Review of Shazam! (2019) by Davrosdaleks1 — 06 Apr 2019

Shazam delivers a really funny and at times action-packed movie although a few parts could be improved upon.

Zachary Levi is great as as Shazam, the superhero adult form of 14-yer old Billy Batson (played by Asher Angel). He really makes the movie, both bringing on the humor and managing to portray a young teenager. Jack Dylan Grazer, playing Billy's wiseguy foster brother Freddy Freeman, works so well off him. Heck, the entire foster family is played well. Each of the children is well acted with distinct, likable personalities. However, I was a little surprised that Mary (played by Grace Fulton), who along with Freddy is one of the biggest and longest-running characters of the Shazam (once known as Captain Marvel before legal issues) roster wasn't given more to do.

The movie is really funny, maybe not quite on the same pedestal as Daredevil, but not that far off either. I was worried that this movie was trying to be a superhero comedy but was shot in a down-to-Earth manner that does not try to make Philadelphia try to feel like a movie city at all. (The school Billy goes to looks like a real outdated school that was built back in the 70s/80s.) However, the humor and action blends in surprisingly well with the setting.

Shazam fans will be pleased to see several Easter Eggs to the 40's golden age that you wouldn't expect them to be able to pull off. Be SURE to stay through the mid-credits. There is also an after credits scene, but it isn't as essential. It's just a funny throwaway bit like the endings to Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel, although this one is funnier.

As much as I liked this film, there were moments that could have been improved upon. The second act does run a bit long. Too much time is spent on Freddy and Billy having shenanigans with Shazam's powers. The time could've been spent developing the villain and some of the foster kids more; the former in particular. This is not to say that Mark Strong's Dr. Thaddeus Sivana was a bad villain. He isn't paper thin like Thor: The Dark World's Malekith. The antagonist's motivations are set up well, and Strong does a good job, being particularly threatening in the final confrontation. However, the character still could've been fleshed out a little more and have more personality. (We never even learn what he is a doctor of).

There are a couple of bullies at BIlly's school that are way too broadly written. There are some creature effects , while designed well, suffer from being another Hollywood creation that is drably colored grey.

The movie tries to be too many things and two elements really took me out of it. Billy has a serious subplot, his quest for his mother, and although I applaud the writers for giving the character an emotional backstory and trying to be more than just a comedy, it always felt like I was watching a different film.

The other element was a couple of scary deaths that never jive with the feel of the rest of the film, especially considering its supposed to be a family picture. Director Larry F. Sandberg stated that he was trying to capture the scary moments from the films he saw as a kid, but I felt he crossed the fine line between fun scary and sadistic. Listen, I'm not saying all family films should be sugar-coated and children's ability to handle things underestimated. In fact there are some darker moments in the final confrontation with Sivana, including one scene where Billy is in real trouble, that are effective. A lot of us have scary parts they remember fondly as kids (like the Large Marge scene in the Pee-Wee movie, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, or Return to Oz). But a lot of those kept the scares quick and to the point. Too much time is spent lingering on the victims being in pain and fear. It feels like torture. (Parents may worry more about their children becoming desensitized than being scared.) It contrasts too much with the joke elements. It's a lot like that creepy scene in Superman 3 where the woman is slowly transformed into a robot. I never hear of anyone who as a kid who wasn't just scared-scared and not fondly scared of that scene. The reason I'm guessing is because it was so atonal compared to the rest of the film, drawn out, arbitrary, awkward, uncomfortable, and came out of the blue that it never quite landed with children. Same with the deaths here.

The out-of-film moments are in the first two acts. Everything is ironed out by the third. It is so good and surprising that it may be one of my favorite superhero movie finales.

I recommend this. I'll definitely own it. When this movie is great, it's great. Just expect some dips here and there.