Saturday, April 6, 2019

Shazam! Review


Asher Angel in Shazam! (2019)


Shazam! is a comic book film based on the DC Comics' character of the same name. The film is the seventh movie in the ever growing DC Extended Universe. Shazam! is produced by DC Films, New Line Cinema, The Safran Company, Mad Ghost Productions, and Seven Bucks Productions and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The movie is written by Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke and directed by David F. Sandberg.



The story is Billy Batson is a troubled fourteen year old foster boy living in Philadelphia. Billy is moved into the Vazquez family and their five other children. One day Billy is granted the powers of Shazam. While Billy is trying to figure out his new found abilities, a dangerous man by the name of Doctor Sivana who is wielding his own powers.








Initial Reaction



With any other comic book film I was excited to see this. Shazam! did look like it was going to be the lightest film in the DCEU and judging from the trailers it did look like it was going to be a good movie too. So natural I was on board for this film. But once again I still remained skeptical because well marketing can sometimes be very deceiving. Although skepticism still wasn't going to stop me.





Cons



My only problem was the post-credit scene. It was just another scene played for a joke. I just thought it was really pointless.








Middle Ground



The only grey area of Shazam is the special effects. Now for the most part there great. Especially the Seven Deadly Sins. Those are done great. Where things get iffy is when flight and super speed is involved. There by no means the worst it's just you can clearly tell that CG was used.








Pros



One thing I liked about the film is the performances. Mark Strong as Dr. Sivana was a perfectly casted. Jack Grazer as Freddy, I liked him. The kid's delivery with the wit really made him a scene stealer. Asher Angel as Billy Batson again another great casting. He really played off well with Grazer. Then we have Zachary Levi as Shazam. For anybody who doubted him your gonna have to eat your words. He really played the whole "oh I've got superpowers this is amazing" to a perfect ten. Now yes, Shazam! is definitely the lightest toned film in the DCEU. But...BUT that doesn't mean it turned away from the more darker elements that the DCEU is known for. I mean the very first scene in the movie is dark. The other thing I'll give the film credit is it's humor. There are quite a lot funny moments. It especially worked because these are kids testing out and having a good time with superpowers. The other aspect of Shazam! I liked was Dr. Sivana. He's an awesome and intimidating villain. What really made him scary was he was willing to kill anyone who gets in his way no matter how old you are. The other thing I want to give the movie is the message of family. Throughout the film Billy is learning that message. I felt it added another lair to the movie. Another thing I'll give Shazam! credit for is making Billy & Shazam act like the same person. For some reason whenever these kind of movies are released the adult actor seems like they have no idea how a kid acts, but with Shazam you don't have that problem. This is the same Billy whether he's a superhero or not. My final prasie for the film is the mid-credit scene. It definitely makes me want to have Shazam! 2. No it has nothing to do with Black Adam but it still has me excited.






Shazam! is definitely a film you should see. The performances from Strong, Grazer, Angel, and Levi were great, while it does have a lighter tone it still contains dark moments, the humor is definitely funny, Dr. Sivana was a good villain, the message of family was a nice added touch, making sure Billy and Shazam acted like the same person, and the mid-credit scene leaves you wanting Shazam! 2. The special effects were good for the most part. The only downside was the post-credit scene.






My final rating is Great







Okay that's it for today everybody. Come back on Monday, April 8th for my post about the easter eggs I noticed in this movie. Until then enjoy the rest of your day.

No comments:

Post a Comment