★★★★
We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word - SHAZAM. - this streetwise fourteen-year-old foster kid can turn into the grown-up superhero Shazam
Classification: 12A
Thrilling, hilarious, heartwarming, fantabulous, just like the tagline of this latest superhero adventure Shazam! will have you saying every word you can think of to sing the praises of the tale of Billy Batson. A dynamite script by Henry Gayden working in perfect unison with director’s David F. Sandberg’s vision of the DC universe’s latest addition. Shazam! is brimming with loveable heroes, chilling villains, strong stakes and a refreshing tale into what it means to be a hero.
Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is a foster child on the search for his mother until one day he is chosen as champion by a mysterious wizard (Djimon Hounsou) and imbued with superpowers when he utters the word Shazam!. The word transforms Billy into a full-grown adult (Zachary Levi) with abilities such as super strength and shooting lightning from his fingertips. Billy teams up with his foster brother Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) to learn how to use his powers and get up to hijinks but it’s not all fun and games as Billy becomes the target for super villain Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong). It’s Superman meets Big, I’m sure you’ve heard that before but it’s such an accurate breakdown of Shazam! however, Sandberg draws influences from eighties classics such as Gremlins and Goonies to create this electrifying family adventure.
Shazam! takes its due diligence in establishing the motivations of its characters, both Billy Batson and Thaddeus Sivana are men that crave acceptance. Batson desperate to be reunited with his mother and in pursuit of that goal rejects anyone else including his foster siblings, he only looks out for himself. The power of Shazam has Billy learn that he can no longer be alone and that he has already been accepted by those that love him. Sivana, a man rejected by his family and fuelled by a bitter obsession ever since he was denied as champion as a child, sees the promise of the film’s villains, the acceptance he has always desired. The power of Shazam is the power of fantasy fulfilment and Levi, Angel and Strong portray how those fantasies can lead to both positive and negative outcomes in the antithetical connection between their characters.
While Shazam! allows its moments of drama and horror to resonate within the story to great effect giving audiences a real connection with its characters, one of the main takeaways is the humour. This film is funny, the concept is rife for humorous situations for Levi and Grazer to play off each other including our hero attempting to buy beer for the first time during a robbery or their various “superpower tests”. Shazam! never forgets that this hero is just a child, Levi’s performance is so gleeful and earnest and plays off Grazer’s superhero fanatic so well but again remains grounded and never loses sight of the stakes. Every character is given a moment to shine, from the rest of Billy’s foster family including scene-stealer Darla (Faithe Herman) their foster parents or even a mall Santa who has one too many run-ins with Shazam’s superhero antics.
Shazam first appeared in comics in 1940, just two years after Superman and the character has been affectionally nicknamed “The Big Red Cheese” cause of his corny and childlike nature. The Wizard needs a champion pure of heart but as Batson and Sivana both tell him, there is no one like that out there, the idea and personality of Shazam! is a relic of the past. What makes this film work is Sandberg and Gayden acknowledging this cynical world, these characters and their pain but allowing belief to triumph over it. At some point every child has wished they could become a superhero and watching Billy Batson leap off a building and transforming into one with a single word will reignite the dream all over again.
Director: #DavidFSandberg
Release Date: April 5th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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