SPOILER FREE REVIEW FOR A MOVIE THAT ADDS ‘LEVI’-TY TO THE MUDDLED UPCOMING DC MOVIE SLATE (GET IT? IT’S LEVITY, BUT WITH ‘LEVI’ AS A PARTY OF IT, AS IN ZACHARY LEVI… THE ACTOR WHO PLAYS SHAZAM… I’LL SEE MYSELF OUT)

Boldly ignoring my horrendous attempt at a written pun (let’s never mention it again), what I do imply is true: DC has, up until recently, been very dark, and often a little dour. Responses to the shared Universe gambit were… mixed(?) at best, so it was refreshing to see Aquaman from last year not lean too heavily into it and still result in being fun and (moderately) entertaining. Shazam! is more referential to the idea of the DCEU, however it never feels like it needs Batman or Superman or the DC brand to support it. Bravely casting aside the elephant in the room (but unfortunately for Warner Bros. not the elephant at the box office) that was Justice League, Shazam! is fantastic, breezy and sure-footed fun, which continues the work of Aquaman in dragging DC properties from the depths back to success. With heartfelt and feverishly entertaining movies such as this being produced, as well as more experimental work outside of the Universe coming up in the form of Joker, DC really could be on the up and up this time.

Shazam! is a DC Superhero movie directed by David F. Sandberg from a screenplay by Henry Gayden. The movie stars Zachary Levi as the title character and Asher Angel as the boy who can turn into Levi just by saying “Shazam”, Billy Batson, as well as Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer and Djimon Hounsou. The story follows Batson, a teenage foster kid who has been trying to find his real mother for most of his life, who is given a the ability to turn into an adult Superhero with a range of powers by an aging wizard. He must learn to use his powers, and hold off the nefarious Dr. Thaddeus Sivana, who seeks to take away Billy’s power. It’s a simple story, and this works to the movie’s advantage. Shazam! is refreshing, in that it’s not trying to say something or be a game-changing Superhero film. It’s fundamentally just trying to be an enjoyable film, and on that front it exceeds my expectations.

Regarding the simplicity in storytelling, Shazam! is a unique movie in how reminiscent it is of 80’s child movies. The obvious comparison is Big, but there are also similar aspects to movies like Goonies or E.T., even if the story is drastically different from those films. But the tone is affectionately mimicked, and like those movies, the narrative isn’t overly-convoluted or cluttered. Shazam! is streamlined to be purely entertaining, and a big reason for that in addition to the simple, fresh story is the humour. This is such a funny movie, and yet it doesn’t even try to be joke-a-minute in a way akin to Thor: Ragnarok. I find the movie’s themes and characters feel more authentic because the humour comes so naturally. Alongside the humour is the heart, and at its core, this is a movie about a family, which I enjoyed. It’s not a political message, something that’s becoming so much more prevalent in this genre, but instead one which we can all relate to, which is definitely a clever choice. That emotional spine is used brilliantly across the runtime, and coupled with the irreverence and subtle, witty satire of the Superhero genre, endears the movie a great deal to the audience in my opinion.

Sandberg is obviously a horror director first and foremost, similarly to James Wan who directed Aquaman. Like in Wan’s film, Sandberg does utilise horror aspects in this movie, something which surprised me, but these inclusions (which I shan’t spoil) never feel overbearing on the story or the tone. Its light and fluffy, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be stakes and scares. The former is died down somewhat, although Mark Strong’s Sivana does always feel like a threat throughout the movie. That being said, Sandberg’s key focus is on levity, and whilst the script and performances are the qualities which best uphold that tone, Sandberg still does a solid job at shooting a movie which feels personal. This was something which I disliked about Captain Marvel: that movie could have been directed by anyone, it felt so devoid of real creative imprint. But Shazam! is a project which feels like love of the source material has been poured onto the screen by the creators, and one which feels distinct from other genre pieces.

The cast is fantastic. I genuinely got lulled into thinking Zachary Levi is a teenager in a grown man’s body. He’s just got so much charisma and energy, and he delivers the lines exactly how a younger person would do. You can just tell he’s having an absolute blast, and I think that’s what makes his performance so likeable. Asher Angel is great too, and he and Levi really do feel like the same person, which could have proven problematic going in but is absolutely nailed. I also like that Billy Batson is a flawed character rather than just another arrogant teenager: there are reasons contributing to why he’s such a problematic young person.

Mark Strong’s Dr Sivana is a brilliant villain. A major improvement on Ares and Steppenwolf to be sure, but above all else, Sivana’s motivations are nicely laid out and founded. He’s intense, and that plays enjoyably off the almost ‘fish-out-of-water’ nature of Billy Batson, someone really excited to have all these powers who in reality has no idea what he’s doing. That grounded nature is really what endears the movie to me I feel, although if I was to criticize one aspect of Shazam!, it’s that to set up these characters, the first Act takes a little while to kick the plot into gear. Once Levi enters the picture however, it’s like there’s suddenly been all this energy injected into the movie.

My final nit-pick would be that there’s a choice made towards the end of the movie which I’m still unsure how I feel about. I won’t get into it, but I’m not sure whether it’s sweet or cheesy. I think I’ll go with the former. Sorry, that last bit felt a little tacked on. Just go and see the movie… it’s great.

VERDICT: EXCELLENT

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