wizard fighting off seven
monsters representing the seven deadly sins. He's looking for someone pure of
heart to transfer his powers too. He spends decades testing unsuspecting people
before finally finding Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a rebellious orphan. He
gives his powers to Billy. From then on, when Billy says "Shazam", he
turns into a full grown man (Zachary Levi) in a cape and spandex, with
superpowers. Billy figures out what powers he has with the help of his new
foster brother, Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer), and eventually has a run in with
Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), who as a child, was one of the people tested
by the wizard, and has dedicated his life to getting revenge on the wizard for
telling him he wasn't worthy.
It's hard to compare the silliness of the different
superhero movie premises. Thor and his extended Norse mythology ranks high.
Aquaman's are hard to visualize in a non-silly way. Even the ones we are really
used to like Spider-Man (bit by a bug that gave him powers) or Superman (an
alien raised on a farm) are pretty strange. Shazam! might be the
silliest. Luckily, everyone involved is aware of this and doesn't get too
bogged down in selling the details. Because, Shazam! is Tom Hanks'
Big turned into a superhero movie (a fact that it leans into, sometimes
directly). Big didn't care about making much sense. Shazam!
doesn't either.
Of all the superhero movies out there, the one that Shazam!
reminds me of the most is Sam Rami's Spider-Man. It's something of a
throwback. It's not a dark movie, like Nolan's Dark Knight movies. It
isn't pure comedy either, like Thor: Ragnarok. It has fun playing on
superhero tropes, but it's not trying to deconstruct the genre, like Deadpool.
I think the main goal is just entertainment. There's a health mix of drama and
comedy, action and playfulness. It's not a perfect blend. It's good enough
though. What specifically made me think of Spider-Man and is the way it
handled the villain's story. It's allowed to happen on the side, only colliding
with Billy's story when it has too.
90% of why the movie works for me is the casting.
Zachary Levi is the best. I've liked him for years. He's got that Paul Rudd
thing where he's super handsome, but also completely endearing, likable, and
funny. The same things that made him great in the under-appreciated show Chuck
are what make him great in Shazam!. Just as important though is getting
the right younger cast. Asher Angel mimics Zachary Levi's mannerisms well. He
and Jack Dylan Grazer are a lot of fun playing off each. Billy's entire foster
family is thematically obvious in every way. Predictibility isn't necessarily
bad if it's done well though. Mark Strong as the villain is obvious too, and
that's not a complaint. There's another bit of casting in the movie that I
can't really talk about, but I can say that I enjoyed those choices a lot.
I'm not sure where Shazam! fits into the
larger DC cinematic universe. There's mention of Superman and Batman as real
characters, however, I don't expect to see Shazam! suiting up with the rest of
the Justice League any time soon. The teasers in the end credits hint at the
possibility of sequels, although if this ends up being a one-and-done, I
wouldn't feel like the story was incomplete. Shazam! works because it
sets it's own tone and isn't concerned with stepping on the toes of an other
comic mythologies. As cool as team-ups are, I hope DC keeps up with this focus
on individual hero stories, at least for a little while.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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