Shazam! | Film Review

Hey Guys x

I am so late to seeing this, but I'm really glad that I have now. I always knew that it would be a fun addition to the DCEU, but because it's something that they've never done before, I had no idea if it would be a good fun movie, or a cheesy attempt at comedy - which is why I was keen to see it for myself.

Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is a 14 year old kid who bounces from foster home to foster home while searching for his mother. However, after saving his foster brother from bullies, Billy meets a mysterious stranger and becomes Shazam (Zachary Levi), an adult superhero with powers that he couldn't even dream of. But soon, Billy realises that being an adult superhero comes with adult-sized responsibilities. Will he continue to be the fun-loving hero with no responsibilities? Or will he use his powers, and his family, to become the Shazam that he was always meant to be?

I really enjoyed this movie. It definitely wasn't a 'cheesy attempt at comedy' at all!

The first thing about the film is that it introduces a lot of characters really quickly without giving you time to get to know, or even like, them. Of course once the film goes on you do manage to keep track of who everyone is and their purpose in the story, but the first maybe 10 minutes are a confusing 'meet this person that you know nothing about' a few times.

Billy himself starts off as a really unlikeable character. Of course, there are a number of reasons for this, including his upbringing and the writers making way for a huge amount of character development, but for a while in the beginning, you don't find yourself rooting for him at all.

There is a hell of a lot of really great chemistry between Billy/Shazam and Freddy (Jack Dylan Grazer) Billy's foster brother. For me, these two characters are what made the film what it is - it could have had a variety of different themes, but having these characters together is what warms you to Billy's character. Plus they're hilarious!

The most (pretty much the only) disappointing thing about the movie was the villain. His motivations, and just him as a character, was really weak. In a way, his weak motivations add a lot to his character (vanity, ego, envy etc.) which is interesting, but I would have liked to see a stronger villain.

The thing is, and this goes back to my point about Billy's character development, I kind of feel like the film would have been amazing without a clear 'villain' at all. Because Billy is so young, and there is so much room for character development, it would have been amazing for this movie to be a superhero coming-of-age movie, about the way that teenage Billy is forced to grow up way too quickly to hold on to the Shazam persona. In my opinion, it would have help up really well without the villain because the character of Billy is strong enough on his own. The movie is literally a film about what would happen if a teenager got superpowers, and I think it should have stayed that way.

Overall, this is a really original superhero movie about family, friendship, love and power. A welcome addition to the DCEU, and I can't wait to see the sequel!

7.5/10

Lou