Shazam!

I wasn't too sure about this movie but with each passing trailer, I became more interested. I then learned that Zachary Levi plays Shazam and that really peaked my interest. Upon seeing the finished product, I was entertained. I was also reminded me of something I realized after seeing "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse". You would think that eventually this popularity with superheroes movies will die down but it is hard to know when because of how vast the comic book universe is. We are truly are seeing the comic industry influencing the comic book film genre because just as there are many genres in filmmaking (live action, animation) and many styles within those genres (film noir, anime, real-world), the possibilities for these comic book characters on the big screen are as endless as they are on the page. Additionally, we can have superhero movies for just adults, for the masses like "The Avengers" and for just kids. The target audience in the case of "Shazam!" seems to be children. I still had a fun time watching it because it is a little cheesy on purpose like "The Princess Bride" and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle".

The DC Extended Universe is far from having the success that the Marvel Cinematic Universe if having. Recently however, things are looking up for the DCEU. I liked "Justice League" and "Aquaman" was more entertaining than I was expecting. Now, "Shazam!" has sent the message that the DCEU can still compete. Just as "Spider-Man: Homecoming" explored what high school was like in the MCU, "Shazam!" shows us what grade school is like in a world of superheroes. The source material dictated that for this superhero to work on the movie screen, the filmmakers would have to utilize the premise of "Big" (there is a very funny gag in "Shazam!" that acknowledges the connection between the two movies). The protagonist of Billy was introduced quite well. He is not your traditional wayward child because his motives for running away and causing trouble are to find his birth mother. I love how the protagonist and antagonist have similarities in this film. This kind of story motif is not uncommon in movies or comic books. Dr. Sivana represents what could happen to Billy if he continues to obsess over his birth mother. As funny as "Shazam!" is, heart and drama are needed to contrast the humor. This makes the movie better than if the show was just a silly comedy. The best scene that balances with the comedy is when Billy's search finally proves fruitful. It can be compared to the scene towards the start of the movie where Sivana's lifelong search to return to the Rock of Eternity is successful at long last. One character turns vengeful when he doesn't get what he wants while the other accepts the truth that loving supporting characters were trying to teach him as he searched. Obviously, the major difference between the two character journeys is those loving supporting characters because the other character had no such support. Also, Billy's obsession has not lasted as long as Sivana's.

When it comes to the flaws that a comic book movie can make, "Shazam!" either makes up for those mistakes or doesn't commit the violations in the first place. As mentioned, the comedy is balanced with drama and that is important because too much of any cinematic aspect such as comedy and the film as a whole falls short. Thankfully, all the supporting characters either had a role to play in the movie or were from the source material. This is a good example of a film that is not apologetic, meaning that it may be a little cheesy but that is on purpose considering the premise. The approach works in this case and so other flaws can be overlooked such as Shazam acting a little more immature than even Billy. Other flaws include the kids easily figuring out that Billy is a superhero and how superhero labors for Shazam seem to conveniently happen. Despite this, our disbelief is suspended because we are emotionally invested in the characters or are enjoying ourselves too much. Because I am not that familiar with the original comics, I was left wondering how the story would turn out and was entertained by the experience as a whole. The use of songs was also well done. There wasn't an excess of songs and each song helped move the story forward. Not only did "Shazam!" silently acknowledge "Big" but with setting being in Philadelphia, a movie like this had to also acknowledge "Rocky". The use of "Eye of the Tiger" was further recognition. It is hard to know if the use of "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen was positively or negatively affected by the release of the Oscar-winning film "Bohemian Rhapsody" only a few months earlier. On one hand, the audience might be getting tired of Queen's popularity resurgence. On the other hand, if Queen wasn't trending right now, the song might have less of an emotional impact on Shazam's training montage. The final gag in the movie before the credits was meant to be a cameo but scheduling conflicts meant the gag had to be simplified (it's still funny thanks to Freddy's reaction).

The casting was pretty well done. Zachary Levi first appeared on my radar as the voice of Eugene on "Tangled" but he also had a small role in the MCU in "Thor: The Dark World" and "Thor: Ragnarok" as Fandral. As mentioned, his performance isn't perfectly reflective of Asher Angel's but we are having enough fun that we don't care too much. Mark Strong has played serious villains before such as on "Sherlock Holmes" and while he is serious in this movie, he uses Sivana's obsessive nature to fit into this genre. Djimon Hounsou (who plays the wizard) was also in "Aquaman" and in the MCU as Korath. Grace Fulton was really good as Mary and she has worked with director David F. Sandberg before. I also liked Faithe Herman as Darla. As with the director of "Aquaman" James Wan, Sandberg is also known for his horror movies. This seems to be a winning tactic when it comes to making a superhero movie because you could say the same for Sam Raimi and "Spider-Man". This is the first time I am taking notice of composer Benjamin Wallfischbecause his main theme seemed quite Olympic in nature. This is fitting because the name Shazam is actually an acronym. The difference between this musical theme and say John Williams' "Superman" theme is that Wallfisch's theme is cliche and over-the-top on purpose to symbolize that Shazam is not what he appears on the outside. Wallfisch also helped with the score for "Batman v Superman" by they way. A live-action adaptation of Shazam has been plagued by production problems for over a decade. Because of the success of "The Dark Knight" and the fact that "Speed Racer" did not gross as much money as the studio was hoping (I still love that show anyways), Warner Brothers wanted a dark approach at first for "Shazam!". Then the success of "Man of Steel" delayed a Shazam movie even more. Meanwhile, DC and Marvel were fighting over the name "Captain Marvel" and DC finally relented. This led to them officially accepting the name "Shazam" that was legally given to their version of the character in the 70's. Coincidentally, the "Captain Marvel" and Shazam!" live action feature films were released within months of each other. In the production of the latter movie, the filmmakers were going to use digitally de-aging but in my opinion that would not have worked at all. I'm so glad the filmmakers cast child and adult actors, despite the minor flaws.

As with "Aquaman", I had a more fun watching "Shazam!" than I was expecting. Part of the reason is because of the decent balance between heart and humor. Because this show is about a kid who can turn into an adult superhero, the movie can't take itself too seriously. Other movies have silently acknowledged their absurdity to great results. We have been seeing the popularity of superhero films in shared universes last over ten years and I don't see an end just yet thanks to the huge library of comic books that are out there. The real test for "Shazam!" will be if it still entertains after multiple viewings.

4 Stars out of 5