Shazam!: Film Review
Cast: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Jack Dylan Grazer, Asher Angel
Director: David F Sandberg
The DC Extended Universe goes as light and as goofy as it ever has before with the unveiling of the story of Billy Batson aka Shazam!
Teenage Batson (Angel) has been bouncing from foster home to foster home, trying to find the mother who he lost at a carnival when he was younger. Pushed into one more home in Philadelphia, where five other foster kids live, Batson's resentful and decides he doesn't need anyone but himself.
Befriended by superhero obsessed Freddy (Grazer) from within the clan, Billy finds himself literally transformed when he's given the powers of Shazam by a wizard (Djimon Hounsou) who's searching for a champion.
But Batson's still a kid at heart, and when confronted by Mark Strong's evil Dr Sivana who wants his power, he needs more than just puerile intentions to save the day.
Shazam! is essentially Superman vs Lex Luthor, poured through a prism of Big, Harry Potter and Instant Family.
It's fair to say that the DCEU has gone a bit goofier with this origin story, and Chuck star Levi exudes the qualities needed for the big kid in a superhero suit that will resonate with youngsters, who are likely to run round shouting Shazam for their own needs.
Levi packs in the charm, and the innocence while adhering to the conventions of the origin movie as well. But it's left to DC-obsessed Freddy (Grazer) to present the exposition of the mechanics of being a superhero as the film plays out.
It's here that Shazam! falls into a few problems.
A choppy pre-titles start is flat, the final act showdown goes on way too long and the stakes feel (perhaps refreshingly) low key throughout, with only Shazam and his family being threatened by Sivana - despite earlier hints that Sivana would unleash the seven deadly sins to ravish the world. And a plot line about Batson finding his mother is not only oddly written, but wobbily executed.
Yet the film stays true to its sweet family vibe throughout, and messages of relying on siblings, family et al are nicely contrasted in our the protagonist and his antagonist.
There's an occasional flippancy about the way the extended universe is treated, and given how other films can be, that's no bad thing - but it does make feeling like Shazam could be a long term standalone proposition hard to swallow.
In many ways, this feels like a one-and-done kind of film, with Shazam simply brought in to provide comic relief for other team ups further down the line.
Ultimately, Shazam is a one size fits all superhero family film that packs a friendly vibe, and has fun doing what it does - whether that's enough to sustain a longtime proposition though remains to be seen - it'll need more than just a magic trick to pull that off.
