Shazam!: It's Electrifying!

I've been looking forward to this movie for a while. Over the summer, the first trailer came out for it at Comic Con. After watching it, I couldn't wait to see more. I wasn't really familiar with the character, but the trailer made me want to see more of him. As you could tell from the title, I really liked this movie. Let's dive into it!

Shazam! is directed by David F. Sandberg and stars Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, and Jack Dylan Grazer. When 14-year-old Billy Batson (Angel) gets the power to turn into a superhero, Shazam (Levi), he has to decide how to best use his new-found abilities. Luckily he has help from his foster brother, Freddy (Grazer). With all of that out of the way, let's dive into the review.

I really liked this movie. It was a ton of fun and just what I needed to get my mind off of things. Every kid, at some point, wants to have super-powers. This movie shows what it's like to have that wish granted. The main thing I love about this movie is the cast. The chemistry between Angel and Grazer is great. It was easy to buy them as friends. I liked how the movie showed that Batson isn't the best of kids. He gets into trouble a lot, but deep down has a heart of gold. Freddy was also great. He's constantly spitting out super-hero facts. Levi does a fantastic job as Shazam. He had a tough job to do because it looks like he's an adult. In actuality, he's a kid in a super-hero's body. Levi did a great job of doing this. He absolutely nailed how Billy acted. It's tough to do because, not only is he playing a super-hero, but he's also playing a kid, too. I really liked how Freddy saw Shazam as a super-hero and his foster brother. There's moments in the movie where he's not afraid to call Shazam/Billy out on his actions. I really liked seeing how a kid would test out his superpowers. That's where this movie shines. There's a sequence where Billy first turns into Shazam. He goes to Freddy for help and they have a trial run of all is abilities. It was hysterical because it was sort of a parody of how superheroes use their powers. For example, Freddy tells Shazam/Billy to fly like Superman. Shazam asks how to do that. Freddy thinks for a second and says, ¨I don't know. Just believe you can do it.¨ It was really funny. The movie also isn't afraid to remind you that Shazam is a kid. When he's fighting Dr. Sivana (Strong), he's terrified. It really isn't much of a fight. He's just running away. Another thing that really works in this movie is the humor. Everyone likes to make fun of the fact DC is too dark (a stupid critique in my opinion since their characters are darker), but this movie isn't afraid to have fun. I really dug that. I also really liked the visuals in the film. When he's flying around, I felt like I was there with him. The sound effects were also really good too. Every time a bolt of lightning cracked through the air, I jumped out of my seat a little. The movie also does a good job of balancing the amount of screen-time Billy and Shazam get. I never felt like Shazam was on-screen more than Billy.

Even though I really liked this movie, there were a couple of negatives. It does take a little bit to get going and it takes a while before we see Shazam. The last third gets a little repetitive, too. Several times I thought I was watching the final battle, but it was just another fight. Dr. Sivana was a pretty good villain, but I wish we got to see more of him. He's in the beginning a bit and he shows up more in the last third. What I did like about him was that there was a reason for him being bad. His dad and brother were jerks to him when he was little. They constantly belittled him. I just wish they really played around with that more. Even though I knew he was treated poorly, I never really felt bad for him. Maybe if the filmmakers used him like Marvel used Kilmonger in Black Panther I would've felt differently. With all of that being said, these are very minor gripes.

To wrap everything up, Shazam! was a really fun movie. The cast, particularly Levi, Angel, and Grazer did a great job, Levi did a fantastic job of playing a kid in a super-hero's body, the humor really worked, and I really liked the visual and sound effects. This is somewhat bogged down by a repetitive third act, a semi-lackluster villain, and it takes a while to get going. I really liked this movie and can't wait to see where they go in the sequel! If I were to rate it, I'd give Shazam! an 8.5/10. Also, make sure to stay through the credits!