Reviews

Shazam!: Movie Review

Reporter Austin Kent

4/8/19

‘Shazam!’ is the 2019 superhero film directed by David F. Sandberg and stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Mark Strong, among others.

It is about a young streetwise boy named Billy Batson. He’s a troubled kid who’s been in and out of foster homes most of his life but that all changes when he encounters a magical wizard that gives him the ability to transform into an adult superhero with a whole slew of powers whenever he says the word ‘Shazam’.

I was looking forward to this movie for a couple reasons. For one, the DCEU has been on pretty hot streak lately. Wonder Woman was great, I loved Aquaman, Justice League was… I loved Aquaman. I’m also a big fan of David F. Sandberg’s work, with movies like ‘Lights out’ which I loved and even ‘Annabelle Creation’ which to my surprise I enjoyed.

Shazam was a really good time. It was definitely more of a comedy than I first anticipated, which isn't a bad thing. It was lighthearted, it was funny, and it didn't take itself super serious, which was big breath of fresh air. Considering the over-saturation of superhero movies over the past years, with Avengers Endgame coming out soon which will be a very serious film, it’s nice to just chill for a bit and have a laugh before all of the sorrow comes in when Endgame comes out.

Zachary Levi was excellent as the role of adult Billy/Shazam. He was able to embody the innocence and wonder of a child that has had a bad life and suddenly goes through this amazing experience that allows him to accomplish things he didn't even think were possible. All of the scenes with Zachary Levi were definitely the highlight of the movie, he’s amazing in the film and so is Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie from Stephen King’s IT) who played Freddie Freeman, who was Billie’s roomate at the foster home. He provides a lot of the comedy in the film which could be risky as he is a younger actor, but thankfully it payed off, he was very funny and likeable in the film.

Let’s talk about Mark Strong who played the movies villain, Doctor Thaddeus Sivana. Now, I liked Strong in this movie; he wasn't a bland villain, he had a good motive, and he was given a good backstory, but that’s where it gets kind of iffy. For his backstory, he had experienced something at a young age that would become his motive for the movie. But after that, there's a huge time gap, and he’s shown with the same grudge and the same hate that he carried since his childhood, which doesn’t seem practical in my eyes. Other than that, Mark Strong, good work.

‘Shazam!’ is in theaters now, and I definitely recommend it.